J 



SIMMONDS'S COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS 

OF THE 

VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



THE / 

COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS 

OF THE 

VEGETABLE KINGDOM, 



COXSIDEHED IX THEIE VAEIOUS USES TO MAN AND IN THEIK 
RELATION TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES ; 



PRACTICAL TREATISE & HAly^DBOOK OF EEFERENCE 

FOR THE 



CULTIVATION, PREPARATION FOR SHIPMENT, AND COMMERCIAL VALUE, &e. 
OF THE VAEIOUS SUBSTANCES OBTAINED FROM 

TREES AND PLANTS, 

ENTERING INTO THE HUSBANDRY OF TROPICAL AND SUB-TROPICAL 
RE&IONS, &c. 

BY Pr L. SIMMONDS, 

HONORARY AN'D CORRESPOXDING MEMBER Of THE ROYAL AGRICULTITRAL AND COMMERCIAL SOCIETIES OF 
JAMilCA. BRITISH OUIANA, ANTIGUA, BARTiADOS. KONIGSBERG, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, NATAL, THE NEW 
YORK STATE SOCTETY, THE NOVA SCOTIA CENTRAL BOARD OF AGRICDLTTIRE, THE SOCIETIES POR 
PROMOTING AGRICDLTCRE IN PHILADELPHIA AND NEW ORLEANS; ONE OF THE 
EDITORS OF " JOHNSON'S FARMER'S ENCYCLOD/EDIA ;" MANY YEARS EDITOR 
AND PROPRIETOR OF THE " COLONIAL MAGAZINE," &C. &C. 




LONDON: T. F. A. DAY, 13, CAHEY STEEET, 

Li:sCOLN'S INN. 



MDCCCLIT, 



\0 ' 



LONDON : 

PRINTED BY PETTER AND COMPANY, 
103, CHEAPSIDE ; AND NEW STREET, BLACEJTIIAES, 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



African Steam Ship Company, 3, Mincing Lane 
Archbell, J., Esq., Pietermaritzburg, Natal 
Assam Company, 30, Great Winchester- street 
Aubert, Honourable J. M. A, M. C, St. Lucia 

Botanical Society (the Royal^, Regent's Park 

Burton, C. H., Esq., 133, Fenchiirch street 

Boddington, Messrs. & Co., 9, St Helen's Place 

Bristol Chamber of Commerce, Bristol 

Brown, Messrs. & Co., 4, Pancras Lane 

Begg, Thomas, Esq., 3, Corbett Court, Gracechurch-street 

Bow, J. B. De., Editor of Commercial Review, New Orleans 

Breede, L. Ton, Esq., Natal 

Breen, H. H., Esq., St. Lucia 

Barbados General Agricultural Society 

British Guiana Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society 

Browne, Hunter & Co., Messrs ., Liverpool 

Bagshaw, John, Esq,, M.P., Chff House, Harwich 

BeiTy, Richard L., Esq., Chagford, Devonshire 

Blyth, Messrs., J. & A., Steam Engine House, Limehouse 

Blyth, Phihp P., Esq., 23, Upper Wimpole Street 

Brown, Messrs. Robert & Co., 25, Lawrence Pountney Lane 

Carmicha^l, Sir James, Bart., Sussex Gardens 
Christopher, J. S., Esq., 26, Coleman-street 
Challis, Alderman, 32, "Wilson Street, Finsbury 
Childs, R. W., Esq., 26, Coleman Street 
Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Society 
Campb 'll, C. T., Graham's Town, Cape of Good Hope 
(3 copies) 

Central Board of Agriculture, Halifax, Nova Scotia (5 copies) 
Crum, H. E., Esq., (Messrs. J. Ewing & Co's.,) Glasgow 
Clegg, T., Esq., Manchester 

Carleton, Percival A., Esq., Stipendiary Magistrate, Bahamas 

Davis, Messrs. T. E. & W. W., manufactm'ers, 159 and 160, 

Whitechapel Road 
Dinneford, Messrs. & Co , 172, New Bond-street 
Denoon, Messrs. D. & Co., 6, Adam's Cornet, Old Broad-st. 
Decasseres, Phineas, Esq., Falmouth, Jamaica 
Dod, Francis, Esq., Savanna le Mar, Jamaica 
Duke, Sir James, M.P., Portland Place 
Dunbar, Messrs. D., & Sons, 95, Fore-street, Limehouse 
Dennistoun, Messrs. J. & A, Glasgow 
Drysdale, Hon. J. V., Colonial Secretary, St. Lucia ' 
Drumm, Mr. W., Chemist, Barbados (12 copies) 



LIST or SUBSCEIBEES, 



Ede, Francis, Esq., Great "^"inchester- street 
Ede, Limbrey, Esq., merchant, 'Winchester-street 
Edmonds, eI, junr., Esq., Bilcomb Brook, Bradford, Wilts 
Evett, Thomas, Esq., Trela^vney, Jamaica 

Eorbes,, Dr., E.R.B., Burlington-street 

Fielden, J, Leyland, Esq., Eeuiscowles, Blackburn 

Eox, Mr. C, Paternoster Row 

Eoster, T. C, Esq., Natal 

Eramgee, Neeswanjee & Co., Bombay 

Eorman, Mr. R. B., 14, Mincing Lane 

Franks & Co., Messrs., 35, Eenchurch- street 

G-rey, The Eight Honoui-able Earl 

Grassett, ElHot, Esq., 6, Chesham-street, Belgrare Square 

Gray, Messrs. B. C. T. & Co., Great St. Helen's 

Gray & Co., Messrs., Commercial Chambers, Mincing Lane 

Glasgow, Messi's. Alexander & Co., Glasgow 

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce aud Manufactures 

Harker, George, Esq., 102 and 103, Upper Thames-street 
Heni-y, J. G., Esq., Bicknollon House, WUhton, Somerset 
HoUoway, Thomas, Esq., 244, Strand 
H anbury, Daniel, Esq , 2, Plough Court 
Howard, Messrs. James & Frederick, Bedford 
Haywood, James, Esq., Birmingham 
Henley, The Right Honourable J. ^Y., M.P. 
Humphreys, E. R., L.L.D., Cheltenham School 
Haynes, Robert, Esq., Thimbleby Lodge, Northallerton 
Howson, Rev. J. S., M.A., Principal of Liverpool Collegiate 
School 

Howard, W. M., Esq., Barbados 
Hitchins, Richard, Esq., Eingston, Jamaica 
Hamilton, ^yi]liam, Esq., 2y, St. Vincent Place, Glasgow 
Hodge, Honorable Langford L., Antigua 

Ifill, Benjamin, Esq., 86, Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park 

Gardens 
Innes, J., Esq., Moorgate-street 
Isle of Thanet Agrioultural Association, Ramsgate 

Jamaica Association, 1, New Square, Lincoln's Inn 
Janaaica Royal Agricultural Society 
Jennmgs, J. H., Esq., Stipendiary Magistrate, St. Lucia 
Jimg & Bm'gtheel, Messrs., 2, "Winchester Buildings 
Johnson, C. W., Esq., F.R.S., Croydon 

Keane, Charles C, Esq., Bermuda 

Keating, Thomas, Es j., St. Paul's Churchyard 

Eeeliug & Hunt, Messrs., Monument Yard 

Lee, D. M'Phee, Esq., Bermuda 

Livesay, Drs., R.N., 35, Nelson Square 

Lloyd, B. S., Esq., Bu'chin Lane 

Liverpool, Library of Cohegiate Institution 

Lawton, Isaac, Esq., Kingston, Jamaica (2 copies) 

Lyons, George, Esq., Falmouth, Jamaica (2 copies) 

Lawrence & Co., Messrs., Madras (3 copies) 

Losack, F. C, Esq., Trelawney, Jamaica 

Lord Mayor. The Right Honourable, Mansion House 



LIST or SrBSCTlIBERS. 



Laird, J. M., Esq., African Steam Ship Co., Mincing Lane 

Laurie, W. C, Esq. 6, Great Winchester- street 

Lane, Crawford & Co., Messrs., Hong Kong (12 copies) 

Molesworth, The Eight Honourable Sir 'William, Bart,, 

M.P., Eaton Square 
McCulloch, J. E., Esq., Her Majesty's Stationery Office 
Morewood, Edward Esq., Compensation, Natal 
Morewood, J. J., Esq., 1, Winchester Buildings 
Martin, H. Montgomery, Esq., 21, Victoria Road, Kensiugton 
McHenry, G-eorge, M.D., 12, Danzie Street, Liverpool 
Masterman, John, Esq., M.P., Nicholas Lane, City 
Mayers, J. P. Esq., Staplesrrove, Barbados 
Mouat, Sichard, Esq., H. M. Dockyard, Port Royal, 

Jamaica 

McHugh, R. G-., Esq., St. Lucia 

Marryatt, Charles, Esq., Laurence Pountney Lane 

Mason, J. P. and Co., 18, Mincmg Lane 

Mosely, Mr. E. N., Nassau, Bahamas. 

Michelli, Mr. F., Gould Square 

Nesbit, J. C. Esq., F.G.S., Scientific School, Kennington 
Lane 

Newdegate, C. N., Esq., ^I.P., Blackheath 

Natal Agricultural and Horticultural Society 

Newcastle, his Grace the Duke of, (2 copies) 

New York State Agricultural Society, Albany 

Noble, Messrs. G. & J. A., 11, George Yard, Lombard Street, 

Pakington, Right Hon. Sir John S., M.P. 

Poole, David, Esq., Analytical Chemist, 18, Jubilee Street, 
Mile End Road. 

Poole, Braithwaite, Esq., London and North Western Rail- 
way, Liverpool. 

Pitts and Gavin, Messrs., Kandy, Ceylon. 

Porteous, The Honorable James, Jamaica. 

Prescott, George W. , Esq., 62, Threadneedle Street 

Rowland, Messrs. Alex, and Sons, 20, Hatton Garden (3 
copies) 

Ransomes and Sims, Messrs., Implement Makers, Ipswich 
(2 copies) 

Eolpb, Thomas, Esq., M.D., Portsmouth. 
Richardson, Robert, Esq., 3, Jernayn Street, St. James's 
Eichardson, Mr. J, M., Comhill 
Howe, Sir Joshua, Chief Justice of Jamaica 
Eoberts, Charles, Esq., 38, Mincing Lane 
Eussell, Graham, Esq., 63, Miller Street, Glasgow 
Eothschild, Baron, Lionel De, M.P., New Court, Switliin's 
Lane 

Sampson, M. B,, Esq., City Editor of the Times, Lombard 
Street 

Saunders, Trelawney W., Esq., F.E.G.S., 6, Charing Cross 
Staunton, Sir George Thomas, Bart., M.P., F.E.S., Hants 
Strousberg, B. H, Esq., F.R.G.S., Editor of " The 

Merchant's Magazine." 
Straube, Dr., 36, Moorgate Street 

Stephens, Henry, Esq., Editor of Book of the Farm," 
Edinburgh 



viii 



LIST OF STJBSCBrBEBS. 



Stewart, Charles, Esq., 4, Adam's Court, Old Bond-street 

(2 copies) 

Scliomburgk, Sir R. H., British Consul, St. Domingo 
Sevrell, William, Esq., St. James's, Jamaica 
Stephenson, B-Macdonald, Esq., East India Eailwar, Calcutta 
Simmonds. Eichard, Esq., Admu-alty, Somerset House 

Simmonds, J. a., Esq., K.Jv^., H. M. S. Crane,\Test Coast of 
Africa 

Simeon, Hardy and Sons, Messrs., Cork 

Samuelson, B., Esq., Britannia Iron Works, Banbury 

Stanford, Mr., 6, Charing Cross 

Trade, The Honorable the Board of 
Tennent, Sir J. Emerson, M.P. 
Travers, Messrs., and Co., 19, St. Swithin's Lane 
Thibou, James B., Esq., Anti^a 
Tollemache, Honorable F., Hillmagham Hall, Ipswich 
Thornton, Edward, Esq., Statistical Department, East India 
House 

Weeding, Thomas, Esq., 6, Great Winchester Street (2 
copies) 

Weguelin, T. M., Esq., 7, Austin Friars 
Wyld, James, Esq , Great Globe, Leicester Square 
Westgarth, Ross and Co., Messrs., Melbourne, Port Phihp 
Wortley, S. S., Esq., Cumberland Pen, Spanish Town, 

Jamaica 
Wray, Leonard, Esq., Natal 
Wells, Charles, Esq., Grenada 
Woodifield, E. D., Esq., Custom House 
Woods, E. C, Esq., Straits Times, Singapore (20 copies) 
Wilson, Mr. Effingham, Eoyal Exchange Bmldings (2 

copies) 

Teatman, Eer. H. F., L.L.B., Stockhou^e, near Sherborne 
Young, Bryan, T., Esq., Barbados 



T\'OEKS CONSULTED. 



tonoioxDs's Colonial Magazine, 15 vols. 

Pokter's Tropical AoRicrLTrRiST. 

Paxton's Botanical Dictioxary. 

Latvsox's Merchant's Magazine, 2 vols. 

Proeessor Eoyle, on the Productive Eesources of India. 

CRAvrrrRD's History of the Indian Archipelago, 3 vols. 

Logan's Journal oe the Indian Archipelago, 3 vols. 

Eeports and Docoients connected "^th the proceedings of the East 

India Company, in regard to the Cultivation and Manufacture of Cotton, 

"Wool, Ea-wr Silk, and Indigo in India. 
Journal of the Agricultural Society of "Western Australia. 
Melburn's Oriental Com:merce. 

Ure's Dictionary of Arts antd Manufactures, and Supplements. 
Chase's History of the Cape of Good Hope. 
Professor Balfour's Manxal of Botan-y. 
Dupon's Tra'S'els in South America, 2 vols. 
Count Dandolo on the art of Bearing Silk "Worms. 

Journal and Transactions of the Jsew York State Agricultural 
Society, 7 vols. 

Pridham's History of Ceylon ant) its Dependencies, 2 vols. 
^ THE Mauritius. 

Transactions of the Eoyal Agricultural Society of Jamaica, o vols. 

The Barbados Agricultural Society's Eeporter, 2 vols. 

LoVs Dissertation on the Agriculture of the Straits Settlements. 

M'Culloch's Commercial Dictionary, last Edition and Supplements. 

Hunt's Xew York. Merchant's Magazine, 27 vols. 

De Bow's Commercial Eevtew, New Orleans, 6 vols. 

Benny's History of Jamaica. 

ScHOilBURGK'S HiSTORY OF BARBADOS. 

Breen's History of St. Lucia. 
Captain Beever's African Memoranda. 
Pereira's Elements of Materl\ Medica. 
Spry's Plants, &c., required for India. 
Hooper's Medical Dictionary. 

Perley's Efforts on the Forest Trees and Fisheries of New Brunswick. 
Essays on the Cultivation of the Tea Plant in the United States, 

by Junius Smith, L.L.D. 
The Mahogan-y Tree, its Eange, &c. 
The States of Central America, by John Bailey, E.M. 
The Industrial Eesources of Nova Scotia, by A Gesner. 
Efforts on the Past and Present State of H.'M.'s Colonial Possessions, 

for the years 1849-50. 
Poole's Statistics of Commerce. 

Patent Office Eeports of the United States, 1849-50. 
De Bow's Industrial Eesources of the Southern and Western States 
of America, 4 vols. 



2 



WOEKS CO^s^SULTED. 



OiTiciAL AND Descriptive Catalogue of the Gkeat Exhibition ; Part 1 . 

— Eaw Materials. 
Dr. O'Shaughnesst's Bengal Dispensatory. 
Archer's Economic Botany. 

A Few "Words on the Tea Duties, by J. Ingrain Travers. 
Obsertations on the Vegetable Products oe Ceylon. 
General Statistics of the British Empire, by James McQueen, 
A History of the Vegetable Kingdom, by W. Ehind. 
The Statistical Companion, by Banfield and "Weld. 
Fortune's Travels in China. 
Ball on Tea Culture. 
Profes3or Eoylb on -Cotton. 

Lectures on the Results of the Great Exhibition, delivered before the 

Society of Arts, 2 vols. 
Johnson's Farmer's Encyclopaedia, 

A Dissertation upon Tea, by Tbomas Short, M.D. ; 1753. 
Parliamentary Papers on Trade and Navigation, 
The Hong Kong Almanac and Directory. 
Jamaica Almanacs, &c. 

Keeper's Prize Essay on the Canals of Canada, 1850. 
Colman's Continental Agriculture, 1848. 
Cuba in 1851, by Alexander Jones. 
Martin, on China. 
Ceylon Almanacs. 

Earl's Enterprise ln Tropical Australia. 
Cunningham's Hints for Australian Emigrants. 
Dr. Turnbull's Cuba, with JSTotes of Porto Eico. 
Lt. Moodie's Ten Years in South Africa, 2 vols. 
Farmer's Magazine, 20 vols. 

Eobertson's Letters on South A^ierica, 3 vols. 
Stevenson's Twenty Tears Eesidence in South America, 3 vols. 
Journals of the Statistical Societies of London and Paris. 
Pharmaceutical Journal, 10 vols. 

The Leading Agr,icultural Periodicals of the United States and the 
Colonies. 

Balanza General de Comercio of Cuba. 

Knight's Cyclop.^dia of the Industry of All Nations. 



PREFACE. 



The objects and purposes of the following Work are fully set 
forth in the introductory chapter; but I may be permitted to 
remark here, that its compilation and arrangement have oc- 
cupied a very large share of my time and attention, and I can 
therefore assert with confidence, that it will be found the most 
full and complete book of the kind that has ever yet appeared. 
It is not a mere condensation from Encyclopsedias, Commercial 
Dictionaries, and Parliamentary and Consular Reports ; but is 
the fruit of my own Colonial experience as a practical planter 
and of much laborious research and studious investigation into 
a class of ephemeral but useful publications, which seldom meet 
with any extended or enduring circulation — assisted, moreover^ 
by the contributions and suggestions of many of the most 
eminent agricultural chemists, planters, and merchants of our 
Colonial Possessions and Foreign Countries. 

Few are aware of the great labor and research required for 
digesting and arranging conflicting, accounts — for consulting 
the numerous detached papers and foreign works treating of 
the subjects embraced in this volume, and for referring to 



xii 



PREFACE. 



the home and colonial trade circulars, Legislative papers, and 
scientific periodicals of different countries. The harassing 
duties appertaining to the position of City editor of a daily 
paper, coupled with numerous other literary engagements, have 
aflPorded me insufficient time to do full justice to the work 
while passing through the press; and several literal typo- 
graphical errors in the botanical names have, I find, escaped 
my attention in the revision of the sheets. I have, however, 
thought it scarcely necessary to make a list of errata for these. 
From want of leisure, to reduce all the weights and measures 
named in the body of the work into English, I have given their 
relative value in the Index. I have taken considerable pains 
to make the Index most full and complete, for it has always 
appeared to me, that in works embracing a great variety of 
subjects, facility of reference is of paramount importance. 

Some discrepancy may here and there be found between 
the figures quoted from Parliamentary returns and those . 
derived from private trade circulars; but the statistics are 
accurate enough for approximate calculations. 

Whilst the work has been passing through the press, 
several important modifications and alterations have been 
made in our Tarifi*. 

I have throughout found great difficulty in obtaining 
commercial information from the various Colonial brokers 
and importers of the City, w^ho, with but few exceptions, 



PREFACE. xiii 

have been stupidly jealous of any publicity respecting the 
staples in the sale of which they were specially interested. 
The greatest fear was expressed lest any details as to the 
sources of supply, stocks on hand, and cost prices of many 
of the minor articles, should transpire. After the results of 
the Great Exhibition, the exertions making to establish Trade 
Museums, and the prospect of information to be furnished 
at the new Crystal Palace, this narrow-minded and selfish 
feeling seems singularly misplaced. 

I had not originally contemplated touching upon the grain 
crops and food plants of temperate regions ; but the prospect 
of a failure in our harvest, the disturbed state of political 
affairs on the Continent, with short supplies from Kussia and 
the Danubian provinces, and the absence of any reliable 
statistics and information for convenient reference on this all- 
important subject, added to the recommendations of one or 
two well-informed correspondents, induced me to go more into 
detail on the Food-plants and Bread-stuffs than I had at first 
intended, and to treat very fully upon Wheat, Barley, 
Potatoes, and other subsidiary food crops. This has trenched 
somewhat largely on my space ; and although the volume has 
been swelled to an unexpected size, I am reluctantly com- 
pelled to omit some few Sections, such as those treating of 
elastic and other Gums, Resins, &c. ; on tropical Fruits j and 
on textile substances and products available for cordage and 
clothing. The latter section, which includes Cotton, Flax, 
Jute, &c., and embraces a wide and important range of 



xiv 



PREFACE. 



plants^ I propose issuing in a separate volume at an. early date, 
with a large fund of statistical and general information. 

Among those gentlemen to whom I acknowledge myself 
most indebted for valuable suggestions or important informa> 
tion_, are my friends Sir R. H. Schombnrgk, British Consul at 
St. Domingo, and Mr. E. Montgomery Martin, the well- 
known Statist and Colonial Historian ; Mr. R. D. Wodifield, 
Deputy Inspector of Imports at the port of London ; Mr. 
Leonard Wray, of Natal, author of " The Practical Sugar 
Planter;'^ Dr. W. Hamilton, of Plymouth, a talented and fre- 
quent contributor to the scientific periodicals of the day ; Mr. 
T. C. Archer, of Liverpool, author of "Economic Botany;^-' 
Mr. Greene, of the firm of Blyth, Brothers, and Greene; Mr. J. 
S. Christopher, author of several works on the Cape Colony, 
and Natal ; Mr. B. H. Strousberg, editor of " The Merchant's 
Magazine," and Mr. G. W. Johnson, the eminent agricul- 
tural writer, author of various elaborate " Essays on the 
Agriculture of Hindostan," which were written for my 
" Colonial Magazine." 

P. L. SIMMONDS. 

5, Baege Yaed, Bucklersburt, 
December, 1853. 



CONTENTS. 



Introductory Chapter ... ... ... ... ... 1 

Objects of the work. Prof. Solly on the demand for a practical book on 
raw materials. Objects of the Society of Arts and Great Exhibition. 
jS'ecessity for an attention to tbe culture of the minor staples of the 
soil. New objects of industry worthy the attention of Science. Prin- 
cipal part of our homeward commerce composed of raw materials from 
the Vegetable Kingdom. Mutual dependence of countries on Commerce 
for the supply of their wants. System of arrangement of subjects 
adopted by the author. Many articles of commerce omitted for want 
of space. Those of tropical and sub-tropical regions chiefly discussed. 
Hints for the cultivator. Division of zones, and countries lying 
within each, with their range of temperature. Table of climate ; dura- 
tion and production of the principal cultivated plants. 

SECTION I. — Dried Leaates, Seeds, and Other Substances used in 

THE Preparation of popular Dietetic Beverages .. 11 

Cacao or Cocoa. Varieties and description of the tree. Mode of culti- 
vation in the Colombian Eepublics. Enemies of the tree. Expenses 
of a plantation in Jamaica. Cultivation in Trinidad and St. Lucia. 
Statistics and consumption. 
Coffee. Home consumption and revenue of coffee. Chicory largely substi- 
tuted for; history of the fiscal changes. Continental demand. Present 
produce and consumption in various countries. Cultivation in Mocha. 
Cultivation in India ; in Ceylon. Exports from that island. Manures 
suitable for the tree. Peeling, pulping, and winnowing. Improved 
machinery. New use for coffee leaves. Culture in Java. Production 
of America and the "West Indies ; Venezuela. Statistics of the Bra- 
zils. Shipments of various countries to the United States. Compara- 
tive consumption by different nations. Cultivation in Jamaica ; Tri- 
nidad; British Guiana ; Cuba; decline of production in this island. 
Statistics of exports. Preparation of cofi'ee leaves for infusion accord- 
ing to Dr. Gardner's patent. Dr. Hooker's opinion thereon. 
Tea. Immense consumption of. Liebig's analysis of. Varieties of the 
plant. Imports of tea for a series of years. Alterations in the duties. 
Statistics of import and consumption, revenue and prices. Value and 
extent of the tea exported from China; first cost at the ports; enor- 
mous prices paid for superior teas. Total outlay for tea. Consump- 
tion of tea in China. Export to various countries. Total production. 
Consumption per head in England ; not properly within the reach of 
the poorer classes. China could furnish any quantity. Mr. Travers 
on the tea duties. Brick tea of Thibet. Tea annually imported into 
the United States ; proportion of green to black. Range of the plant. 
Countries in which its culture has been attempted. Its progress in 
America. The Assam Company and its plantations. Extension of tea 
culture by the East India Co. Mr. Fortune's travels in the tea dis- 



xvi 



COIfTENTS. 



tricts of China. Instructions and details as to soil, management and 
manufacture, by Dr. Jameson and Mr. Fortune. Dr. Campbell's 
notes, Mr. A, Macfarlane's Report. Tbe East India tea plantations 
in tbe North-West Provinces. Experimental cultivation of the tea plant 
in Brazil; M. Geullemin's report thereon. Paraguay Tea: Mr. 
Robertson's description of the collection and manufacture. 
Sugar. Plants from which it is usually obtained. The sugar cane ; its 
range of cultivation. Production in our colonies. Consumption in the 
last ten years. Improvements in sugar machinery and manufacture. 
Quantity of cane sugar annually produced and sent into the markets. 
Local consumption in India. Present European supply ; demand 
according to the consumption in England. Estimated annual pro- 
duction throughout the world. Consumption in the principal 
European countries. Average annual consumption in the United 
Kingdom. Comparative amount of beet-root and cane sugar produced 
in the last four years. Gazette prices of sugar in the last ten years. 
Production of sugar in the United States. Production in Cuba. Pro- 
duction in the British "West Indies. Production in Mauritius. Sta- 
tistics of imports from the Mauritius. Production in the British East 
Indies. Production in Java. Production in the Philippines. Chemical 
distinction between cane and grape sugar. Varieties of the sugar cane 
cultivated. Possibility of raising the cane from seed. Analysis of the 
cane, and of a sugar soil. Chemical examination of cane juice. Va- 
cuum pans. Boiling and tempering. Composition of cane juice. Ra- 
mos's prepared plantain juice. Professor Fownes on the manufacture 
of sugar. Expression of cane juice. Construction of the sugar miU. 
Quantity of juice obtained by each kind of mill. Position of rollers. 
Mode of culture and varieties in the East Indies. Soils considered 
best adapted for its luxuriant growth. Manures. Sets and planting. 
Aftergrowth. Harvesting. Injuries, from seasons, storms, insects, 
&c. Mode of cultivation in the Brazils ; in Natal ; expenses. Com- 
parison between the cost of production in Mauritius and Natal. Com- 
parative cost in free and slave countries. Beet-root sugar : variety 
cultivated ; mode of expression and manufacture ; yield of sugar ; es- 
timated profit ; extensive production in France ; production in the 
German States. Statistics of the Prussian Provinces of Saxony ; Rus- 
sia, Belgium and Austria. A Visitor's account of the French manu- 
factories. Mr. Colman's opinion. Proportion of sugar in the beet. 
Maple Sugar : description of the tree ; its production limited to Amer- 
ica ; extent of the manufacture in Canada and the United States ; pro- 
cesses employed ; statistics of production. Maize Sugar. 

SECTION II. — The Grain Crops, Edible Roots and Farinaceous 

Plants, forming the Breadstijffs of Commerce . . . . 217 

Statistics of Wheat Culture. Exports of flour from the United States. 
Adaptation of the soil and climate of the United States to the culture 
of the cereals. Export of sophisticated (damaged) flour. Kiln drying 
of bread stuffs and exclusion of air. Value of the " whole meal" of 
wheat as compared with that of the fine flour. Nutritious properties of 
various articles of food. Composition of wheat and wheat-flour, and 
tbe modes of determining their nutritive value. Rotation of crops in 
connexion with wheat culture. Production and consumption of the 
United Kingdom. Statistics of other countries. Barley, Oats, Rye, 
Buckwheat, Maize : Indian corn and meal imported. Crop and ex- 
ports of United States. System of culture. Rice : Statistics of pro- 
duction and culture in Carolina. The Bhull rice lands of Lower Scinde. 
Rice in Kashmir ; exports from",Arracan. Millet. Broom Corn. Cheno- 
podium Quinoa. Fundi or Fundungi. Pulse. The Sago Palms. 
Manufacture and extent of the trade in Singapore. The bread-fruit tree. 



COifTEirTS. 



XTII 



Kafir bread. The Plantaij^ and Banana ; various products of these 
palms. Starch-producing Plants investigated. Characters of starch 
from different plants. Tenacity and clearness of jellies ; per centage of 
starch yielded, and produce of plant per acre ; their meal as articles of 
export. Indian Corn starch. Eice starch. Arrowroot : East and 
West India, culture and statistics of. Eoot Crops : Potatoes, Yams, 
Cocos, or Eddoes, Sweet Potatoes, Cassava or Manioc. New Tube- 
rous Plants recommended as substitutes for the potato. Miscella- 
neous Food Plants. Lichens and Mosses. Ferns. 



SECTION III.— Spices, Aromatic Condiments, and Fragrant Woods. 382 

Cinnamon. Limited range of the culture in Ceylon. Analysis of the soil 
most favorable to the tree. Peeling. Various kinds of bark ; com- 
mercial classification, distinguishing properties of good cinnamon ; 
suitability of the Straits Settlement for cinnamon plantations ; oil of 
cinnamon ; statistics and exports from Ceylon, and prices realised ; re- 
duction of the duty ; extent of land under cultivation with the tree ; pro- 
grees of the culture in Java ; exports thence to Holland. Cassia Bark: 
species from whence derived ; imports, consumption and prices. Cassia 
Buds. Cassia Oil. Canella Alba. Cascarilla Bark. Cloves: descrip- 
tion and varieties of the tree. Produce in J ava. Introduction into the 
West Indies. Progress of the culture in Pinang and Singapore. The 
Clove plantations of Zanzibar. Imports and consumption of the United 
Kingdom. The Nutmeg : Botanical description. Dr. Oxley's ac- 
count of the cultivation and management of a plantation ; enemies of 
the tree. Produce and returns. Preparation of the nuts for market. 
Statistics of culture in the Straits Settlements. Memorandum on the 
duties on nutmegs. Exports of nutmegs from Singapore and Java. 
Imports into the United Kingdom, and consumption of wild and cul- 
tivated nutmegs and mace. Ginger : description and consumption of. 
Commercial distinction between black and white ginger. East and 
West India ginger, directions for cultivation. Shipments from Ja- 
maica. Comparison between the imports from the East and from the 
West. Total annual imports and consumption. Galangale Eoot. 
Cardamoms ; plants from which derived. Grains of Paradise. Mele- 
guetta, or Guinea pepper. Pepper : description of the vine ; range of 
the plant. Production of the World. The culture declining in Java. 
Extent of the production in Singapore. Exports from Ceylon. Its 
introduction into the Mauritius. Shipments from Singapore. Imports 
and consumption of the United Kingdom. Chillies and Cayenne 
Pepper : varieties of Capsicum. Pimento : description of the tree ; 
production of the spice limited to Jamaica. Imports and consumption. 
Vanilla: description of the plant. Its collection and preparation for the 
market. Commercial varieties. Tonquin beans. Turmeric : sources 
of supply. Commercial uses. Value of the Curry stuffs of the East. 
Imports and consumption. Ginseng: description of — demand for in 
China, exports from America, and commercial value. Canary, Corian- 
der, mustard and anise seeds. Putchuk, or Costus. Lignum Aloes, 
and fragrant woods. 



SECTION IV. — Dyes and Coloring Stupfs and Tanning Substances 439 
Importance and value of these substances to our manufacturing interests. 
New specimens and materials recently produced. Miscellaneous 
notices of useful plants. Lana Dye. Prices of Dyewoods. Eed 
Sanders Wood. Fustic. Sappan Wood, Camwood and Barwood. Im- 
ports of Dyewoods. Arnatto. Commercial kinds. Cultivation and 
manufacture. Imports, consumption and prices. Chayroot. Wood 
Dyes. Mangrove Bark. Sumach. Statistics of imports and prices. 



CONTENTS. 



Safflower. Gamboge. Common native dyes. Indigo; plants which 
produce it. Commercial sources of supply. Cultivation in Central 
America, in Jamaica and the West Indies ; once an important crop in 
the United States. The indigo plant a common weed in many parts 
of Africa. Cultivation in India. Classification of the dye-stuff. Lo- 
calities best suited to its production. Process of Manufacture. Annual 
production in the East Indies ; adaptation of Ceylon. Extent of the 
culture in Java ; annual exports therefrom ; imports and consumption. 
Maddee : extent of the demand for. Enormous profit of the cultivation; 
system of harvesting and manufacture. Large supplies received from 
France. Mtjnjeet, or Indian madder, deserving of more consideration. 
Logwood, Fustic, Quercitron. Brazil "Wood. Lichens eoe, Dyeing. 
Henna. Orchilea Weed. Chemical examination of the coloring princi- 
ples of the Lichens. Barks for Tanning : cursory notice of a variety 
of suitable barks. Proportions of tannin yielded by different barks. 
Catechu : definition of, and whence derived. Gambier Plant: cultiva- 
tion in Singapore ; returns from a plantation. Different qualities of 
extract and mode of obtaining it. Places of manufacture ; average 
produce. Terra Japonica, a misnomer. Cutch, another name for Cate- 
chu. Statistics of imports and consumption ; the amount and value 
of Gambier from Singapore. Divi-Divi : description of. Cork. Tree 
Bark. Mimosa Bark. Valuable native barks of New Zealand. Man- 
grove bark. Myrobalans. Kino : definition of ; sources from whence 
obtained. Yalonia : statistics of, consumption and prices. 



SECTION V. — Oleaginous Plants and those Yielding Fixed or 

Essential Oils ... ... ... ... ... ... 509 

General Remarks. Extensive demand for Oils. Proportion of oil fur- 
nished by various seeds. Richness of Indian seeds in oil. Rape Oil. 
Domba Oil. The Earth or Ground Nut, its extensive cultivation 
for food and oil. Tea oil. Tobacco seed oil. Poppy oil. Tallicoonah 
oil. Carap oil. Macaw oil. Madia sativa. Cecum oil. Candle Tree. 
Cinnamon Suet. Croton oil. Oil of Ben. Palm Oil : progress of the 
African trade. Imports into Liverpool. Quantity retained for home 
consumption. Statistics of ; imports of the four principal vegetable 
oils. Olive Oil : description of the tree and its varieties ; its cultiva- 
tion attempted in the United States. Preservation of the fruit. Ex- 
pression of the oil. Range of prices. Frequently adulterated with 
cheaper oils. Annual imports and consumption. Almond Oil. 
Sesame, or Teel Oil. Various species cultivated in the East. Large 
exports of the seed from India ; native oil mills ; processes of expres- 
sion and manufacture. Sunflower oil. Margose. or Neem oil. lUepe 
oil. Vegetable butter. Candle nut tree. Colza oil. Vegetable Wax. 
The Candleberry myrtle. The Castor Oil Plant : manufacture of 
the oil in the East and West Indies. Extent of the imports annually. 
The oil-cake for manure. Kanari oil. The Coco-nut Palm : descrip- 
tion of the tree ; its various and important uses. Varieties of this 
palm met with. Wide range of the plant. Directions for its "culture ; 
profits derived from plantations ; great attention paid to them in Cey- 
lon. Commercial value of its products. Statistics of culture in Pinang. 
Natural enemies of the tree. Copperah and Poonac. Statistical returns 
connected with its products in Ceylon. Imports and consumption of 
coco-nut oil. Comparison of the consumption of the chief vegetable 
oils of commerce. The value and uses of oil-cake for cattle-feeding. 
Volatile, or Essential Oils : description of the most important. 
Oil of peppermint. Process of obtaining the perfumed oils. Cultiva- 
tion of Roses in the East and preparation of Attar. Lemon-grass oil. 
Citronella oil. Patchouly. Saponaceous Plants. 



COOTEKTS. 



X 



SECTION VI. — Drugs, Incl-ddhstg Narcotics and other Medicinal 
Substances ... ... ... ... ... 5 

The Coca Plant. CoccuIus Indicus. Betel Leaf. The Areca Palm ; 
extensive use of the nuts in the East as a masticatory. Narcotic proper- 
ties. Catechu, or Cutch; its astringent properties. Davy's analysis. Value 
of the Areca nuts exported from Ceylon. The Poppy : increasing con- 
sumption of Opium in this country. Production of the Drug in India. 
Large revenue derived therefrom. Variety of the poppy grown ; sys- 
tem of culture pursued. Various modes of consuming opium. Its 
preparation and manufacture descrihed. Commercial varieties met with. 
Requisites for the successful culture of the poppy for opium. The 
Tobacco Plant ; species cultivated. Loudon's classification. Ana- 
lyses of various samples of tobacco ; statistics of the culture in Brazil ; 
extent of the consumption ; considerations of revenue ; memorial of 
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. Comparative consumption of tea, 
coffee and tobacco, i^erhead. Imports and duty received on tobacco in 
the last five years. Consumption checked in England and France by 
the high duties. Imports, sales, and stocks, in Bremen for 10 years. 
Culture and statistics in the United States. Quantity exported from 
1821 to 1850. Countries from whence we received our supplies in 
1850. Particulars of the tobacco trade in 1850 and 1853. Mode of 
culture pursued in Virginia. General instructions for the planter. 
Information as to growing Cuba tobacco. History of the trade and 
cultivation in Cuba. Statistics of exports from the Havana. Culture 
of tobacco in the East. Analysis of tobacco soils. Progress of culti- 
vation and shipments in Ceylon. Manila tobacco and cigars. Produc- 
tion in the Islands of the Archipelago. Suggestions and directions for 
tobacco culture in New South Wales. Its value and extensive use as 
a sheep wash. Excellence of the product and manufacture in New 
South Wales ; culture of tobacco in South Australia. Miscellaneous 
Drugs. Poisons. Aloes: varieties of the plant; culture and manufac- 
ture in Socotra, Barbados, and the Cape Colony. Asafcetida. Camphor. 
Cinchona Bark: commercial varieties of. CalumbaRoot. Colocynth. 
CuBEBS. Gamboge. Gentian. Ipecacuan. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



TtiE ATant of a practical work treating of tlie cultivation and ma- 
nufacture of tlie chief Agricultural Productions of the Tropics and 
Foreign Countries, has long been felt, for not even separate essays 
are to be met with on very many of the important subjects treated 
of in this volume. 

The requirements of several friends proceeding to settle in the 
Colonies, and wishing to devote themselves to Cotton culture, 
Coffee planting, the raising of Tobacco, Indigo, and other agricul- 
tural staples, first called my attention to the consideration of this 
fertile and extensive field of investigation. 

Professor Solly, in one of the series of Lectures on the results 
of the Great Exhibition, delivered before the Society of Arts, 
early last year, made some practical remarks bearing on the 
subject : — 

" If (he said) you were to place before any manufacturer specimens of all 
tlie substances wbicli could be employed in his particular manufacture, and if 
you could tell him from whence each could be procured, its cost, the quantities 
in which he might obtain it, and its physical and chemical properties, he would 
soon be able to select for himself the one best suited for his purposes. This, 
however, has never happened in relation to any one art ; in every case manu- 
facturers have had to make the best of the materials which chance or accident 
has brought before them. It is strange and startling, but nevertheless per- 
fectly true, that even at the present time there are many excellent and abun- 
dant productions of nature with which not only our manufacturers, but, in 
some instances, even our men of science, are wholly unacquainted. There is 
not a single booh published xvhich gives even tolerably complete information on 
any one of the different classes of vegetable rato produce at present under our con- 
sideration. The truth of these remarks will be felt strongly by any one who 
takes ihe trouble to examine any of these great divisions of raw materials. 
He will obtain tolerably complete information respecting most of those substances 
which are known in trade and commerce ; but of the greater number of those 
not known to the broker, he will learn little or nothing. Men of science, for 
the most part, look down upon such knowledge. The practical uses of any 
substances, the wants and difficulties of the manufacturer, are regarded as mere 
trade questions, vulgar and low — simpb questions of money. On the other 
hand, mere men of business do not feel the want of such knowledge, because, 
in the first place, they are ignorant of its existence, and secondly, because they 
do not see how it could aid them or their business ; and if it should happen 
that an enterprising manufacturer desires to learn something of the cultivation 
and production of the raw material with which he works, he generally finds 
it quite impossible to obtain any really sound and useful information. In snch 
cases, if he is a man of energy and of capital, he often is at the cost of sending 

B 



2 



INTRODUCTOET. 



out a perfectly qualified person to some distant part of the globe, to learn for 
him those practical details which he desires to know. This is no uncommon 
thing ; and many cases might be stated, showing the great advantages which 
have arisen to those who have thus gained a march upon their neighbours." 

The Society of Arts, appreciating the importance of from time 
to time encouraging the introduction of new and improved pro- 
ducts from our Indian and Colonial Possessions, has offered many- 
gold medals as premiums for a great variety of staples from abroad. 

The Grreat Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations brought 
together an immense variety of productions from tropical re- 
gions, of which the English public were comparatively ignorant. 
Attracting public attention, as these necessarily did, information 
on the best modes of cultivating and manufacturing them will be 
pecaliarly valuable to the colonists, and is as eagerly sought after 
by many brokers, merchants and manufacturers at home. 

In consequence of the recent liberal policy of Grreat Britain, 
the competition of foreign countries, the want of cheap and abim- 
dant labor, and other causes, those chief staples, Sugar and Coffee, 
which for a series of years formed the principal and almost exclusive 
articles of production in our colonies, and which had met with a 
ready and remunerative sale in the British markets, have either 
fallen off to an alarming extent, or become so reduced in price as 
scarcely to repay the cost of cultivation. The partial abandonment 
of the cultivation of these staples in our colonies has had the effect 
of crippling the agricultural and commercial enterprise of several of 
our most valuable foreign possessions, and throwing out of employ- 
ment a number of persons : it behoves us, therefore, to direct atten- 
tion to some of the many minor articles in dem.and ; — to those indi- 
genous or exotic products of the soil in tropical regions, w^hich, 
being inexpensive in cultivation and manufacture, might be under- 
taken with a moderate outlay of labor and capital, and the cer- 
tainty of a ready and remunerative sale in the European markets ; 
and could moreover be attended to without neglecting or at all 
interfering with the cultivation of the leading staples. 

It is erident that the export wealth of tropical regions must be 
chiefly agricultural, the soil and climate being peculiarly fitted for 
the culture of fruits, trees and plants yielding oils, gums, starch, 
spices, and other valuable products, which no art can raise cheaply 
in more temperate latitudes. The large and continued emigration 
of farmers and other enterprising persons from Britain and the 
Continent to Natal, the Cape Colony, Northern Australia, 
Ceylon, the East India Company's Possessions and the Straits 
Settlements, Brazil, New Grranada, and the Central American 
Hepublics, Texas, the Southern States of North America, and 
other tropical and sub-tropical countries, renders information 
as to the agriculture and productions of those regions highly 
desirable. Even to the settlers in our "West Indian posses- 
sions, most of whom have too long pursued the old beaten track 
of culture and manufacture, comparatively regardless of modern 
improvements and the results of chemical, scientific, and practical 



mTROBUCTOEY. 



3 



investigation, recent information on all these subjects, and a 
comparison of the practices of different countries, cannot fail to 
be useful. 

There is much valuable information to be met with in detached 
papers and essays in the scientific periodicals of the day, and in 
colonial and other pubhcations ; such as the Transactions and 
Journals of the different agrieultm^al and horticultural societies of 
the East and West Indies, the United States, Australia, &c., but 
none readily accessible for easy reference, and which the new 
settler, proceeding ont to try his fortune in those fair and pro- 
ductive regions of the globe, can tui'n to as a hand book. I have 
had much experience in Tropical Agriculture, and for many years 
my attention has been mainly directed to this important subject, 
for which purpose I have kept up a large and extended correspon- 
dence with numerous agricultural, scientific and other societies 
abroad ; with experienced practical men, and have also received 
the leading journals of all the tropical Colonies. 

No one person could be expected to be thoroughly familiar with 
all the different mo.des of culture and preparation of every one of 
the numerous products to be described in. this volume ; but where 
my own agricultural experience (of several 3^ears in the West 
Indies and South America) was at fault, I have availed myself of 
the practical knowledge of those of my colonial friends and corres- 
pondents best informed on the subject, and am particularly fortn- 
nate in having many valuable essays on Tropical Agriculture 
scattered through the different volumes of my " Colonial Ma- 
gazine." 

The discussion of the best modes of culture, properties, ma- 
nufacture, consumption, uses, and value of the commercial products 
of the vegetable kingdom cannot be without its value, and the 
attention of merchants and planters may be usefully directed to 
various articles, which will be profitable both in an agricultural 
and commercial point of view ; many of which are already sources 
of wealth to other countries. 

The introduction of new objects of industry into the colonial 
dependencies of the British Empire, is no longer considered a mere 
subject of speculation, but one well worthy the attention of the 
eye of science; and the fostering hand of care is beginning to 
be held out to productions of nature and art, which, if not all 
equally necessary to the welfare of man, yet certainly merit 
the attention of the cultivator and capitalist, and have great claims 
on the scientific observer, and on those interested in raising the 
manufactures of our country to a higher standard. 

Eew who have not investigated this subject are aware of the 
immense number of countries lying in the equatorial and tropical 
ranges of the torrid zone, many of which, from the value and im- 
portance of their indigenous productions, have already attracted 
considerable notice, and to which still more attention will be di- 
rected by European nations as the value of their various products 
becomes more extensively known. 



4 



IlfTRODrCTORT. 



The homeward commerce which we carry on with our numerous 
Colonies, with our Indian Possessions, and with foreign countries, 
is principally in articles furnished by the vegetable kingdom, 
such as the cereal grains, wheat, rice, maize, &c. ; vegetables 
used in preparing dietetic drinks aud distilled liquors, as tea, coffee, 
cacao, and the sugar cane, grapes, &c. ; spices and condiments ; 
drugs ; dyes and tanning substances, obtained from the bark, 
leaves, fruit, and roots of various herbs and trees ; the expressed 
or distilled oils of different plants ; fruits in the green, di'ied, or 
preserved state ; starches obtained from the roots or trunks of many 
farinaceous plants ; fibrous substances used for cordage, matting, 
and clothing, as cotton, Indian hemp, flax, coco-nut coir, plantain 
and pine-apple fibre ; timber and fancy woods. These substances, 
in the aggregate, form at least nine-tenths in value of tlie whole 
imports of this country. There are also several products of the 
animal kingdom dependent on vegetable culture, which might be 
brought into this category, such as silk and cochineal. Y ery few 
of these products of the vegetable kingdom come to us in any 
other than an unmanufactured state ; they are shipped to this 
country as the chief emporium and factory of the world, either 
for re-export or to be prepared for consumption by the millions 
to Avhom they furnish employment, sustenance, and articles of 
clothing. 

It is a wise ordination of Providence, that the different nations 
of the earth are as it were mutually dependent on each other for 
many of the necessaries and luxuries of life, and the means of pro- 
gress and civilization. Commerce is thus extended, the various 
arts and manufactures improved by comparison and competi- 
tion ; and the acres yet untilled in distant lands hold out strong 
inducements for immigration, their climate and products affording 
health, freedom, and independence to the over-tasked and heavily 
taxed ai^tisan and agriculturist of Europe. Although the systems 
of tropical agriculture, generally pursued, are peculiar and effec- 
tive, yet there is no doubt that much improvement remains to be 
carried out in the practices adopted, in the implements employed^ 
and the machinery used for preparing the crops for shipment. In 
the British Isles our insulated position, limited extent of country, 
unsettled climate, and numerous population, aggregated in dense 
masses, have compelled us to investigate and avail ourselves of 
every improvement in agricid.ture, arts and manufactures, wliich 
experience, ingenuity, and a comparison with the customs of other 
countries, have placed at our disposal. 

If we except sandy deserts, and some of the interior ])ortions of 
the polar regions, it will be found that there is scarcety any 
country but what is capable of improvement. Indeed, so exten- 
sive are the resources of agriculture, that further improvements 
may be most easily effected. 

Let us then examine and ascertain what new objects may be 
improved upon, and if by our speculations only one single article, 
either for food or use, is added to those already in u^e, or those 



IXTRODUCTOEY. 



5 



that are already cultivated be improved upon, it is equivalent to 
an increase of our wealth. 

An eminent writer has truly remarked that " Agriculture is the 
parent of Manufactures, seeing that the productions of nature are 
the materials of ari." 

In the economy of Providence every fragment of creation seems 
to unfold, as man progresses in the arts of life, unbounded capa- 
bih'ties of adaptation to his every want. We have, indeed, daily 
illustration of the truth of that trite and homely adage, that 
" nothing is made in vain." 

That quaint old English poet, Herbert, who flourished in the 
fifteenth century, in a short poem on " Providence," has graphi- 
cally described, in his unique vein, the sentiment which forces 
itself upon us in view of the numerous discoveries of the age ir- 
which we live : — 

" All countries liave enough to serve their need. 
* * * * 

■ The Indian nut alone 

Is clothing, meat and trencher, drink and can. 
Boat, cable, sail, and needle, all in one." 

" The addition (it has been well observed) of even a single flower, 
or an ornamental shrub, to those which we already possess, is not 
to be regarded as a matter below the care of industry and science. 
The more we extend our researches into the productions of nature, 
the more are our minds elevated by contemplating the variety as 
well as the exceeding beauty and excellence of the works of tlie 
Creator." 

The mode of arrangement of the various subjects treated of in- 
volved some consideration ; two or three plans were open for 
adoption. 1st. To describe the several products in the order of 
their agricidtural importance or commercial value. 2nd. An 
alphabetical reference, in the style of a Dictionary or Encyclo- 
paedia ; and 3rd. Classifying them under subdivisions, according 
to their particular or chief uses. The last seemed to me the most 
desirable and efficient mode, although open to some objections, 
from the variety of uses to which different parts of many plants 
were applied. Some, as cotton, indigo, sugar, coffee, tea, &c., 
would readily fall into their proper division, but otliers, as the coco- 
nut, plantain, &c., from the varietj^ of their products, would 
come under several heads. I have, however, endeavoured to meet 
tiiis difficulty by placing each plant or tree under the section to 
which its most valuable production seemed naturally to refer it. 

There are very many plants and substances wMch have been 
passed over altogether, it being impossible, within the limits of a 
moderate sized volume, to bring under notice even a tithe of the 
valuable grasses, timber trees, cabinet woods, fruits, &c. ; and I 
have confined myself in a great measure to those which either 
already are, or might easily be rendered, articles of commerce 
of some importance. I have shown their present value by 
quoting the current prices, and brought down, as far as possible, 



G 



ITsTROPUCTORT. 



the statistics of each article to the close of last year, thus render- 
ing the work YaluabJe by commercial references which could not 
be found collectively elsewhere. 

There are some articles of commerce which could not pro- 
perly be treated of in a work intended as a guide on agricul- 
ture and husbandrj^, for the tropical planter and cultivator, who 
purposes devoting his attention to the raising of useful crops and 
plants on his estate. I^he forests and jungles of the tropics abound 
in products of an usefal character, the luxurious and spontaneous 
growth of nature, such as ebony, sandal wood, &c. ; but these must 
be sought for by a different class of settlers ; and the mahogany 
cutter of Honduras, the teak-feller of India, the gatherer of elastic 
gums, can scarcely be ranked with the cultivators of the soil. 

I had originally intended to confine my remarks to staples of 
tropical growth, but I have been induced to depart from my pre- 
scribed plan by the importance of some of the commercial pro- 
ducts of temperate regions, such as maple and beetroot sugar, 
wheat, the grain crops, aud potatoes. 

The system of agriculture, and modes of tillage, &c., of separate 
countries in the Eastern and "Western hemisphere, notwith«tand- 
ing their similarity of climate, are as opposite as if each country 
belonged to a different zone ; and yet much may be learned by one 
of the other. 

The only essentially useful division of seasons in countries within 
the tropics is into a wet and dry season, the former being the 
period of germination, the latter that of fructification. 

The implements of agriculture required are for the most part 
few and simple, for no high tillage is necessary, the luxuriance of 
vegetation being so great that most of the products of the soil will 
grow indiscriminately throughout the year, and the only care of the 
husbandman, after the first preparation of the soil, is to keep down 
the vast growth of weeds, which might stifle the crops. 

In tropical regions there is less demand for manures than in 
temperate climates, but still there are many additions to the soil 
that may profitably be made. 

Firstly, that most important principle, which has only receutly 
been practically inculcated, is in too many quarters entirely 
neglected, namely, returning to the soil the component parts 
taken ofi* by various crops, and which is so generally practised in 
all good agricultural districts, by a careful rotation of crops. 
Liebig has well pointed out this : " It must be admitted (he says), 
as a principle of agriculture, that those substances which have 
been removef^ from a soil must be completely restored to it ; and 
whether this restoration be effected by means of excrements, 
ashes, or bones, is in a great measure a matter of indifference." 
Again he remarks, " We could keep our fields in a constant state 
of fertility by replacing every year as much as we remove from 
them in the form of produce ; but an increase of fertility, and con- 
sequent increase of crop, can only be obtained when we add more 
to them than we take away." Of all natural manures, therefore. 



IIS^TEODUCTORY. 



7 



fclie best for eacli description of plant is its own refuse, or ashes ; 
enough of these can seldom, however, be obtained. But, as far as 
they can be restored, this principle is beginning to be acted upon 
bj the sugar planters of the West Indies, who employ the waste 
leaves and ashes of the expressed stalk of the cane, after it has 
been used as fuel, to manure their cane-fields. Tlie vine growers 
of Grermany and the Cape also bury the cuttings of their vines 
around the roots of the plants. The cinnamon grower of the East 
returns the waste bark and cuttings of the shoots to the soil. 
And in the coco- nut groves of Ceylon, the roots of the trees are 
best manured with the husks of the nuts and decomposed poonac, 
or the refuse cake, after the oil has been expressed from the pulp. 
Analysis of soils is, perhaps, not so essential in countries where 
virgin land is usually in abundance, and the luxuriance of vegeta- 
tion furnishes itself, by decomposition, abundant materials for 
replenishing the fertility of the soil. But there are some sub- 
stances, such as muriate of soda, gypsum, phosphate, and other 
compounds of lime, which may be advantageous^ applied. Guano 
and expensive artificial manures, are seldom required, and, indeed, 
will not repay the planters for importing. 

An experienced cultivator can generally judge by a superficial 
examination, aided by the situation, locality, and appearance of the 
soil, whether a certain portion of land is fitted for the profitable 
growth of any particular plant. Depth of soil, and facilities for 
deepening it, with the nature of the subsoil, so as to know whe- 
ther it retains or parts with water, are also important considera- 
tions, because tap-rooted plants require free scope for penetrating- 
deep into the groi,md. 

A due supply of water is of vital importance to most crops — ■ 
and therefore the extent and periods of the fall of rain are 
essential to be known, as it is not always possible to resort to 
irrigation. The quantity of labor required for previous tillage, 
cultivation, and harvesting of different crops, and the available 
supply, are primary essentials to be considered before entering 
upon the culture of any staple product, however remunerative it 
may appear in prospective. Eacility and cost of transport to the 
nearest market or shipping port are the next desiderata to be 
ascertained, as well as a careful estimate of the cost of plant 
or machinery necessary. 

It may be desirable at the outset to make a brief enumeration 
of the countries lying within the different zones, and the agricul- 
tural products of which come, therefore, more especially under 
the notice of the tropical planter. 

Meyen, in his division of the horizontal range of vegetation 
into zones, extends — 

1. The equatorial zone to fifteen degrees on both sides of the 
equator. In this division we shaU find the Cape Yerd Islands, 
Sierra Leone, Ascension, and St. Helena, the E-epublic of Liberia, 
the European and native settlements in the Grulf of Gruinea, and 
on the Western Coast of Africa, Abyssinnia, Zanzibar on the 



8 



IIS^TRODUCTOEY. 



East Coast, Mocha and Aden in tlie E-ed Sea, tlie northern portion 
of Madagascar, the Seychelles, the Madras Presidency, ISTorth- 
ern India, Ceylon and the JSTicobar Islands, Sumatra, Siam, 
Malacca, Singapore and the Straits Settlements, Cochin China, 
the Phillippine Islands, Borneo, Celebes and the Moluccas, Java 
and Madura, Banca, the Johore Archipelago, Timor and the 
eastern group of Islands, with New Guinea^ a large portion 
of Northern Australia, the Marquesas, Society's and other oceanic 
islands. In South America the Republics of Peru, Bolivia, 
Ecuador, New Grranada, and Venezuela, British, French and 
Dutch Gruiana, and a large portion of the empire of Brazil ; 
Trinidad, Barbados, and most of the islands in the Carribean 
Sea. 

This zone has a mean temperature of 78^ to 82 J Eahrenheit. 

2. The tropical zone reaches from the 15th cleg, on each side of 
the equ.ator to the tropics in 23 lat. The mean temperature is 
73 J to 78f deg. Summer temperature 80 1 to 86 cleg. ; winter 
temperature in the eastern coast districts, 59 deg. 

In this region is comprised the following countries : — Sandwich 
Isles, Canton, in province of China, Burmah, Calcutta, and a portion 
of the Bengal Presidency, the "Bombay Presidency, Madagascar, 
Mauritius and Bourbon; the southern portion of Brazil, Cuba, 
St. Domingo, Mexico, and Central America. 

3. The sub-tropical zone extends from the tropics 23 to 34 deg. 
of latitude. There are a number of tropical fruits in this region. 
The winters are mild and vegetation is green throughout the year. 
In the northern division of the zone palms and bananas grow on 
the plains. In this region is comprised all the extreme northern 
portions of Africa, coasting the Mediterranean, comprising 
Algiers and the Barbary States, Egypt, part of Persia, Cabool 
and the Punjab ; the greater portion of China, Lower California, 
Texas, the South- Western States of America, the Bermudas, the 
Cape Colony and Natal, New South AVales, Southern and "Western 
Australia — the Groverument settlements in the Northern Island 
of New Zealand, the largest portion of Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay 
and the Argentine Eepublics, the Provinces of Brazil from St. 
Paul to B-io Grrande, Madeira and the Canary Isles. 

To define accurately the conditions of temperature which a 
plant requires to maintain it in a flourishing condition we must 
ascertain within what limits its period of vegetation, may vary, 
and what quantity of heat it requires. This most remarkable 
circumstance was first observed by Boussingault, but unfortunately 
we do not as yet possess sufficiently accurate accounts of the con- 
ditions of culture in the various regions of the earth, to enable us 
to follow out this ingenious view in all its details. His theory is, 
that the time required by a plant to arrive at maturity is as the 
inverse ratio of the temperature ; therefore, knovTing the mean 
temperature of any place, and the number of days which a plant 
takes to ripen, the time required a.t any other poi]it more or 
less elevated, can easily be ascertained. Peter Purry, a native of 



HS^TEODTJCTOEY, 



9 



Switzerland, who settled in Charleston in the eighteenth century, 
in a memorial to the Duke of JSTewcastle, then Secretary of State, 
sets out with this postulate, that " there is a certain latitude on 
our globe, so happily tempered between the extremes of heat and 
cold, as to be more particularly adapted than any other for certain 
rich productions of the earth; among which are silk, cotton, 
indigo," &c. — and he fixes on the latitude of 33 deg., whether north 
or south, as the one of that peculiar character. 

The following Table, showing the climate, duration and pro- 
daction of certain plants cultivated in tropical America, is from 
the proceedings of the Agricultural Society of Grenada. The second 
column gives the altitude in English yards above the level of the 
sea. The third, the mean temperature by Fahrenheit's thermo- 
meter. The fourth, the average time required to commence bear- 
ing. The fifth, the number of plants in a Spanish "fanegada" 
of 170 varras, about 153 square yards. The sixth, the average 
duration of each plant. The seventh, the average produce of each 
plant in the year : — • 





2 

Level of the 
Sea, to 


3 

Mn. Temp. 
Deg. Min. 


4 

Time 
required. 


5 

No. of 
plants. 


6 

Years. 


7 

Average 
produce. 


bacao \llieooro- 


•587 yds. } 


81-17 

46 00 


61: yrs. 


1156 


40 


l^lb. per 
tree. 












Plantain ( 7,-/^. | 


630 vds. to 
1077 


81-17 
46-00 
40-61 


9mtlis. 
11 „ 


3613 


30 


50 plan- 
tains. 


Indian Corn i 
{Zca Jlays) . . . . \ 


1077 

1260tol890 
2880 


81-17 
40-61 
36to37-S0 

25-20to27 


90 days 
110 „ 
120 „ 
180 „ 


28,900 


An- 
nual. 


238 for 
every seed 
planted. 


Manioc or | 
Cassava | 


1077 
1195 


81.17 
40-61 

43 00 


lOmths. 
12 „ 
120 days 


28,900 


Bicen- 
nial . 


One cassa- 
va weighing 
•|lb. and I 
oz. starch. 


Coco nut i^Co- 
cos nucifera) .... 


630 


81-17 

46 00 


5 yrs. 
6 


452 


60 


4 bottles 
oil per tree. 


Tobacco (Ni- I 


630 
1077 
1980 


81-17 
46-00 
40-61 
33-30 


150 days 
170 „ 
180 „ 
225 „ 


28,900 


An- 
nual. 


h lb. dried 
to each 5 
plants. 


Cotton [Gos- S 
sypium.) | 


630 
i077 
1415 


81-17 
46-00 
40-61 
34-61 


6i mths. 
7 „ 

' 2 5) 


28,900 


31 


1 lb. nett 
per plant. 


Coffee {Coffea { 

L 


230 
630 

1077to2250 
2453 


47 
46 

37-80 to 
39-60 
33-30 


24 mths. 

25 „ 
28 „ 
36 „ 


5,300 


45 


1| lb. per 
tree. 



10 



IXTHODUCTOET. 





2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 




Level of the 
Sea, to 


Deg. Min. 




]S"o. of 
plants. 


Years. 


Average 
produce- 


Sugar cane ( 
{Saccharim offi- < 
citvarum.) . . . . ( 


630 
1080 


84-17 
46-00 
41-40 


llniths. 
12 „ 
14 „ 


28,900 


5 


10 per cnt. 
sugar upon 
the -weight 
of the raw- 
cane. 


Indigo {Indi- ( 
gofer a tmctoria.) | 


90 
630 
1077 


48-60 
46-00 
40-61 


91 
3 „ 


57,800 




70 plants 
produce lib. 
coloring 
matter. 


Potato {Sola- ( 
num tuberosum.) \ 


1080 
1 nor* 

2700 


38-70 

66 oU 

27-00 


140 days 
Ibo „ 
210 „ 


ilD,DUU 


An- 
nual. 


4i]b. each 
plant. 


Wheat {Triti- ( 
cum aestivum.) | 


567 
1170 
2520 


42-30 
38-70 
32-99 


80 „ 
100 

120 „ 


57,800 


An- 
nual. 


37 for 
every seed 
planted. 



The plantain bears at 1,529 yards, in a temperature of 61 deg. 
Pahrenlieit, and requires fifteen months, but its cultivation 
is of little benefit in so high a latitude. It is the same with the 
cassava root. The cane at 1,160 altitude, in a temperature of 66 
deg., gives no sugar ; and indigo at 1,620 aflbrds no coloring 
matter. 



SECTION I. 



DRIED LEAVES, SEEDS, AXD OTHER SUBSTAIN'CES USED IN THE 
PREPARATION OF POPULAR DIETETIC BEVERAGES. 

1^0 substances are so essentially necessary to mankind, or form 
such important articles of connnerce, as those which we come first 
to consider, the dietetic products — cacao, coffee, tea, and sugar. 
The consumption of these in all civilized countries is immense, 
notwithstanding that in many they have been fettered with heavy 
fiscal duties. The investigation of the culture of the plants from 
which they are obtained, and the manufacture of the products, is 
a very curious object of research. 

CACAO OE COCOA. 

The chocolate nuts or seeds, termed cacao, are the fruit of species 
of Theohroma, an evergreen tree, native of the Western Conti- 
nent. That commonly grown is T. cacao; but Lindley enumerates 
two other species, T. bicolor, a native of JSTew Grranada; and 
T. Guianensis, with yellow flowers, a native of G-uiana. The seeds 
being nourishing and agreeable to most people, are kept in the 
luajority of houses in America, as a part of the provisions of the 
family. By pressure they yield fatty oil, called butter of cacao. 
They also contain a crystalliue principle analagous to cafteine, 
called theobromine. The common cacao of the shops consists 
generally of the roasted beans, and sometimes of the roasted in- 
teguments of the beans, ground to powder. The consumption of 
cacao in the United Kingdom is about three millions of pounds 
annually, yielding a revenue of £15,500. Pew tropical products 
are more valuable or more useful as food to man than cacao. It 
is without any exception the cheapest food that we can conceive, 
and were it more generally employed, so that the berries should 
not be inore than two, three, or, at most, six months old, from the 
time of gathering (for, if kept longer, they lose their nutritive 
properties), even a smaller quantity than that usually taken in a cup 
would suffice : in fact, cacao cannot be too new. The cacao beans 
lie in a fruit somevrhat like a cucumber, about five inches long and 
three-and-a-half inches thick, which contains from twenty to thirty 



12 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



beans, arranged in j&ve regular rows with partitions between, and 
which are surrounded with a rose-colored spongy substance, like 
that of water melons. There are fruits^ however, so large as to 
contain from forty to fifty beans. Those grown in the West 
India islands, as well as Berbice and Demerara, are much smaller, 
and have only from six to fifteen; their development being less 
perfect than other parts of South America. After the matura- 
tion of the fruit, when their green colour has changed to a dark 
yellow, they are plucked, opened, their beans cleared of the 
marrowy substance, and spread out to dry in the air. In the 
"West Indies they are immediately packed up for the market when 
they are dried ; but in Caraccas they are subjected to a species of 
slight fermentation, by putting them into tubs or chests, covering 
them with boards or stones, and turning them over every morning 
to equalize the operation. They emit a good deal of moisture, 
and lose the natural bitterness and acrimony of their taste by 
this process, as well as some of their weight. Instead of wooden 
tubs, pits or trenches dug in the ground are sometimes had 
recourse to for curing the beans ; an operation called earthing. 
They are, lastly, exposed to the sun and dried. According to 
Lampadius, the kernels of the West India cacao beans contain 
in 100 parts, besides water, 53.1 of fat or oil, 16.7 of an albu- 
minous brown matter, vvhich contains all the aroma of the bean ; 
10.91 of starch, 7|- of gum or mucilage, 0.9 of lignine, and 2.01 
of a reddish dye-stufi", somewhat akm to the pigment of cochi- 
neal. The husks form 12 per cent, of the weigLt of the beans. 
The fatty matter is of the consistence of tallow, white, of a mild 
agreeable taste, and not apt to turn rancid by keeping. It melts 
only at 112 degrees Pahr., and should, therefore, make tolerable 
candles. It is obtained by exposing the beans to strong pressure 
in canvas bags, after they have been steamed or soaked in boiling 
water for some time. Erom five to six ounces of butter may be . 
thus obtained from a pound of cacao. It has a reddish tinge 
when first expressed, but it becomes white by boiling with water. 

The beans, being freed from all spoded and mouldy portions, are 
to be gently roasted over a tire in an iron cylinder, with holes in 
its ends for allowing the vapors to escape, the apparatus being- 
similar to a coffee -roaster. When the aroma begins to be well 
developed, the roasting is known to be finished, and the beans 
must be turned out, cooled, and freed by fanning and sifting from 
their husks. The kernels are then to be converted into a paste, 
either by trituration in a mortar heated to 130 degrees Fahr., or 
by a pow^erful mill.* 

The cacao tree resembles our dwarf apple tree both in body 
and branches, but the leaf, which is of a dai'k green, is consider- 
ably broader and larger. The nuts are of the color and about 
the size of an almond, and hang eighteen to thirty together by a 
slender stringy film, enclosed in a pod. A ripe pod is of a beau- 
tiful yellow, intermixed with crimson streaks ; when dried, it 
* lire's Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures. 



CA.CAO on COCOA. 



13 



slirivels up and changes to a deep brovrn; the juice squeezed from 
the mucilaginous pulp contained in the husks of these nuts ap- 
pears like cream, and has a very grateful taste of a cordial quality. 
The nuts have a light pleasant smell, and an unctuous, bitterish, 
roughish (not ungrateful) taste. Those of jN'icaragua and Ca- 
racas are the most agreeable and are the largest ; those of the 
Erench Antilles, and our own West India islands, are the most 
unctuous. 

The Mexicans, in preparing the chocolate paste, add some long- 
pepper, a little annatto, and lastly vanilla ; some add cinnamon, 
cloves and anise, and those who love perfumes, musk and ambergris. 

The finest American cacao is said to be that of Soconusco, but 
the principal imports are from Caracas and Gruayaquil, which is 
of a very good quality. The province of Barcelona, adjoining 
Caracas exports annually from 200,000 to 300,000 cwt. 

The very large shipments from Gruayaquil are shown by the 
following return. Of this quantity Spain takes the largest portion, 
Mexico the next, and England receives but a very small quantity. 

Cacao exported from Guayaquil : — 

lbs. lbs. 

1833 . . . 6,605,786 1837 . . . 8,520,121 

1834 . . . 10,999,853 1838 . . . 7,199,057 

1835 . . . 13,800,851 1839 . . . 12,159,787 

1836 . . . 10,918,565 1840 . . . 14,266,942 

The exports of cacao from the port of La Guayra, has been as 
follows in the years ending December 31, 

Fanegas. 

1850 .... 40,181 

1851 .... 47,951 

1852 .... 54,083 

Five fanegas are equal to one English quarter. The price of 
cacao was, at the close of 1852, sixteen dollars the fanega. 

The province of Caracas, according to Humboldt, at the end of 
the last century, produced annually 150,000 fanegas of cacao, of 
which two-thirds were exported to Spain, and the remainder lo- 
cally consumed. The shipments from the port of La Gruayra 
alone averaged 83,000 to 100,000, or nearly double the present 
shipments. In the early part of the present centi;u?y the captain- 
generalship of Caracas produced nearly 200,000 fanegas, of which 
about 115,000 were sent direct to Eiu-ope. The province of Ca- 
racas then produced 150,000 fanegas; Maracaibo, 20,000; Cu- 
mana, 18,000, and New Barcelona, 5,000. 

The vallies of Aragua, in the province of Caracas, those of 
Cariaco, Carapano, of Eio Caribe and the banks of the river 
Caroni, in Spanish Guiana, produce excellent cacoa in abundance. 

The tree there bears fruit in four years after it has been 
planted, the following year still more, and increases in fecundity 
until the ninth or tenth year, when it is in full bearing. 

The banks of the Magdalena, in the vicinit}^ of Santa Martha 
and Carthagena, are famed for the excellent cacao they produce. 
"This tree," says Bonnycastle (Spanish America, vol. 1, p. 257), 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



" is indigenous, seldom exceeds the diameter of seven inches, and 
is extremely beautiful when laden with its fruit, which are dis- 
posed on short stalks over the stem and round the great branches, 
resembling citrons, from their yellow color, and warty appearance. 
The leaves are attenuate, stalked, drooping, about a foot long and 
three inches broad, elliptic, oblong, pointed, slightly wavy, entire, 
and very smooth on both sides ; with one mid-rib and many 
transverse ones, connected by innumerable veins. The petals of 
the flower are yellow, the calyx of a light rose-color, and the 
flowers themselves are small and placed on tufts on the sides of 
the branches, with single footstalks, about an inch long. Its 
fruit is red, or a mixture of red and yellow, and about three inches 
in diameter, with a fleshy rind half-an-inch thick ; the pnlp is 
whitish and of the consistence of butter, containing the seed ; 
these seeds are generally twenty-five in number in each fruit, and 
when first gathered are of a flesh color, and form a nice preserve 
if taken just before they are ripe. Each tree yields about two or 
three pounds of fruit annually, and comes to maturity the third 
year after planting from the seed ; it also bears leaves, flowers, or 
fruit all the year round, the usual seasons for gathering being 
June and December. The excellence of the Magdalena chocolate 
may be attributed to the moist nature of the soil, as the plant 
never thrives where the ground is hard and dry, or cannot be 
irrigated." 

Mode of cultivation ii% the ColomMaii Mepublics — Plantations of 
cacao were speedily multiplied in Colombia, and the soil so 
admirably seconded the labors of the planter, that in the pro- 
duce abundance was united to excellence. The cacao of this 
quarter ranks next to that of Socouusco. It is well known that 
the best commercial recommendation of cacao is that of coming 
from Caracas. But even in these provinces the quality varies. 
The cacao of Orituco is superior to that of other places, and a 
quantity of equal bulk weighs twenty per cent. more. The cacao 
of the coast comes next, and obtains a preference over that of 
the interior. 

The plantations of cacao are all to the north of the chain of 
mountains which coast the sea, and in the interior country. The 
former extend from Cumana to the mouth of the Tocaj'-go ; the 
latter are situate in the vallies of Tuy, Orituco, Ocumare, Cura, 
Marrin, Tare, Santa Theresa, Santa Lucia, Zuapna, Santa Philippe, 
Barquisimeto, Yalencia, Gruige and Cariaco. 

All kinds of soil are not equally adapted to the culture of cacao, 
still less are all_ exposures ; but an analysis of the soil destined to 
this culture never furnishes indications on which reliance can be 
placed. No regard should be had to color or composition ; it is 
only requisite that it should be friable to a certain depth, which is 
ascertained by the size of the trees with which it is covered ; this 
sign determines the land proper for cacao. 

A suitable situation is not so easily found. It should be exposed 
as little as possible to the north, and be on the borders of a river, 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



15 



which may communicate moisture to the soil in dry seasons, 
and receive its drainings in times of rain. A preference is par- 
ticularly to be given to land which can receive from the river the 
benefits of iiTigation TNithout being exposed to injury from its 
overflow. 

After having chosen the land, it should be cleared of all trees, 
shrubs, and other plants. This operation is performed in various 
ways. It is customary in Colombia to commence felling the 
trees immediately after the rains, that is, about the month of 
November; the wood, after being cut, is left to dry, then collected 
in heaps and burnt. 

As soon as the new plantation is cleared, it is crossed with 
small ditches, in directions according to the declivity of the soil. 
These serve to drain the stagnant waters, to carry off the rains, 
and to irrigate or water the soil whenever necessary. The aligne- 
ment is then laid out, in which the cacao trees are to be arranged. 
They are planted in triangles or squares. In either case, there is 
always in the centre an alley, bordered by cacao trees, and running 
from east to west. When they are planted in squares, this alley 
is crossed by another rimning from north to south. The cacao 
plants should be placed at fifteen or sixteen feet (French measure) 
from each other, in good soil ; and about thirteen or fourteen feet 
in soil of inferior quality. 

This is almost the only tree in nature to which the enliveniug 
beams of the sun are obnoxious. It requires to be sheltered from 
their ardour ; and the mode of combining this protection with the 
principles of fertility, forms a very essential part of the skill 
which its cultivation demands. The cacao tree is mingled with 
other trees, which guard it from the rays of the sun, without 
depriving it of the benefit of their heat. The Erytlivina and the 
banana are employed for this purpose. The latter, by the rapidity 
of its growth, and the magnitude of its leaves, protect it for the 
first year. The erythriua endures at least as long as the cacao ; 
it is not every soil, however, that agrees with it. It perishes after 
a while in sandy and clayey ground, but it flourishes in such as 
combine those two ingredients. 

In the Antilles this protection cannot be given to cacao, as it 
would expose the plantation to destruction by every hurricane. 
Besides, the cacao succeeds but indifferently there, and is much 
less oily than in other parts. 

The quality of the soil, and the species of the erythrina, should 
determine the distance at which they ought to be placed. That 
kind which the Spaniards call hiicare anaveo, is planted in a fertile 
soil, at the distance of two alleys, that is to say, at each second 
range of cacao trees. That which they call hucare peonio,\^ placed 
at three alleys in good soils (about forty-eight French feet). 

The former species of erythrina is that which elevates itself the 
highest. The second species has many thorns, the upper surface 
of the leaf is darker and the lower whiter. Both kinds should be 
cut in the wane of the moon, and remain in the shade until its 



16 



Cacao oe cocoa. 



increase, at whicli time thev should be planted. It is muct pre- 
ferable, however, to take them from a mu^sery. 

In one range of cacao trees a banana is placed between two 
cacaos, and an erythrina between the two following. In the other 
range a banana is placed between each cacao tree, and no erjthrinas, 
so that the latter are at the distance of two alleys. The banana 
and the erythrina are first planted, and when a shelter from the 
sun is thus prorided, the hole for the cacao is made, around which 
are planted four stalks of the yucca plant, at the distance of two feet 
from each other. At the end of two months the cacao is planted. 
The smaller the plant is, the better. There are, nevertheless, soils 
subject to worms where the small plants do not thrive ; but, ex- 
cepting in this particular, the small plants are preferable, because 
the large require more labor for their transportation and plant- 
ing ; many of them die, and those which survive bud and shoot 
forth, but are never of any value. 

The cacao plant should not exceed thii^ty-six inches in size when 
transplanted ; if larger, it succeeds with difficulty, as will be 
shown. 

The nurseries of cacao demand an excellent soil, well prepared, 
where the water does not remain. They should be well sheltered 
from the sun. Small knolls of earth are formed, in each of which 
are put two seeds of cacao, in such a manner that they are pa- 
rallel with the level of the ground. During the first twenty days 
the seeds are covered with two layers of banana or other leaves. 
If necessary, the ground is watered ; but the water is not suffered 
to remain. The most suitable time for sowing is in JN^ovember. 

AVhere there is not a facility for watering, the planting of the 
cacao should take place in the rainy season ; but when the former 
is practicable, it is best to plant in dry weather and assist nature 
by irrigation, since it is then in the power of the cultivator to 
give the exact quantity of moisture necessary. But, in all cases, 
care should be taken that the plants are not wet in the interval 
between their being taken out of the ground and replanted. 

When the bananas grow old, they should be carefully felled, 
lest the cacaos should be injured by their accidental fall. They 
are totally removed as soon as the erythrina yields sufiicient shade ; 
tliis operation gives more air to the trees of the plantation, and 
encourages their growth. 

Until the cacao attains four feet in height, it is trimined 
to the stem. If it shoots forth several branches, they are reduced 
to three, at equal distances ; and, in proportion as the plant in- 
creases, the leaves which appear on the three branches are stripped 
off. If they bend much, and incline towards the earth, they 
are tied in bunches, so that the tree may not remain crooked, Tlie 
branches, which are trimmed, are cut at the distance of two fingers 
from the tree. The suckers which spring from the tree are also 
removed, as they only live at its expense. 

Emmies of the tree. — The cacao trees should, as already stated, 
have suf&cient shade to prevent their being burned by the sun. 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



17 



If they arc much exposed to its rays, tlieir brandies are scattered, 
crack, and the tree dies. They are also infested with worms, 
which gnaw the bark all around, then attack the interior and 
destroy them. The only remedy which has hitherto been found, 
is to employ people to kill these worms, which are deposited by a, 
small, scaly winged insect, which gnaws the tree; as soon as it 
hears the approach of its destroyers, it lets itself fall, and trusts 
to its wings for safety. 

The color of this insect is a mixture of ash color and white. 
If pressed, it emits a sound something similar to the noise of 
water thrown on a very hot substance. It has two small horns 
on its head, the points of which are directed upwards. It is so 
lively that, even when the head is separated from the body, it is a 
long time in dying. To deposit its progeny it makes small holes in 
tlie tree. 

At the commencement of the winter, or rainy season, another 
worm makes its appearance, which devours the leaves of the young 
cacao plant. This species of worm is called goaseme, and they 
are in some years so abundant, that all the people of the plantation 
are solely employed in destroying them. This worm is four 
inches in length, and of the thickness of a finger. It is some- 
times called angaripola, or Indian, on account of the vivacity of 
its colors. It is believed that these worms are mediately pro- 
duced by other large worms in the earth, from which are engen- 
dered butterflies, who lay their eggs on the leaves of the cacao. 
These eggs are full of small worms, which feed on the leaves 
of the cacao, and appear in clusters of the size of a shilling. 
They are sought and destroyed with great attention, as they occa- 
sion considerable damage. Those which escape lodge themselves 
in the earth, and in the succeeding year are changed into butter- 
flies. At the time when the worm makes its appearance, it is 
necessary to make fires, which should not be so large as to injure 
the cacao, yet sufficient to attract and burn the butterfly. 

The plantations of cacao in the valley of Tuy, the quarters of 
Marrin, Cuba, Sabana, Ocumare, San Francis, &c., are subject to 
another species of worm called rasquilla. It multiplies in the 
dry seasons. 

Tiiere are small insects, called by the Spaniards accerredores, of 
the same figure with those which eat the bark of the cacao, but 
larger and of a blackish colour. They feed on the branches of 
the tree ; are alwa3^s found upon those branches which they 
have cut ; and the evil can only be obviated by killing them. 

The worms called vachacos occasion also much damage. They 
eat the leaf and the flower. To destroy them it is necessary to 
seek them in their nests in the earth. Water is thrown on 
the spot, and stirred, as in making mortar. Ey this means their 
young are crushed, and the evil is diminished, if it be not entirely 
removed. 

A parasitical plant often attaches itself to a branch of the 
cacao tree which it covers over and causes to wither, by nourish- 

c 



18 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



ing itself with tlie substance of the plant. The only remedy is 
to remove it. 

Wheu the cacao trees are in a bearing state, they are subject 
to a disease called tacJie. This is a black taint, or stain, which 
attacks the trees, encircling them below, and kills them. The 
mode of preservation is to make, in the beginning, a sliglit notch 
that shall pierce the bark. But if the taint is extensive, it is ne- 
cessary to cut all the affected part. It then exudes a liquid 
and is healed. The bark remains of a violet color in the part 
that has been tainted. 

The other enemies of the cacao are the agouti, stag, squirrel, 
monkey, &c. The agouti produces most havoc. It often destroys 
in one night all the hopes of the proprietor. 

Birds are not less injurious to the cacao. The whole class of 
parrots, in particular the great Ara, which destroys for the plea- 
sure of destroying, and the parroquets, which come in numerous 
flocks, conspire also to ruin the plantations of cacao. 

Cleans of preserving a plantation . — It is necessary that a cacao 
plantation should have always shade and irrigation ; the branches 
of the plant should be cleared of the lichens tliat form on them ; 
the worms destroyed ; and no large herbs or shrubs and mosses 
permitted to grow near, since the least disadvantage resulting there- 
from would be the loss of all the fruit that should fall into these 
thickets. But it is most essential to deepen the trenches which 
carry off the water, in proportion as the plant increases in size, 
and as the roots of course pierce deeper ; for if the trenches are 
left at a depth of three feet, while the roots are six feet in the 
earth, it follows that the lower part of the cacao plant is in a 
situation of too great humidity, and rots at the level of the water. 
This precaution contributes not only to make the plantation more 
durable, but also to render the crop more productive. It is neces- 
sary, also, to abstain from cutting any branch from cacao plants 
that are already bearing. Such an operation might occasion 
the subsequent crop to be stronger; but the plants become ener- 
vated, and often perish, according to the quality of the soil and 
the -number of branches cut off. 

If the earth of the plantations be pressed and trampled down 
by animals, tlie duration of the plant is diminished. Irrigation, 
made with judgment, maintains them long in a state of produce. 

Withering of tlie fruit. — The fruit of the cacao withers on the 
tree from three causes : — • ' 

First. — When the plantation is, during a long time, inundated 
with water. I have seen plantations of cacao, which had only 
been covered with water thirty hours, and of which the fruit was 
totally withered. 

Second. — Erom abundant rains, particularly in ver}^ damp val- 
leys. This is only to be remedied by keeping the plantation well 
drained, that the water may not remain on it. 

Third. — A want of necessary irrigation, and the watering of the 
plantation under an ardent sun. The vapor from the earth kills 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



19 



tlie fruit. If the rains are defieieut for a time, aud an exce.s- 
si\^e rain succeeds, tlie fruit of the cacao also withers. 

This dessicatiou or withermg takes place everv where ; but iu 
some places the surplus of fruit, which the tree is unable to nou- 
rish, is alone subject to it. In others, as Araquita and Caucagua, 
it withers in proportion to the northerly rains. An unsuitable 
soil occasions another kind of decay. The pods become stinted, 
containing some g^'od and some bad seeds. The Spaniards call 
this cocosearse, which means defective. 

Harvest of the cacao. — The tree yields two principal crops in a 
year, one about St. John's day, the other towards the end of 
December, The cacao however ripens and is gathered during the 
whole year. But in all seasons the planters of the Central 
American republics make it a point, so far as possible, to collect 
their crops only at the decline of the moon ; because experience 
proves that this precaution renders the cacao more solid, and less 
liable to spoil. 

To collect the fruit, those negroes and Indians are employed 
who have the sharpest sight, that only the ripe fridt may' be 
gathered. The most robust and active are chosen to carry it 
to the places where the beans are to be shaken out. The aged'and 
maimed are employed to do this. The operation is performed on 
a floor well swept, and covered with green leaves, on which thev 
place the cacao. Some open the pod, and others strike out the 
beans with a small piece of wood, which must not be sharp, lest 
it should injure them. 

The good and bad beans must not be mingled together. There 
are four sorts of cacao in every crop ; the ripe and in good con- 
dition, the green but sound, the worm-eaten, and the rotten. Tlie 
first quality is best, the second is not bad ; but the two others 
should be rejected. 

As soon as that which is not fully ripe begins to show specks, 
it must be separated. As to the pods which are not perfectly 
ripe, they should remain in heaps duiing three days under greeii 
banana leaves, that they may ripen before they are hulled. "\Vhen 
the cacao is stored, great care is necessary not to leave amongst 
it pieces of the pod or leaves, or any other excrementitious par- 
ticles. This care must be repeated every time that it is removed 
from the store, or replaced in it. 

The cacao must al ways be exposed to the sun on the fourth 
day after it has been gathered, and this exposure should be daily 
repeated until it is perfectly dry. ^vVhen that is the case, the 
beans burst on being squeezed, their shell resounds when struck, 
and they no longer become heated when placed in heaiis ; the 
latter is the best proof that the moisture injurious to their pre- 
servation is dissipated. If the cacao is not sutBcieutly exposed to 
the sun, it becomes mouldy ; if too much, it withers, and easily 
pulverises — in either case it soon rots. 

When the quantity of cacao gathered is considerable, it is 
placed in the sunshine bv a hundred quintals at a time, unless the 

c 2 



20 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



cultivator has a sufficient number of persons employed to expose 
a greater quantity. Tiiis operation is indispensable, to prevent it 
from becoming mouldy. If the rains prevent this exposure to the 
sun, it is necessary, as soon as it is sufficiently cleaned or purified, 
to spread it in apartments, galleries, or halls, with which the plan- 
tation must be provided ; this operation cannot be delayed with- 
out danger of losing the crop. 

It is to be Avished that stoves were employed to dry the cacao 
when the sun fails, but this expedient, so simple and important, 
is generally unknown. 

It is almost universally believed that the most essential precau- 
tions for preserving the cacao consists in gathering it at the de- 
cline of the moon. I believe that they may more seriously calcu- 
late on the care of depositing it in apartments so hermetically 
closed that the air cannot penetrate ; it would be advisable to 
make these apartments of w^ood, for the more perfect exclusion of 
moisture. The floor should be elevated two feet ; under the floor 
a pan of coals is placed, covered with a funnel, the point of which 
enters into the heap of cacao and then diftuses the vapor. In 
the apartment which contains the cacao, some persons place bot- 
tles of vinegar, slightly stopped wdth paper, to prevent the forma- 
tion of worms. 

The beans which begin to show specks, may be preserved from 
entire corruption by a slight application of brine. This occasions 
a small degree of fermentation, which is suiHcient to destroy the 
worms, and to preserve the cacao during a considerable time from 
new attacks. TVhy is not this preservative also employed after 
the cacao is dried, and when placed in the store, where it awaits 
the purchaser ? 

At St. Philip they make use of smoke to preserve the cacao ; it 
is also ascertained that fine salt, thrown in small quantities on 
the cacao, protects it from worms. 

Much has been done for the cacao when it has been cleared 
of all green or dead beans, and extraneous substances ; when it 
has received no bruise or injury in the operation of drying, and 
Avhen it has been subsequently kept in a place that is dry and not 
exposed to the air ; yet, even with all these precautions, cacao of 
the best quality is seldom found marketable at the end of a year. 

These circumstances sufiiciently prove that the culture of cacao 
requires attention more than science, vigilance rather than genius, 
and assiduity in preference to theory. Choice of ground, distri- 
bution and draining of the waters, position of the trees destined 
to shade the cacao, are almost the only points which require more 
than common intelligence. Less expense is also required for an 
establishment of this kind than for any other of equal revenue. 
One able hand, as I have already said, is sufiicient for the preser- 
vation and harvest of a thousand plants, each of which should 
yield at least one pound of cacao, in ground of moderate quality, 
and a poimd and a half in the best soil. By an averaged calcu- 
lation of tvventy ounces to each plant, the thousand plants must 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



21 



produce twelve hundred and fifty pounds, wliich, at the ordinary 
price of 31s. 6d. per cwt., would produce about £17 lOs. per 
annum for each laborer. The expenses of the plantation, inclu- 
ding those of utensils, machines, and buildings, are also less con- 
siderable for cacao than for any other produce. The delay of the 
first crop, and the accidents peculiar to cacao, can alone diminish 
the number of planters attached to its culture, and induce a pre- 
ference to other commodities. 

The cacao plant is not in a state of prolific produce till the 
eighth year in the interior, and the ninth in plantations on the 
coast. Yet, by a singularity which situation alone can explain, 
the crops of cacao commence in the ninth year in the valley of 
Groapa, and at the east of the mouth of the Tuy. In the vicinity 
of the line, and on the banks of E/io-Negro, the plantations are in 
full produce on the fourth, or at most the fifth year. 

The cacao tree continues productive to the age of fifty yearw 
on the coast, and thirty years in the interior of the country. 

In general the culture and preparation of cacao receives more 
attention in the eastern parts of Venezuela than in other places, 
and even than in the Erench colonies. It is true that the suitability 
of the soil contributes much to the quality of the article; bi.t 
without the assistance derived from art, it would be far from pos- 
sessing that superiority awarded to it by commerce over the cacao 
of every other coimtry. 

Stevenson ("Travels in South America") speaks of another 
kind of cacao tree, called moracumba, which is larger than the 
ordinary species, and grows wild in the woods. The beans under 
the brown husk are composed of a white, solid matter, almost like 
a lump of hard tallow. The natives take a quantity of these, and 
pass a piece of slender cane through them, and roast them, when 
they have the delicate flavour of the cacao. 

There are several cacao plantations in Surinam. The trees are 
left to grow their natural height, which is about that of a cherry- 
tree ; their leaves resemble those of the broad-leaved laurel, and 
are of a dark green colour. The fruit in shape resembles a lemon, 
but is rather more oval; it is at first green, and, when ripe, yellow. 
It is said that there are some trees which produce above two 
hundred, each containing about twenty beans or nuts. The fruit 
not only proceeds from the branches, but even from the stem ; and 
though there is always ripe and unripe fruit, it is only gatliered 
twice a year. The chocolate is in that colony in general of an 
inferior quality, known by its dark brown color and rough taste, 
but the superiority of the cacoa depends principally on the soil 
where the trees are planted. — (Baron Yon Sack's " Surinam.") 

My friend, Sir Schomburgk, in his " Description of British 
Gruiana," says — " "While we crossed from the river Berbice to the 
Essequibo, we met a number of chocolate nut trees, near the 
abandoned Caribi settlement of Primoss. It is not to be doubted 
that the trees were originally planted by the Indians, but from 
their number and the distance from the river, I judged they were 



22 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



propagated by nature. Though they were OYerahadowed by larger 
trees, aud had for many years been neglected, they had reached 
nevertheless a height of from thirty to forty feet, and the luxu- 
riant growth and the abundance of fruit, proved that the plant 
was satisfied with the soil. The forests at the banks of the E-io 
Branco, in the vicinity of Santa Maria and Carno, abound in wild 
cacao trees, the fruits of which are collected by the scanty popu- 
lation of that district for their ovm use." 

The cultivation of cacao will be most suitable to the less wealthy 
individual, as it demands so little labor and outlay. Earon 
Humboldt observes, in alluding to Spanish America, that cacao plan- 
tations are occupied by persons of humble condition, who prepare 
for themselves and their children a slow but certain fortune ; a 
single laborer is sufficient to aid them in their plantations, aud 
30,000 trees, once established, assure competence for a generation 
and a half. 

The following have been the total imports of Cacao into the 
United Kingdom from Mexico and Central America, &c. :~ 





lbs. 




lbs. 


1832 . 


85,642 


1839 . 


. 508,307 


1834 . 


16,171 


1840 . 


. 1,058,015 


1835 . 


211 


1841 . 


. 1,802,547 


1836 . 


. 861,531 


1842 . 


. 441,084 


1837 . 


. 564,992 


1843 . 


. 1,229.515 


1838 . 


. 1,681,965 


(Pari. Paper, 


No. 426, Sess. 1844.) 



Only a few hundred pounds of tliis is entered annually for home 
consumption, the great bulk being re-exported. 

In 1850 we imported 1,204,572 lbs. from Mexico ; 1,231,773 lbs. 
from Chile ; 4,438 lbs. from Venezuela, and 23,538 lbs. from Hayti. 

Bkazil. — A great deal of cacao is raised in different parts of 
this empire. Erom the province of Para alone 35,000 bags, valued 
at £35,000, were exported in the year 1845. Mr. Edwards, in 
his "Voyage up the Kiver Amazon," gives an interesting ac- 
count : — 

""We were now (he says) in the great cacao region, which, for an extent of 
several hundred square miles, borders the river. The cacao trees are low, not 
rising above fifteen or twenty feet, and are distinguishable from a distance by 
the yellowish green of their leaves, so different from aught else around them. 
They are planted at intervals of about twelve feet, and, at first, are protected 
from the sun's fierceness by banana trees, "which, with their bi'oad leaves, form 
a complete shelter. Three years after planting the trees yield, and therefore 
require little attention, or, rather, receive not any. From an idea that the sun 
is injurious to the berry, the tree-tops are suffered to mat together until the 
whole becomes dense as thatch-work. The sun never penetrates this, and the 
ground below is constantly wet. The trunk of the tree grows irregularly, 
without beauty, although perhaps by careful training it might be made as 
graceful as an apple tree. ' The leaf is thin, much resembling our beech, except- 
ing that it is smooth-edged. The flower is very small, and the berry grows 
direct from the trunk or branches. It is eight inches in length, five in diameter, 
and shaped much like a rounded double cone. When ripe, it turns from light 
green to a deep yellow, and at that time ornaments the tree finely. Within the 
berry is a white acid pulp, and embedded in this are from thii-ty to forty seeds, 
an inch in length, naiTow and flat. These seeds arc the cacao of commerce. 
When the berries are ripe, they are collected into great piles near the house, 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



23 



are cut open -vrith a tresado, and the seeds, squeezed carelessly from the puip, 
are spread upon mats to dry in the sun. Before heing half dried they are loaded 
into canoes in bulk, and transmitted to Para. Some of these ressels will carry 
four thousand arrohas, of thirty-two poroids weight each, and, as if such a bulk 
of damp produce would not sufficiently spoil itself by its own steaming during 
a twenty days' voyage, the captains are in the habit of throvring upon it great 
quantities of water, to prevent its loss of weight. As might be expected, when 
they aiTive at Para it is little more than a heap of mould, and it is then little 
wonder that Para cacao is considered the most inferior in foreign markets. 
Cacao is very little drunk throughout the pro'^i.nce, and in the city we never 
saw it except at the cafes. It is a delicious drink when properly prepared, and 
one soon loses relish for that nasty compound known in the States as chocolate, 
whose main ingredients are damaged rice and soap fat. The cacao trees yield 
two crops annually, and, excepting in harvest time, the proprietors have nothing 
to do but lounge in their hammocks. Most of these people are in debt to traders 
in Santarem, who trust them to an unlimited extent, taking a lien upon their 
crops. Sometimes the plantations are of vast extent, and one can walk foi- 
miles along the river, from one to another, as freely as through an orchard. Xo 
doubt a scientific cultivator might make the raising of cacao very profitable, 
and elevace its cpiality to that of Guyaquil." 

Cacoa shipped from Erazil to the United Kingdom, for nine 
years, ending 1835 :- 

lbs. 

1832 .... 2.198,709 



lbs. 

1827 .... 3,992,449 

1828 .... 1,174,168 

1829 .... 2,442:456 

1830 .... 1,308,694 

1831 .... 1,716,614 



1833 .... 2,402.803 

1834 .... 1,591,600 

1835 .... 1,673,769 



Cultivation in the West India IslancU. — The only English colo- 
nies where this nutritions and wholesome substance is now culti- 
vated to any extent, are Trinidad, St. Lncia, Grenada, and St. 
Vincent. 

In Jamaica and British Gniana it has given place to the pro- 
duction of sugar, and thongh it forms such an important article 
in the imports and consumption of the United Kingdom, the 
quantity introduced from British plantations is barely equal to the 
demand. The imports from Jamaica in 1831 were 6,634: lbs , 
and in 1888, 16,561 lbs. ; while the imports since have been merely 
nominal. Of 5,014,681 lbs. imported m 1811, 2,920,298 lbs. were 
furnished by the British "West Indian colonies, 1,802,517 lbs. came 
from the Colombian republics, and 269,791 lbs. Avere brought from 
Brazil. Trinidad fiu^nishes by far the largest proportion of the 
West Indian supplies, the imports from thence in 1811 having 
been 2,500,000 lbs., while the imports from all the other islands 
were but 427,000 lbs. In 1850, 4,750,000 lbs. were shipped from 
Trinidad, whilst in 1851 the quantity was nearly as much. 

Tei^'Idad. — Although this tree is indigenous to many, if not 
most of the tropical parts of America, it was first extensively 
cultivated in ^Mexico ; and it is remarkable that the words cac a"o 
and chocolate are both of Mexican origin. Prom Mexico tie 
variety called Creole cacao it is supposed v^-as transplanted to the 
West India colonies ; that variety called Eorastero (stranger) 
came from the Brazils. The latter tree is llie most productive, 
but the former gives the best fruit, insomuch that lew p^ersons 



2^ 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



now plant the JJ'orastero cacao. There are two or three indigenous 
species found growing wild in the forests of Trinidad, viz., T. Syl- 
vestris cacao, T. Gidanensis, and another sort. 

There are few, perhaps no agricultural or horticultural pursuits, 
so delightful (observes Mr. Joseph, in his "History of Trinidad,") 
as that of the cultivation of the cacao. It is planted in rows, in- 
tersecting each other at right angles, at the distance of from 
twelve to fifteen feet, according to the nature of the soil. Tlie 
tree is not suffered to grow higher than about fifteen feet, and its 
broad rich foliage, the hues of v^^hich vary from a light green to a 
dark red, loaded with yellow and dark red pods, which contain the 
chocolate bean, are beautiful objects ; these alleys are shaded by 
rows of magnificent trees, called Bois Immortel by the French 
and Englisli, by the Spaniards the Madre de Cacao. It is the 
Erythrina umhrosa or arhorea of Linnseus. Like the Bignonia or 
Pouie, this tree, at particular seasons, throws off its foliage and is 
covered with blossoms ; those of the Erythrina are of a brilliant 
red color, justifying its Greek appellation. In this state they are 
literally dazzling to behold — no object in tlie vegetable world 
looks more striking than the alleys of a cacao walk shaded by a 
forest above them of the Bois Immortel. 

I have been obligingly furnished by Mr. W. Purdie, the able 
Grovernment botanist of Trinidad, with a short essay upon the 
cultivation of the cacao tree, with which many of the valleys of 
that island are so beautifully adorned, and which, at one time, 
poured into that now unfortunate colony so large a stream of 
wealth. Fortunately the cacao planter of the island has managed 
to survive the many years of depression under which — like sugar 
now — the cacao cultivations lingered and sunk, and which, brought 
the once wealthy planter down to poverty and misery. His pros- 
pects, however, are gradually improving. 

The opinions put forth by Mr. Purdie, on the subject of which 
he treats, will be found to run counter to the long-established 
practice hitherto pursued in the treatment of cacao plantations ; 
but it must not be forgotten that these are the opinions of a per- 
son with whom the study of trees, their physiology and functions, 
has been not merely an amusing science, but an adopted employ- 
ment, and whose acquirements in this respect, previous to his 
arrival in the colony, recommended him for selection as the 
agent to extend through South America (the great cacao region) 
the investigations of one of the most noted botanical gardens in 
Europe. 

Mr. Purdie says : — 

" In the present depressed times, it belioves iis to look well into the resomx'.es 
of our fertile island, particularly as far as any improvement can be suggested 
capable of averting, at least, a part of the misery and ruin that is hovering 
over us, and which is too eagerly borne on the lips of all classes of the commu- 
nity, instead of using our efforts to do what we can to meet the difficulty ; but 
few seem to inquire whether we make the most of our present means or not, 
whilst every one rather joins in the cry that sugar fetches little or nothing, and 
it is no uncommon thing to hear the complaint transferred from sugar to cacao. 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



25 



It is but too true that the markets are at present lamentably against the most 
important branch of our industry, under the present manner of sugar cultiva- 
tion and manufacture in this island. But it can hardly be admitted that the 
same is the case in that of cacao — also a very important branch of our agri- 
culture. 

My attention has been lately directed to the average produce per tree, which 
will, I hope, throw some light on its cultivation. From fifteen cacao trees, 
which are all there are at St. Ann's, I have this year gathered 115 lbs. of cacoa 
(dried), and at present there is at least 50 lbs. more ripe on the same trees. This 
gives 165 lbs. of cacao from fifteen trees, or 11 lbs. per tree. These cannot be 
considered fine trees ; on the contrary, they are what would be considered or- 
dinary ones ; therefore the average in this case is fair, and differs materially 
from selecting the produce of fifteen trees from a large plantation, and giving 
the average return of what might be obtained from cacao cultivation. Last 
year these trees did not average more than 2 lbs. per tree, and I attribute the 
increase of crop to the thinning out of both the cacao and shade trees. 

In a former letter to the cacao-planters of Trinidad, I recommended twenty- 
four to thirty feet fi'om tree to tree as the proper distance ; but so as to meet 
the feelings of those who, imfortunately for themselves, consider every cacao 
tree cut down a sacrifice, I propose that the trees be thinned out to twenty-four 
feet, and that, at intervals of twenty rows at most, avenues of fifty feet in both 
directions should be left. After this, it will be better seen what may be neces- 
sary to be done to each individual tree ; neither should the shade trees be for- 
gotten ; as a general rule, they are prejiulicially thick. 

By attending to this, I am quite satisfied that a very material increase in the 
produce will be seen ; indeed, I may say that on this depends the chief differ- 
ence of l.f lb. and 11 lbs. per tree ; for I consider it a very fair inference, that 
the average obtained here can be realised in any other place in this island, and 
to any extent, under the same circumstances of light and air, unless on very 
poor soil, of which we fortunately have but little. 

At twenty-four feet apait there would be seventy-five trees per acre, or 250 
per quarree. This, at 11 lbs. per tree, gives 2,750 lbs. of dried cacao per quarree, 
at 5 dollars per 100 lbs., gives 137 dollars 50 cents gross ; deducting 80 dollars 
per quarree expenses, leaves 57 dollars 50 cents net profit. Thus an estate of 
120 acres, or 36 quarrees, would contain 9,000 trees, at 11 lbs. per tree wiU give 
33,000 lbs. of cacao, at 5 dollars gives 4,350 doUars gross per annum; deducting 
80 dollars per quarree (a much more liberal sum than is at present laid out), 
leaves a net balance of 1,950 dollars, or 16 dollars 25 cents per acie. 

Now this, it must be remembered, would be the produce from 9,000 trees, 
and from an estate containing only 36 quarrees of land (which cannot be con- 
sidered a large one) ; what, then, might be expected from estates containing 
40,000 trees ? 

I have been recently favoured with the following average return of cacao in 
this island, which I have no doubt will be considered a fair one. I insert it in 
full, and, from the very low return, it shows a lamentable deficiency in the cul- 
tivation of this most grateful tree : — 

' The average number of cacoa trees in a quarree of land is 868. 

' 1st. The estates throughout the island are generally planted at a distance of 
12 feet by 12, and 13^ feet by 13^ Those planted at 12 by 12 contain 969 trees 
in the quaiTee, and those at 13| by 13| contain 767 trees, the area of the quarree 
being taken at 139,697 superficial feet. There may be in the island about 60 
quarrees in all, planted at 15 by 15 feet. 

' 2nd. The actual annual value of a quarree of land planted in cacoa is ten 
fanegas, or 1^ lb. to a tree. 

' It is to be observed that this is the general return from each tree as estates 
are now cultivated, but if planters had the means of keeping their estates in 
high cultivation, each cacoa tree would produce 2 lbs. on an average. 

' 3i-d. The annual average cost of cultivating a quarree in cacao, and manu- 
facturing the produce therefrom, is 35 dollars, in the imperfect manner it is 
carried on at present, thereby giving only 10 fanegas per quarree.' 

I believe there are many estates in the island where the average distance is 



26 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



less than 12 by 12; however, to give the present mode the fii-.l benefit of the 
return, I will adopt, for comparisoQ's sake, the maximnra number of trees ; so 
that 960 trees per quarree, at 1^ lb. per tree, gives 1,211 lbs. of cacao, at 5 dol- 
lars per 100 lbs. is worth 60 dollars,* gross return per quarree ; deducting 36 
dollars, not 80 dollars, for expenses, which leaves 21 dollars per quarree net, or 
about 7 dollars To cents per acre. 

This is a startling account from lands among the most fertile in the world, 
and fi'om a plant, under fair treatment, next to the sugar cane, perhaps the most 
grateful for the care bestowed, more especially when Ave consider that more 
than ten times that quantity might be obtained with a comparatively insignifi- 
cant outlay of money. 

If such, then, be the case, as stated in the above report (and it is to be re- 
gretted that it is too near the truth), apathy on the part of those vrhose interests 
are so much concerned is unwarrantable. It is not enough to say that our 
fathers must have knoAvn the proper way to plant cacao ; this is but a lame ex- 
cuse, and not sufficient to dispense with any exertions of the present generation, 
beyond merely collecting whatever fruit may come, as it were, fortuitously. 
Moreover, at the time the present cacao plantations were established in this 
island, its cultivation was comparatively little known ; it is therefore likely that 
they might have erred, as they undoubtedly did, in cramming them so close 
together ; but notwithstanding this, by a proper system of thinning, the evils 
might have been easily obviated, and large crops ensured. 

A few mornings ago, a cacao planter from Santa Cruz called on me, ar.d in 
conversation stated that the only place where he had anything like a crop of 
cacao at present, was where the hunicane of the 11th of October had devastated 
his estate most severely, and which he at that time considered a ruinous visita- 
tion. _I hope the lesson will not be lost on him. 

In J amaica it is found necessary to prune the coffee trees yearly, which is 
done with as much care as gooseberry or currant bushes in England; but, notwitn- 
standing this, I remember a friend of mine in Jamaica telling me of the extraor- 
dinary difference on his coffee plantation under the management of ajDerson who 
understood and attended more particularly to the pruning of his trees. 

Lunan, in his ' Hortus Jamaicensis,' published in 1811, gives a very elaborate 
at tide on the cacao, although its cultivation vras almost extinct in his day in 
that island. He, however, appears to have derived his information chiefly from 
Blume, who wrote a short account of Jamaica, in 1672, at which time cacao 
was the chief export of the island. Lunan attributes its downfall to heavy 
ministerial exaction, which was then, he says, upwards of ISO per cent, on its 
marketable value. Speaking of the average weight of cacao per tree, he has the 
following : — ' The produce of one tree is generally estimated at about 20 lbs. of 
nuts. The produce per acre in Jamaica has been rated at 1,000 lbs. weight per 
annum, allowing for bad years. In poor soils, and under bad management, the 
produce of the tree rarely exceeds 8 lbs. weight.' He also says — ' When the 
cacao plants are six months old, the planter from this period must not be too 
fond of cleaning the plantation from grass and herbage, because they keep the 
ground cool ; but all creeping, climbing plants, and such weeds as grow high 
enough to overtop the cacao, should be destroyed.' He gives the distance ircm 
tree to tree at 18 feet. I have lor.g since been. of opinion that it is of less con- 
sequence to clean the gi-ound beneath the trees than to attend to the top-pruning 
of the shade trees, as well as to the cacao (although the former is very desirable, 
it is nevertheless a subordinate consideration). Under the present mode of cul- 
tivation the ground-cleaning is the only one at all attended to, and that badly. 

A very important economy might also be made in the curing of the cacao, by 
which much time would be saved, and consequently expense, by adopting the 
?ame method as is used in Jamaica for drying colfee, namely, floorings of cement, 
or, as they are called, barbecues. At convenient distances in the centre of these 
floorings (which are inclined planes) a slightly-raised circtflar ridge is formed 
w^ith cement, leaving an aperture at the lower side to allow the escape of any 
water that may have lodged in them. The cacao is easily brought together in 

^ Fractional parts are not necessary toiuclaac. 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



27 



these places in the event of rain, and at. night covered with portable -wooden 
frames, which are readily removed by twc men. In this way the cacao would 
be dried in a fifth of the time mnch more eifectually, and of a brighter colonr. 

Any experiments tending to bring about a proper system of cidtivation and 
manufactm-e of cacao, must be beneficial to the island, as well as to individuals ; 
for it cannot be denied that the cultivation of cacoa will still prove advanta- 
geous in proportion to the care bestowed on it. Indeed its cultivation is at 
present languishing, not so much fi-om inadequate prices, as from a want of 
proper attention to its cultivation." 

In 1796, there were sixtv plantations in Trinidad, wliicli pro- 
duced 96,000 lbs. In 1S02 the plantations were reduced to fifty- 
seven, the yield being about the same. In 1S07, 355,000 lbs. of 
cacao were grown. In 1831, there were 2,972 quarrees (each three 
acres and one-fifth English) under cultivation in Trinidad with 
cacao, on which were 2,461,126 trees, which produced a crop of 
1,179,568 lbs. In 1811 there were 6,910 acres planted with cacao. 

The following have been the exports from this island from 1821 
to 1814 :— 





lbs. 




lbs. 


1S21 


1,214,093 


1833 


. 3,090,526 


1822 . 


. 1.780,379 


1834 


. 3,363,630 


1823 


. 2,424,703 


1835 


. 2,744,643 


1824 . 


. 2,661,628 


1836 


3,188,870 


1825 . 


. 2,760,603 


1837 


. 2,507,483 


1826 . 


2,951,171 


1838 


. 2,571,915 


1827 


3,696,144 


1S39 


2,914,r68 


1828 . 


2,582,323 


1840 


. 2,007,494 


1829 


2.756,603 


1841 


. 2,493,302 


1830 . 


. 1,646,531 


1842 


. 2,163,798 


1831 . 


. 1,888,852 


1843 


. ^ _ . _ . 1,099,975 


1832 . 


. 1,530,990 




(Mill's Trinidad Almanac). 



In a lecture delivered by Dr. Lindley before the Society of 
Arts, aUuding to the colonial products shoAvn at the Grreat Exhi- 
bition, he said : — 

" There was one sarcple which ought to be mentioned most especially ; 
namely, the cocoa of admirable quality which comes, or which may come, from 
Trinidad. Cocoa — cacao, as we should call it — is an article of very large con- 
sumption. Enormous C[uantities of it are now used in the navy ; and every one 
knows how much it is employed daily in private life. It is, moreover, the 
basis of chocolate. But we have the evidence of one of the most skilful brokers 
in London, who has had forty years experience to enable him to speak to the 
fact — that we never get good cocoa in this country. The consequence is, that 
all the best chocolate is made in Spain, in France, and the countries where the 
fine description of cocoa goes. We get here cocoa which is unripe, flinty, and 
bitter, having undergone changes that cause it to bear a very low price in the 
market. Eut it comes from British possessions, and is, therefore, sold here sub- 
ject to a duty of only 18s. 8d. per cwt., whereas if it came from a foreign 
country it would pay 56s.* The differential duty diives the best cocoa out of 
the English market. Still it appears that we might supply, from our own colo- 
nies, this very cocoa; because, as I have said, there was exhibited, from Trini- 
dad, a very beautiful sample, cj^uite equal to anything produced in the besf 
markets of the Magdalena, of Soconusco, or cf other places on the Spanish 
main. It had no bitterness, no flintiness, no damaged grain in it ; but all were 
plump and ripe, as if they had been picked. The cocoa from the Spanish main 

* Dr. Lindley is in error as to the discriminatijig duties — British cacao pays 9s., and 
foreign I83. 



28 



CACAO OE COCOA, 



goes iato other countries, for the preparation of that delicious chocolate which 
we buy of them. It is thrown out of our market by the differential duty. But 
it is their own fault if our own colonies do not produce fine cocoa, as Trinidad 
has conclusively proved." 

The exports of cacao from St. Lucia, where there are now 300 
acres under cultivation, have been as follows :* — I have also added 
the produce of St. Yincent and G-renada imported here : — 



Grenada. St. Lucia. St. Vincent, 

lbs. lbs. lbs. 

1828 .... .... 75,275 .... 17,384 

1829 .... 300,051 .... 93,793 .... 12,216 
1833 .... 337,901 .... 153,340 .... 9,989 

1831 .... 368,882 .... 98,090 .... 7,861 

1832 .... 196,195 .... 51,925 .... 538 

1833 .... 312,446 .... 91,048 .... 1,005 

1834 .... 349,367 .... 60,620 .... 2,197 

1835 .... 276,359 .... 49,218 .... 5,876 

1836 .... 307,236 .... 47,950 .... 7,721 

1837 .... 351,613 .... 48,591 .... 2,525 

1838 .... 426,626 .... 38,590 .... 6,588 

1839 .... 327.497 .... 54,639 .... 760 

1840 .... 269,680 .... 82,293 . .. 3,956 

1841 .... 372,008 .... 78,225 .... 3,874 

1842 .... 280,679 .... 55,175 .... 7,268 

1843 .... 296,269 .... 48,279 .... 55,867 

1844 .... 544,253 .... 65,667 8,304 

1845 .... 342,092 .... 31,000 6,450 

1850 609,911 .... 1,372 8,642 

1852 .... 604,299 .... 9,428 .... 5,287 



A little cacao is now groT^ni in Antigua, about 19,000 lbs. having 
been exported from that island in 1843, and 2,000 in 1846. 

Dominica and British Gruiana produce small quantities ; our 
imports from these quarters having been as follows : — 





Dominica. 


Demerara. 




Dominica. 


Demerara 




lbs. 


lbs. 




lbs. 


lbs. 


1833 


.. 8,808 


.. 2,051 


1840 


. . 2,366 . 


. 2,376 


1834. 


.. 4,767 


86 


1841 


.. 4,014 . 
667 


129 


1835 


685 


126 


1842 


98 


1836 


279 


.. 1,121 


1843 


.. 4,614 . 


. 4,178 


1837 


. . 1,896 


522 


1844 


.. 1,746 . 


. 10,209 


1838 


.. 1,054 




1845 


. . 5,444 . 




1839 


. . 1,127 


!! 58 









The cultivation of cacao in Cuba is of comparatively recent in= 
troduction, but it is expected to increase, and, in some degree, 
to supply the place of coffee, which is evidently on the decHne 
there. In 1827, the gross produce of Cuba amounted to 23,806 
arrobas, and the exports to 19,053. In the same year, 15,301| 
arrobas were imported, so that at that period the production was 
not adequate to the consumption. The expectation of a great 
increase of production seems not to have been realized, as the 
exports of cacao in 1837 were only 587^ arrobas, while the imports 
amounted to 40,837|^ arrobas. 

There are now about sixty-nine cacao plantations in that island, 

* According to Brcen's History of St. Lucia up to lb44. 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



29 



almost exclusively situate in tlie central and oriental departments, 
which produced, in 1849, 3,836 arrobas, valued at 19,180 dollars. 

Hayti exported, in 1801, 648,518 lbs. of cacao ; in 1826, 
457,592 lbs., and in 1836, 550,484 lbs. 

The French island of Martinique produces a considerable quan- 
tity of cacao. In 1763, there were stated to be 103,870 trees in 
bearing. The produce exported in 1769 was 11,731 quintals. 
In 1770 there were 871,043 trees. In 1820 there were 412 square 
acres under cultivation ^vith cacao, producing 449,492 lbs ; and in 
1835, 492 hectares, which yielded 155,300 kilogrammes. I have 
no later returns at hand. 

The beverage generally called cocoa is merely the berries of 
Theolroma Cacao, pounded and drank either with water or milk, 
or with both. Chocolate (of which I shall speak by and bye) is 
a compound drink, and is manufactured chiefly from the kernels 
of this plant, whose natural habitat would seem to be Gruayaquil, 
in South America, though it flourishes in great perfection in the 
West Indies. It grows also spontaneously and luxuriantly on the 
banks of the Magdalena, in South America ; but the fruit of those 
trees that are found in the district of Carthagena is preferred to 
all others, probably from a superior mode of cultivation. Sir E,. 
Schomburgk, in his exj^edition into the interior of British Gruiana, 
found the country abounding in cacao, " which the Indians were 
most anxious to secure, as the pulpy arillus surrounding the seed 
has an agreeable vinous taste." Singular to say, however, they 
appeared perfectly ignorant of the qualities of the seed, which pos- 
sesses the most delightful aroma. Sir Eobert adds, they evinced 
the greatest astonishment when they beheld him and Mr. Goodall 
collecting these seeds and using them as chocolate, which was the 
most delicious they had ever tasted. These indigenous cacao 
trees were met with in innumerable quantities on the 5th of June, 
1848, and the following day ; and thus inexhaustible stores of a 
highly-prized luxury are here reaped solely by the wild hog, the 
agouti, monkeys, and the rats of the interior. — (Simmonds's Col. 
Mag. vol. i., p. 41.) 

The height of the cacao shrub is generally from eighteen to 
twenty feet ; the leaf is between four and six inches long, and its 
breadth three or four, very smooth, and terminating in a point 
like that of the oraage tree, but differing from it in color ; of a 
duU green, without gloss, and not so thickly set upon the branches. 
The blossom is first white, then reddish, and contains the rudi- 
ments of the kernels or berries. When fully developed, the peri- 
carp or seed-vessel is a pod, which grows not only from the 
branches, but the stem of the tree, and is from six to seven inches 
in length, and shaped like a cucumber. Its color is green when 
growing, like that of the leaf ; but when ripe, is yellow, smooth, 
clear, and thin. When arrived at its full growth, and before it is 
ripe, it is gathered and eaten like any other fruit, the taste being 
subacid. If allowed to ripen, the kernels become hard; and, 
when taken out of the seed-vessel, are preserved in skins, or, more 



30 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



freqiientlj, laid on the vijahna leaves, and placed in the air to diy. 
When fully dry, they are put in leathern hags, and sent to mar- 
ket : this is the Spanish mode of taking in the crop. A somewhat 
diiferent method is followed in Trinidad and Jamaica (in the latter 
island it can scarcely be said to be cultivated now) ; but it diifers 
in no essential degree from the principle of gradual exsiccation, and 
protection from moisture. 

ClwGoJate, properly so called, and so prized both in the Spanish 
continent and in the West Indies, ne^'er reaches G-reat Britain ex- 
cept as a contraband article, being, like nearly all colonial manu- 
factured articles, prohibited by the Custom-house laws. What is 
generally drank under that name is simply the cacao boiled in 
milk, gruel, or even water, and is as much like the Spanish or West 
India chocolate as vinegar is to Burgundy. It is, without any excep- 
tion, of all domestic drinks the most alimentary ; and the Spaniards 
esteem it so necessary to the health and support of the body, that 
it is considered the severest punishment to withhold it, even from 
criminals ; nay, to be unable to procure chocolate, is deemed the 
greatest misfortune in life ! Yet, notwithstanding this estima- 
tion in which it is held, the quantity made in the neighbourhood 
of Carthagena is insui£cient for the demands of the population, 
and is so highly priced that none is exported but as presents ! 
The manner in which the Spaniards &st manufactured this veri= 
table Theobroma — this food for gods (from Tiieos, G-od, and hroma, 
food)— was very simple. They employed the cacao, maize, Indian 
corn {Zea Mays), and raw cane-juice, and coloured it with arnatto, 
which they called aehiotti or rocoii, but which v\^as known in Eu- 
rope at that time by the name of Terra Orellana. These four 
substances were levigated between two stones, and afterwards, in 
certain proportions, mixed together in one mass, which mass was 
subsequently divided into little cakes, and used as required, both 
in the solid and fluid form. 

The Indians used one pound of the wasted nuts, half a pound 
of sugar, and half a pound of ground corn (maize) each, and then 
added rose-water to make it palatable. This the Mexicans called 
chocolate, from two words in their language, signifying the noise 
made by the instruments used to mill and prepare it in the water. 
Many other ingredients were subsequently added ; but with the 
exception of Vanilla, in the opinions of most persons, they spoil, 
rather than improve it. Chocolate, as used in ^lexico, is thus pre- 
pared : — The kernels are roasted in an iron pot pierced with holes ; 
they are then pounded in a mortar, and afterwards ground between 
two stones, generally of marble, till it is brought to a paste, to 
which sugar is added, according to the taste of the manufacturer. 
From time to time, as the paste assumes consistency, they add 
long pepper, arnatto, and lastly, vanilla. Some manufacturers 
vary these ingredients, and substitute cinnamon, cloves, or aniseed, 
and sometimes musk and ambergris — the two latter on account of 
their aphrodisiac qualities. The following is the formula given 
by a late writer : — To six pounds of the nut add thj\^e-and-a-half 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



31 



pounds of sugar, seven pods of vainlla, one-and-a-half pounds of 
corn meal (maize ground), liilf-a-poniid of cinnamon, six cloves, 
one draclim of capsicums (bird pepper), and as mucli of the rocou 
or arnatto as is sufficient to color it, together with ambergris or 
musk, to enforce (as he says) the flavor, but in reaUty to stimu- 
late the system. There is another chocolate made of filberts and 
almonds, but this is not considered genuine. In old Spain it is 
somewhat diiferently made ; t^vo or three kinds of flovrers, also 
the pods of Campeche, almonds, and hazel-nuts, being mixed up 
with it, while the paste is worked witli orange-water. 

AYith regard to the manner in which chocolate is prepared in 
England nothing need be said, as it is too well known to require 
description. That which has appeared to me the best is Fry's 
Chocolate,^' which requires only to-be rubbed up with a little boil- 
ing water, and scalded milk added to it with sugar, according to 
the taste of the drinker; there is a flavour, however, in this 
chocolate sometimes of suet, which is probably added to give it a 
richness vdiich the cacao em.ployed may not possess of itself. In 
t?ie West Indies they rarely add anything to cacoa but arnatto 
(sometimes a little fresh butter), though it is often scented and 
sweetened, and sold in little rolls at five-pence and ten-pence 
each, currency. It is always boiled with milk, which, though 
very indigestible when boiled and taken alone, seems to lose this 
quality when taken with chocolate. Chocolate thus made is much 
drank, when cold, in the middle of the day, and is considered, both 
by the negroes and the old settlers, as a most nutritive and 
salutarj^ beverage. 

The signs by which good cliocolate or cacao is known are these: — 
It should dissolve entirely in water, and be without sediment ; it 
should be oily, and yet melt in the mouth ; and if genuine, and 
carefully prepared, should deposit no grits or groimds. That 
made in the West Indies, and in some parts of Cuba, is dark ; 
but that manufactured in Jamaica is of a bright brick colour, owing 
to the greater quantity of arnatto which is used in the preparation, 
and which, I think, gives it a richer and more agTceable flavor. 

In an economical point of view, chocolate is a very important 
article of diet, as it may be literally termed meat and drink ; and 
were our lialf-starved artisans, over-T\Tought factory children, and 
ricketty millinery gnds, induced to drink it instead of the in- 
nutritions beverage called "tea," its nutritive qualities would soon 
develop themselves in their improved looks and more robust con- 
stitution. The price, too, is in its favour, cacao being eight-pence 
per pound ; while the cheapest black tea, such as even the Chinese 
beggar would despise, drank by milliners, washerwomen, and the 
poorer class in the metropolis, is three shillings a pound, or tirree 
hundred and fifty per cent, dearer, while it is decic edly injurious 
to health. 

The heads of the naval and military medical departments in 
England have been so impressed with the wholesomeness and 
superior nutriment of cocao, that they have iudiciously directed 



32 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



that it shall be served out twice or thrice a week to regiments of 
the line, and daily to the seamen on board Her Majesty's ships, and 
this wise regulation has evinced its salutary effects in the improved 
health and condition of the men. Indeed, this has been most 
satisfactorily established in Jamaica among the troops ; and the 
same may be asserted of the seamen in men of war on the 
coast. 

But the excellent qualities of chocolate were known not only to 
the Mexicans and Periivians, from whom, as a matter of course, 
the Spaniards acquired a knowledge of its properties ; but 
European nations also acknowledged its virtues. The Portuguese, 
Prench, Grermans, and Dutch, considered it an exceedingly valu- 
able article of diet, and Holfman looked upon it both as a food and 
a medicine. In his monograph, entitled Fotus Chocolati, he recom- 
mends it in all diseases of general weakness, macies, low spirits, 
and in hypochondrial complaints, and what since his time • have 
been termed nervous diseases. As one example of the good effects 
of cacao, he adduces the case of Cardinal Eichelieu, who was 
cured of eramacausis, or a general wasting away of the body, by 
drinking chocolate.* And Edwards informs us that Colonel 

* Caffeine (the principle of coffee) and theobromine (the principle of cacao) 
are the most highly nitrogenised products in nature, as the following analysis 
will show : — ■ 

Caffeine^ according to Pfaff and Liebig, contains — 

Carbon . . . 49.77 i Nitrogen . . .28.78 

Hydrogen . . 5.33 | Oxygen . . . 16.12 

Theohromine^ according to "Woskreseusky, contains — 

Carbon . . . 47.21 j Xitrogen . . . 35.38 

Hydrogen . . 4.53 \ Oxygen . . . 12.80 

Of the two, cacao contains the larger quantity of nitrogen; and this chemical 
fact explains why cacao should be so much more nutritive th^n tea, though the 
principle of tea (theine) is nearly identical with the principle of cacoa — tea 
containing in 100 parts 29.009 of nitrogen. On this subject Liebig has made 
an observation which I cannot avoid noticing. He says, " We shall never cer- 
tainly be able to discover how men were led to the use of the hot infusion of 
the leaves of a certain shrub (tea), or of a decoction of certain roasted seeds 
(coffee). Some cause there must be, which would explain how the practice has 
become a necessary of life to whole nations. But it is surely still more remark- 
able that the beneficial effects of both plants on the health must be ascribed to 
one and the same substance, the presence of which in two vegetables, belonging 
to different natural families, and the produce of different quarters of the globe, 
could hardly have presented itself to the boldest imagination. Yet recent re- 
searches have shown, in such a manner as to exclude all doubt, that caffeine, 
the peculiar principle of coffee, and theine, that of tea, are in all respects 
identical. " — {Anim. Che in., -p-p. 178-9.) AVe really can see nothing in all this 
but the manifestation of that instinct -which, implanted in us by the Almighty, 
led the untutored Indian (as we are pleased to call him) to breathe into the 
nostril of the buffalo or the wild horse, and by that single act to subdue his 
angry rage, or that impelled the first discoverer of combustion to extract fire 
from the attrition of two pieces of wood. The American Indian, living ea- 
tirely on flesh, " discovered for himself in tobacco smoke a means of retarding 
the change of matter in the tissues of the body, and thereby of making hunger 
more endurable." — (P. 179.) But the wonder ceases, when we reflect that man 
was endued with certain properties by his Maker which must have been at some 
remote period, of wbich we can form no idea, active and manifest the moment 



CACAO OB COCOA. 



83 



Montague James — the first white person born in Jamaica after 
the occupation of the island by the English — lived to the great 
age of 104i ; and for the last thirty years of his life took sc£ircely 
any other food but chocolate. It is also certain that those who 
indulge in excesses find their vigor more speedily restored by the 
alternate use of chocolate and coftee than by any other ingesta ; 
and pigs, goats, and horses, which are fed even on the spoiled 
berries, are observed to become very speedily fat, and in good 
condition. 

But cacao has not only the property of rapidly restoring the 
invalid to health, strength, and condition, but a very inconsider- 
able quantity of it will sustain life for a long period. The South 
American Indians perform extraordinary journeys, subsisting, 
during these prolonged travels, on an incredibly small quantity ot' 
chocolate — so small, indeed, as to render the accounts cf travellers 
upon the subject almost marvellous. In this respect it resembles 
cofi"ee, Avhich also possesses the estimable property of sustaining 
the powers of life, while it modifies and restrains the passion of 
himger. 

It is a curious fact, and how far this condition may be connected 
with its powers of sustenance is worthy of inquiry, that chocolate 
recently boiled, if the operation be performed in a tin pan, is highly 
electrical ; and this property may be frequently manht'ested by re- 
peating the process. 

Cacao, according to Bridges, " was the favourite staple of the 
Spanish commerce, trifiing as that commerce was ; and when the 
Enghsh took possession of the island of Jamaica, it was that Avhieh 
first engaged their attention. Tlie extensive plantations left by 
their predecessors, who had made it their principal food and only 
support, soon, hov\-ever, began to fail. They were renewed ; but 
whether it might be from the v\-ant of attention, or of information 
in the new colonists, the plants never succeeded under their man- 
agement ; so that, disgusted with the troublesome and unprofitable 
cultivation, they soon substituted indigo." Tet forests of cacao 
trees grow wild in G-uiana, the Isthmus of Darien, Yucatan, Hon- 
duras, Guatemala, Chiapa, and Xicaragua ; while in Cuba, St. Do- 
mingo, and Jamaica, it was once an indigenous plant. 

The folioAving Avere the expenses of a cacao plantation in J amaica 
during the early period of British possession : — 

£stg. 

Letters latent of five hundred acres of land . .10 
Six negroes . . . . . ,120 

he breathed the breath of life. To inquire how he lost this property is not our 
business at present, but it is only by supposing the quondam existence of such 
a property, active and manifest, that can in any ^vay explain a first knowledge 
of the therapeutic, or threptic, qualities of plants and shrubs. With regard 
to the identity of theine, caffeine, theobromine, &c., it would be as well that 
the reader .should keep in mind that it is so chemically only^ for in appearance, 
taste, weight, odor, &c., no substances can differ m.ore. Does the palate exert 
some peculiar action on the ingesta, so as to give to each a distinct saioor } Or 
Vice versa ? 

D 



31 



CACAO OR COCOA. 



Four white persons, tlioir passage and maintenance 
Maintenance of six slaves for six months 
"Working implements .... 



80 
18 
5 



£233 



In four to five years the produce of one hundred acres would 
usually sell for £4,240 sterlmg. This was a monstrous and most 
unlooked-for return ; but then, what was it to the profits of sugar, 
which, owing to the prodigious increase of the slave trade, was flist 
commg into active operation, and eatiug up and destroying all 
other sources and springs of industry ? How dearly have the 
"West Indians paid for the short-lived affluence which the sugar 
cane conferred! 

Blome, in his hrief account of Jamaica, published in 1672, speaks 
of cacao as being one of the chief articles of export. He states 
that there were sixty cacao-walks or plantations, and many more 
planting ; but, for many years, no cacao plantation has existed iia 
Jamaica, all the chocolate used being made from imported berries, 
or the chance growth of a munificent climp^te and redundant soil ! 
Afew scattered trees, Edwards says (and as Imyself know), here and 
there, are all that remaui of those flourishiug and beautifid. groves, 
which were once the pride and boast of the country. They have 
withered with the indigo manufactory, under the heavy hand of 
ministerial exaction. The excise on cacao, u-lien made into cakes, 
rose to no less than £12 125. per civt., exclusivetof Ws. W\d. ]jaid 
at the Custom-house, amounting together to u^ivards of £840 ]3er 
cent, on its marJcetoMe value ! 

The mode of cultivating the cacao is given at some length by 
Edwards ; it is that of the (Spaniards, a process strictly followed in 
Trinidad, where, of all the West India islands, it constitutes a 
considerable item of exports. It is thus described : — " A spot of 
level land being chosen — preference is always given to a deep black 
mould, sheltered by a hedge or thicket, so as to be screened by the 
wind, especially the north, and cleared of all weeds and stumps of 
trees — a number of holes are dug, at ten or twelve feet distance 
from each other, each hole being about a foot in length, and six or 
eight inches deep. A very important matter is the selection of 
the seeds for planting, and this is done in the following manner : 
the finest and largest pods of the cacao are selected when full ripe, 
and the grains taken out and placed in a vessel of water. Those 
which swim are rejected ; those chosen are washed clean from the 
pulp, skinned, and then replaced in the water till they begui to 
sprout; Banana (3Iusa paradisiaca) , or some other large leaves, 
those of the sea-side grape ( Goccolola uvifera), for instance, are 
then taken, and each hole is lined Avith one of them, leaving, how- 
ever, the sides of the leaves some inches above ground ; after which 
the mould is rubbed in gently till the hole is fi'Ued ; three nuts are 
then selected for each hole, and they are set triangularly in the 
earth, by making a small opening witli the finger about two inches 
deep, into which the nuts are put, with that end downwards from 



CACAO OE COCOA. 



35 



whicli the sprout issues." They are then covered lightly with 
mould, the leaf folded over, and a small stone placed on the top, 
to prevent its opening ; in eight or ten days the j'onng shoots ap- 
pear ahove the ground ; the leaves are then opened to give them 
light and air, and a shelter from the sun, either in the shape of 
plantain or banana leaves, is not forgotten ; but the coco-nut and 
other species of palm, on account of their fibrous structure and 
great durability, are alvrays preferred. This artificial shelter is 
continued for five or six months. But, as a frirther security to the 
young plants, for they are very delicate, other trees or shrubs are 
planted to the south-west of the plants, that they may grow up with 
and shelter them, for young cacao vdll grow and flourish only in the 
sliade. For this purpose the coral bean-tree (Erytlirina Coralloden- 
drv.m) is chosen. I shoukl presmne there are other trees and 
plants equally eligible for this pm'pose, and more useful ; but my 
experience does not enable me to speak positively upon the sub- 
ject. Should the three seeds placed in each hole spring up, it is 
thought necessary, when the plants are fifteen or twenty inches 
high, to cut one of them down. The two others, if they devaricate, 
are sometimes sufiered to remain, but it does not always happen 
that even one of the three springs above the earth ; consequently 
this additional labor is not invariably requisite. 

On the fourth or fiftii year the tree begins to bear, and attains 
perfection by the eighth, continuing to produce two crops of fruit 
per annum, yielding at each crop from 10 lbs. to 20 lbs., according 
to the natiu-e of the soil. It will continue bearing for twenty 
years ; but, as it is a delicate plant, it sufi'ers from drought, and is 
liable to bliglit. In these respects, however, it does not dilfer 
from many other plants, which are even more subject to disease, 
though not half so valuable. Besides, a proper system of irriga- 
tion, such as could be had recourse to in many parts of Jamaica, 
would ob^'iate and prevent these evils. 

The whole quantity imported into the United Kmgdom from 
the AYest Indies and British Guiana during the last thirteen years, 
has been as follows : — 





lbs. 






lbs. 


1831 


1,491,947 


1842 


» 


. 2,490,693 


1832 


618,090 


1843 




. 1,496,554 


1833 


, 2,12.5,641 


1844 




. 3,119,555 


1831 


. 1,360,325 


1845 




. 3,351.602 


183.5 


439,440 


1846 




. 1,738.848 


1836 


. 1,611,104 


1847 




. 3,026,381 


1837 


. 1,847,125 


1848 




2,602,309 


1838 


. 2,147,816 


1849 




. 3^159,086 


1839 


959,428 


1850 




. 1,987,717 


1840 


. 2,374,233 


1851 




. 4,347,195 


1811 


. 2,919,105 


1852 




. 3,933,863 



Cacao is cultivated in the highlands as well as on the coasts of 
the north-eastern peninsula of the large and rich island of 
Celebes, which has within the last year or two been thrown open 
to foreign trade. The plantations of it are even novv considerable, 
and this branch of industry only requires not to be impeded by 



30 



COrEEE. 



any obstacles in order to be still further extended. It forms a 
large ingredient in tbe local trade, and furnislies many l)etty 
traders with their daily bread, not to speak of the landowners, 
for whom the cultivation of the cacao affords the only subsistence. 
The preparation of the product difters from that adopted in the 
West Indies, but we have not been able to ascertain the practice. 
^Ye may reckon that 1,200 to 2,000 piculs of 138 lbs. are yearly 
produced ; the prices vary much, being from 50 to 75 florins per 
picul. — (" Journal of the Indian ^Irchipelago," vol. ii., p. 829.) 

Boin^bon now produces 15,000 to 20,000 kilogrammes of cacao 
annually. Cacao is gTown to a small extent in some of the settle- 
ments of Western Africa, but as yet only a few puncheons have 
been exported, all the produce being required for local con- 
sumption. 

The following figures give the imports and consumption of 
cacao into the United Kingdom in the last five years : — 

Imports. Consumption, 
lbs. Its. 

1848 . . 6,442,986 

1849 . . 7,769,234 . . 3,233,135 

1850 . . 4,478,252 . . 3,103,926 

1851 . . 6,773,960 . . 3,024,338 

1852 . . 6,268,525 . . 3,382,944 

The home consumption is very steady at about 8,000,000 lbs., 
}delding to the revenue £15,000 to £16,000 for duty. The pro- 
duce of British colonies pays Id. per lb. duty, that from foreign 
countries 2d ; cocoa husks and shells half these amounts ; when 
manufactured into chocolate or cocoa paste the duty is 2d. per lb. 
from British possessions, and 6d. from other parts. The quantity 
imported in this form is to the extent of about 14,000 lbs. 
weight. 



cori^EE. 

The next staple I proceed to speak of is cofi'ee — second only 
in importance as a popular beverage to that universal commodity, 
tea. I shall proceed, in the first instance, to take a retrospect of 
the progress o-f the coffee trade, and glance at the present con- 
dition and future prospects of produce and consumption. It will 
be seen, by reference to the following figures, that the consumption 
of coffee in the United Kingdom shows a successive decrease, 
from 1847 to 1850, of 6,414,583 lbs., and a loss to the revenue of 
£179,614. 

HOME COXSt'MPTION- AXD EE^-EXUE OP COFFEE FOR THE 

Tears. lbs. £ 

1824 8,262,943 420,988 

1825 11,082,970 315,809 

1828 17,127,633 440,245 

1835 23,295,046 652,124 

1839 26,789,945 779,115 

1840 28,728,735 921,551 

1844 31,394,225 681,616 



COrFEE. 



37 



Years. lbs. £ 

1845 34,318,095 717,871 

1846 36,793,061 756,838 

1847 37,441,373 746,436 

1848 37,106,292 710,270 

1849 34,431,074 643,210 

1850 31,226,840 566,822 

1851 32,564,164 445,739 

1852 35,044,376 , 438,084 

I estimated, in a little treatise on coffee and its adulterations, 
whicli I published in 1850, that not less than 18,000,000 lbs. of vege- 
table matter of various kinds were sold annuallv under the deceptive 
name of coffee. Three-fourths of these 18,000,000 lbs. of pre- 
teaded coffee were composed of chicory, and the remaining fourth 
of other ingredients prejudicial to health, as well as a fraud upon 
the revenue. The various substances used in adulterating both 
chicory and coffee, when sold in the powdered state, have been 
specifically pointed out and set forth from time to time in memo- 
rials from the trade and the coffee-growers. Mr. M'CuUoch and 
other competent judges set down the actual consumption of 
chicory in the United Kingdom at 12,500 tons per annum. When 
we consider the vast difference of price between chicory and 
coffee, as piu-chased by the wholesale dealer, the temptation to 
its fraudulent use was obviously great, and there was no penal 
restriction against it. 

It will be interesting and usenil to trace the history of the 
trade in chicory from its first introduction. 

The substitution of chicory for coffee occasioned a loss to the 
revenue of three hundred thousand pounds sterling a-year, 
besides its mischievous effect in adulterating and debasing a 
popular beverage when used in such large and undue proportions 
for admixture, and sold at the price of coffee. 

Since the prohibition of the admixture of chicory with coffee, 
when sold to the public, and the compulsory sale by Treasury 
minute of the two articles in separate packages, a large and rapid 
increase in the consumption of coffee has taken place, and 
the trade is now placed in a healthy position. "Wliilst the 
increase in the consumption of coffee from the 1st of January, 
to 5th September, 1852, was but 142,267 lbs. as compared with 
the same period of 1851 ; the increase in the remaining four 
months of the year was to the amazing extent of 2,350,368 lbs. 
This increased consumption is likely to continue, and our colonial 
possessions are furnishing us with larger proportionate supplies, 
as may be seen by the following figures 

TOTAL IMPORTS OF COFFEE IN 

1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 

Prodiice of Britisli lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. 

Possesions. . 35,970,507 40,339,245 36,814,036 35,972,163 42,519,297 
Ditto foreign 

countries , . 21,082,943 22,976,542 13,989,116 17,138,497 11,857,957 



Total 57,053,-i50 63,315,787 50,803,152 53,110,660 54,377,254 



88 



GorrEE. 



In the year 1832 cliicory was first imported into England, sub- 
jeet to a duty equiyalent to that levied npon colonial coffee, and 
permitted to be sold by grocers separately as chicory ; but notices 
were at the same time issned, that the legal penalties ^YOuld be 
rigidly enforced, if discovered mixed vrnth coffee. 

In 18i0, in consequence of memorials fi'om the grocers and 
dealers in chicory, and also from the cii^cumstance of exceedingly 
high rates then ruling for coffee, together Avith the disruption of 
our commercial relations with China, simultaneously advancing 
the price of tea (thus rendering both these popular beverages 
excessively dear to the consumer), an order was issued from the 
Treasury to the Excise Board, authorizing the admixture of chicory 
with coffee; a duty, however, being still maintained on the 
former of £20 per ton on the liiln-dried, and 6d. per lb, on the 
powdered root, when imported from abroad. 

In the year 1845, the cultivation of chicory was introduced 
upon British soil, and, being a home-grovrn commodity, was ex- 
empt from duty, but nevertheless, by virtue of the said Treasury 
Order, was permitted to enter into competition with a staple pro- 
duction of our own colonies, contributing on its import a tax of 
60 to 80 j)er cent, to the revenue of the State. 

The result, as might have been foreseen, necessarily created and 
stimulated a demoralizing system of fraud, unjust and destructive 
to the interests of the coffee planter, and prejudicial to the na- 
tional revenue. 

The effects of so baneful a system being equally manifest upon 
both consumption and revenue, they are here separately illustrated. 

In 1824. according to the following high scale of duties, viz., 
Is. on ^est India, Is. 6d. on East India, and 2s. 6d. on foreign, 
the Customs derived from coffee was £420,988 ; in the following 
} ear the rates were reduced one-half, and in the short space of 
three years the amount yielded had advanced to £440,245, an 
increase which steadily progressed (partly aided by the admission 
of the produce of British India at the low duty) until it reached 
£921,551 in 1840. These satisfiictory results justified a further 
reduction of the duties in 1842 to 4d. on colonial and 8d. (and in 
the subsequent year to 6d.) on foreign, under which the revenue 
dechned in 1844 to £681,616. In 181-6 it had again reached to 
£756,838, and was gTadually recovering itself, when this system of 
adulteration first began to extend itself generally, and since that 
time the revenue has rapidlv declined under the same scale of 
duties to £566,822 in 1850. 

In 1824 the quantitv retained for home consumption was 
8,262,943 lbs., which was augmented to 11,082,970 lbs. in the fii'st 
year of the reduction of duty, and continued to exhibit an in- 
crease at a rate rather exceeding two million pounds per annum 
until 1830, when coffee would appear to have reached its limit of 
consumption without further stimulus, and remained stationary 
until the modification of duties allowing the admission of foreign 
coffee, via the Cape, at the colonial rate, when it advanced from 



COFFEE. 



89 



23,295,046 lbs. iu 1835, to 28,723,735 lbs. in 1840 ; and consequent 
upon a fiirtlisr reduction of duties in 1842, the elasticity of the 
trade exp(^rienced a still wider development, and an increase of 
nine million pounds is exhibited in the next five jears. From 
that period, however, the general use of chicory has not only 
checked the progressive increase of this healthy demand, but an 
annual decline is observable to the extent of above six million 
poimds in 1850, as compared with 1847. 

On the 15th of April, 1851, with the view of partly re- 
medying the grievance of the colonists on this head, the duties 
were equalized and reduced to 3d. The results are, however, far 
from satisfactory, either in a fiscal or commercial point of view. 
It is true that an increase in consumption, of one-and-a-quarter 
million pounds has taken place, but at the sacrifice of £121,000 
of revenue. But this increase, it will be seen, has not exceeded 
4j per cent., whilst there has been a diminution of 21J per cent, 
in the revenue receipts. Upon investigation, moreover, it will be 
found that, not^vithstanding the total increase exhibited, there has 
been an actual falling olf of 894,778 lbs. of colonial coffee in 
1851 ; the items for last year are, however, much more favorable 
and encouraging for the planters. 

jNTo reasonable cause can be assigned for this rapid and serious 
diminution in the consumption of coffee, except the notorious 
substitution of chicory and other substances. 

The arguments advanced to account for the falling off in the 
consumption of coftee, by adducing the increase of tea and cacao 
for a similar period are fallacious, and contrary to the commercial 
experience of many years, which convincingly proves these kindred 
articles to have always simultaneously increased, or diminished, 
in ratio with the general prosperity of the kingdom, and the 
prevalence of temperate habits among the community. 

I shall now proceed to trace the fluctuations in the con- 
sumption of coffee. 

At the close of the last century the consumption of coffee 
was under one million pounds yearly ; the only descrip- 
tions then known in the London market were Grenada, 
Jamaica, and Mocha— -the two former averaging about £5 per 
cwt., and the latter £20 per cwt. Grenada coffee is now 
unknown, and Cejdon and Brazil are the largest producers. 
In 1780, the total quantity of coffee consumed in the United 
Kingdom was 262,000 lbs., or three quarters of an ounce to each 
person in the population. In 1833 the quantity was 20,691,000 lbs., 
or 1\ lb. to each person. When first introduced into England, 
about the middle of the 17th century, coffee was sold in a liquid 
state, and paid a duty of 4d. per gallon ; afterwards, until the 
year 1732, the duty was 23. per lb. ; it was then reduced to Is. 6d., 
since which it has paid various rates of duty ; in the year 1824 
it was settled at 6d. per lb. All descriptions of coffee now pay 
but 3d. per lb. 

The consumption of coffee in the United Kingdom, for several 



40 



COFPEE. 



years previous to 1825, varied from seven millions and a half to 
eight millions and a half pounds in ronnd numbers, the duty being 
Is. per lb. on British plantation, Is. 6d. per lb. on East India, and 
2s. 6d. per lb. on foreign. Erom the 5th of April of that year 
those rates were each reduced to one half, and the innnediate con- 
sequence was a steady increase of the consumption until 1831, 
when it amounted to 23,000,000 lbs. The consumption continued, 
without any material variation, at this rate, or to advance by very 
slow degrees, until 1836, when the duty on East India coffee was 
reduced to 6d, per lb. ; and this change had precisely the same 
effect as the previous one, for the consumption again advanced to 
upwards of 26,000,000 lbs., which was then considered, in a me- 
morial of the London trade, to be as much as our colonies were 
capable of producing ! We now find, however, one small island, 
Ceylon, producing a fourth more than this amount annually. 

The Belgians, a population of 4,500,000, consume more 
than 33,000,000 lbs. of coffee annually ; quite as much as is 
used by the whole 35,000,000 Erench. The duty on 100 lbs. 
of coffee in Erance is more than the common original cost — 
the Belgian duty not a tenth part ; so that the Erench do not use 
1 lb. of coffee per head, while the Belgians consume 7 lbs. each per 
annum. The proportion in England is not more than 1^ lb. per 
head to the population. The United States are the largest con- 
sumers of coffee, as it is admitted into their ports free of duty, and 
can therefore be sold for nearly the price per pound which the 
British Grovermnent levies on it for revenue. The entire con- 
sumption of the United States and British North America, calling 
their population 23,000,000 and ours 30,000,000, exceeds ours, 
on an estimate of population, by sixfold. Thus the average con- 
sumption of coffee by each American, annually, is about 8|lbs., while 
the quantity used by each person in the European States is less 
than 11 lb. 

The changes in the sources of supply, within the last fifteen or 
sixteen years, have been very remarkable. The British posses- 
sions in the E.ist have taken the place which our islands of the 
West formerly occupied. The British West Indies have fallen off 
in their produce of coffee from 30,000,000 to 4,000,000 lbs. Ceylon 
which, fifteen years ago, had scarcely tamed attention to coffee, 
now exports nearly 35,000,000 lbs. San Domingo, Cuba, and the 
Erench West India colonies are gradually giving up coffee- cultiva- 
tion in favor of other staples ; and it is only Brazil, Java, and 
some of the Central American Republics that are able to render 
coffee a profitable crop. The export crop of Brazil (the greatest 
coffee-producing country), grown in 1850, for the supply of the 
year ending July, 1851, amounted to no less than 302,000,000 lbs., 
of this a large quantity remained in the interior to supplj^ the de- 
ficiency of the current year. 

It is scarcely thirty years ago that the coftee-plant was first in- 
troduced into Bengal by two i-efugees from Manilla ; and the 
British possessions in the East Indies now yield 42,000,000 lbs. 



COPFEE. 



41 



Sufficient extent has not jet been giyen to enable it to be decided 
in wliat district of Continental India it may be most advan- 
tageously cultivated. It is in tlie fine island of Ceylon, however, 
that coffee- culture has made the most rapid progress. 

It is an important fact that the supply of coffee from Ceylon, 
even at the present moment, and irrespective of land abeady 
planted but not yet come into full bearing, is in excess of the 
whole consumption of G-reat Britain, and the planter is thus com- 
pelled to carry the siu'plus to continental markets. The exports 
of coffee from Ceylon have been rather stationary the past three 
years, averaging about 300,000 cwt. In the sixteen years ending 
with 1851, Ceylon had exported 130,083 tons of coffee ! 

The present produce of the various coffee-growing countries in 
the world, may be set down at the following figures : 

SOUTH -4>a) CEXTRAX AMERICA, 

Millions of lbs. 



Costa Eica ..... 9 
La Guavra and Porto Cabello . . .35 

Brazil \ . . . . .302 

British West Indies .... 8 
French and Dutch. West Indies . . 7 

Cuba and Porto Ptico . . , .30 

St. Domingo ..... 33i 

ASIA AXD THE EAST. 

Java ...... 140 

The Philippine Isles .... 3 

Celebes . . . . . 1| 

Sumatra . . . . .5 

Ceylon . . . . .34 

Malabar and Mysore . . . . o 

Arabia (Mocha) . . . .3 



616 = 275,000 tons. 

This I have computed as accurately as possible from the most 
recent returns, but it falls much below the actual capabilities of 
production, even with the trees at bearing, and land already under 
cultivation ; and also, in a great measure, excludes the local con- 
sumption in the producing countries. In many quarters there 
has been a considerable falling off in the production. The British 
"West Indies, as we have seen, formerly exported 30,000,000 lbs., 
the Trench and Dutch West Indies 17,000,000, Cuba and Porto 
Eico 56,000,000, and St. Dommgo, in the last century, 76,000,000. 
The growth of coffee has been transferred from the T^-^est to the 
East Indies, and to the South American Continent, where labor 
is more abundant, certain, and cheap. In the East the increase 
in production has been enormous and progressive, with, perhaps, 
the exception of Sumatra, which has fallen off from 15,000,000 lbs. 
to somewhere about one-thnd of that quantity. 

The following statement may be taken as an approximate esti- 
mate of the actual consimption of coffee at the present time : — 

Millions of lbs. 
Great Britain . . , . . .32 

Holland and Belgium . . . . .125 



Miilioas of lbs. 

France ...... 33 

Ghirnian Customs Union . . .95 

Other Gei-maa Countries not included in the Union, ) 

and Austria . . . ■ / " 

Switzerland . r . . . .13 

]\rediterranean Countries . , . .20 

Ptussia ....... 12 

S^reden and Denmark . . , -0 

Spain and Portugal . . . . .15 

C3cpe of Good Hope and Australia . . .6 

United States and British. America . . .170 



587 

A calculation made in tlie Hcoiiomisf. a year or two ago, gave 
tlie following as tlie j^roljaMe consumption : — 

Millions of lbs. 



Uolland and iN'et^erlands .... 108 

Germany and North Europe . . . . l7o 

France and South of Europe . . . .105 

Great Eritain . . . . . .37 

United States and British America . . .175 

Total 600 



But tMs estimate is too Kigli in some of the figures. Great Br::: : 
we know, from the official tahles only, consumes 34.000.0'.jU ^ - 
annually; the United States and British America not s: ::.;;:: :.> 
set down by several millions; for the official returns c: :-.: :_::- 
ports of coffee into the United States show an average for the 
three years ending June. lS50, of less than 154 000.000 lb?. ; :-X- 
though a writer in a recent number of "H : - M : ::„: s 
Magazine," ^^ew York, (usually a well-inf on:. _ . :: ..:::... as- 
sumes a consumption of 200j000j000 lbs., for the Xorth American 
States and Pi'ovinces. 

The quantity of coffee produced being greater than the con- 
sumption thereof, the growth of it be-comes less remunerative, 
and consequently we may look for a decrease in the - : '.y. 
Ceylon, as well as the West Indies generally, British a:: . : :c-j:i. 
are likely to direct their attention to some more pr :::: .: -:a^_: 
A diminished production may further be expected in Brazil, con- 
sequent on the extermination of the slave-trade and the more 
sparing exertion of the labour of the slaves. In Cuba the want 
of labour is so much felt that large engagements have been entered 
into for the importation of Chinese ; and there are mar; ra-.rs 
for expecting a diminished production in Java, the Ucx: !ar_r.-t 
coffee-producing country. The necessary consequence of this ex- 
pected decrease in the quantity of coffee produced wiU be, to 
bring the produce as much below the wants of the consumers as it 
is now above, and this must again result in an enhancement of 
prices in process of time. 

If it were thought desirable to extead the production of coffee, 
there are many new quarters, besides the existing countries in 
wiiich it is largely cultivated, wliere it could be extensively grown. 



COFFEE, 



43 



We may instaiice Liberia aud the western coast of Africa geue- 
rally, the interior ranges of Xatal, tlie moimtain-ranges on the 
northern coast of Australia, from Moreton Baj to Torres Straits, 
&c., &Q. But the present production is more than equal to the 
demand ; and unless a very largely increased consmnption takes 
place in the European countries, the present plantations (colonial 
and foreign) are amply siiincient to supply, for many years to 
come, all the demands that can be made upon their trees, a large 
proportion of ^Yhich have yet to come iiito full bearing. 

The coliee tree would gTOW to the height of fifteen or twenty 
feet if permitted, but it is bad policy to let it grow higher tlian 
four or five feet. It comes to maturity in five years, but does not 
thrive beyond the twenty-fifth, and is useless generally after thirty 
years. Although the tree affords no profit to the planter for 
nearly five years ; yet after that time, with very little labor be- 
stowed upon it, it yields a large return. 

Mr. Churchill, Jamaica, found that 1,000 gi'ains of the wood, 
leaves, and twigs of the coffee tree, yielded 38 grains of ashes, 
or 3.300 per cent. The ashes consist of potass, lime, alumina, and 
iron in the state of carbonates, sulphates, muriates, and phosphates, 
and a small portion of silica. According to Liebig's classification 
of plants, the coffee tree falls under the description of those noted 
for their preponderance of lime. Thus the proportions in the 
coffee tree are — 

Linis salts . . ' . . . . 77 

Potass salts . . . • . . .20 

Silica ....... 3 

100 

I shall now proceed to describe the cultivation of the tree and 
preparation of the berry, as carried on in different countries. 

Cultivation of JKoclia — In Arabia Felix, the culture is princi- 
pally carried on in the kingdom of Yemen, towards the cantons 
of Aden and Mocha. Although these countries are very hot in 
the plains, they possess mountains where the air is mild. The 
coff'ee is generally gTOwn half way up on their slopes. When cid.- 
tivated on the lower grounds it is always surrounded by large trees, 
Avhich shelter it from the torrid sun, and prevent its fruit from 
withering before their maturity. The harvest is gathered at tlu^ee 
periods ; the most considerable occurs in May, when the reapers 
begin by spreading cloths under the trees, then shaking the 
branches strongly, so as to make the fruit drop, which they collect 
and expose upon mats to dry. They then pass over the di'ied 
berries a heavy roller, to break the envelopes, which are afterwards 
winnowed away Avith a fan. The interior bean is again dried 
before being laid up in store. 

The principal coffee districts are TIenjersia, Tarzia, Oudeiu, 
Aneizah, Bazil, and Weesaf. The nearest coffee plantations are 
three-and-a-half days joru-ney (about 80 miles) from Aden. 

The following information is derived from Capt. S. B. Haines 
of the Indian Xavy, and our political agent at Aden. 



44 



COPrEE. 



A camel load is about 400 lbs = 26 frazlas or bales. 

G.C. Coinniassecs. 



The price of ditto inland . . . .31 41 
At Mocha, duty to Dewla uncertain . 

Bake fee one butsha on each frazla ... 25 

Weighing and clerk's fee ... . 20 

Packing ...... 40 

Camel hire to the coast . . . .12 50 

Cost from Sana to Mocha . . . .44 15 



Coffee is broiiglit into the Sana market in December and Ja- 
nuary from tlie surrounding districts. 
The varieties are — 

1. Sherzee, best — price 1 G.C. frazla 2o butsha. 

2. Ouceaime. 

3. Muttanee. 

4. Sharrazee. 

5. Hubbal from Aniss. 

6. Sherissee from ditto — price per frazla 1 G.C. 15 B. 

The nearest place to Sana where the coffee tree grows, is at 
Arfish, half a day distant. Attempts have been made to introduce 
the shrub in the garden of the Imaum at Sana, but without success, 
ascribed to cold. Kesher is mote prized at Sana ; the best is 
Anissea, and is sold at a higher price than other coffee, namely, 
g. c. 12 per 100 lbs. ; inferior, at from 4, 5, and 6. 

fia,in falls in Sana three times in the year. 1st. In January, in 
small quantities. 2nd. Beginning of June, when it falls for eight 
or ten days. By this time the seed is sown, and the cultivators 
look forward to the season with anxiety. 3rd. In July, when it 
falls in abundance. A few farmers defer sowing till this period, 
but it is unusual when they expect rain in Jime, 

The coffee plant is mostly found growing near the sides of 
mountains, valleys, and other sheltered situations, the soil of 
which has been gradually washed down from the surrounding 
heights, being that which forms its source of support. This is 
afforded by the decomposition of a species of claystone (slightly 
phosphoritic) which is found irregularly disposed in company with 
a few pieces of trap-rocks, amongst which, on approaching Sana 
from the soutliward, basalt is found to preponderate. The clay 
stone is only found in the more elevated districts, but the debris 
finds a ready wa,y into the lower country by the numerous and 
steep gorges which are conspicuous in every direction. Ae it is 
thrown upon one side of the valley, it is carefully protected by 
means of stone walls, so as to present to the traveller the appear- 
ance of terraces. The plant requires a moist soil, though much 
rain does not appear necessary. It is always found in greater 
luxuriance at places where there is no spring. The tree at times 
looks languid, and half withered ; an abundant supply of water to 
the root of the plant seems necessary for the full growth and per- 
fection of its bean. 

Progress of Cultivation in India. — There are said to be ten 
varieties of the coffee, but only one is found indigenous to India, 
and it is questionable if this is not the Mocha species introduced 



COFFEE. 



45 



from Arabia. The cultivation of this important crop is spreadiDg 
fast throughout the east, and has been adopted in many parts of 
Hindostan. In the Tenasserim provinces, on the table land of 
Mysore, in Penang, and especially in the islands of Bourbon and 
Ceylon, it is becoming more and more an object of attention. 
It is known to have given good produce in Sangar and the jSTer- 
budda ; also in ^Mirzapore, as well as Dacca, and other parts of 
Bengal ; Chota Xajpore, jMalabar, and Travancore. Trom three 
to four million pounds of coffee are now exported from the Indian 
presidencies annually. The highest quantity was four and a quarter 
million pounds in 1845, but the progress of culture, judging from 
tbe export, has been small. 

On the hilly districts on the east coast of tbe Grulf of Siam, 
the cultivation is carried on on a limited scale. The annual 
produce is not much more than about 400 cwt., although it is 
understood to be increasing. The quality of the berry is reciioned 
to be nearly equal to j\Iocha, and it commands a high price in the 
English market. 

The soil recommended in India is a good rich garden land, the 
situation high and not liable to inundation, and well sheltered to 
the north-west, or in such other direction as the prevailing storms 
are found to come from. 

A plantation, or a hill affording the shrubs shade, has been 
found beneficial in all tropical climates, because, if grown fully 
exposed to the sun, the berries have been found to be ripened 
prematurely. 

The spot should be well dug to a depth of two feet before the 
trees are planted out, and the earth pulverised and cleared from 
the roots of rank weeds, but particularly from the coarse woody 
grasses with which all parts of India aboimd. 

The best manure is found in the decayed leaves that fall from 
the trees themselves, to which may be added the weeds produced 
in the plantation, dried and burnt. These, then, dug in, are the 
only, manure that will be required. Cow-dung is the best manure 
for the seed-beds. 

The seed reserved for sowing must be put into the ground quite 
fresh, as it soon loses its power of germination. Clean, well- 
formed berries, free fr-om injury by insects, or the decay of the 
pulp, should be selected. 

These berries must be sown in a nursery, either in small, well- 
manured beds, or in pots in a sheltered spot, not too close, as it 
is well to leave them where sown until they acquire a good growth; 
indeed, it is better if they are removed at once from the bed Avhere 
they are sown, to the plantation. Here they should be planted 
as soon as they have attained two years of age, for, be it remem- 
bered, that if they are left too long in the nursery, they become 
unproductive and never recover. The distance at which they 
should be put out in the plantation need not exceed eight feet apart 
in the rows, between which, also, there should be eight feet distance. 
The seedlings appear in about a month after the seed is sown. 



40 



COFFEE. 



The cultiu-e requisite is, in the first instance, to afford sliacle to 
the young plants ; many consider that this shelter should be con- 
tinued during the whole period of their culture ; but this is some- 
what doubtful, as it has been found that plants so protected are 
not such good bearers as those which are exposed. The best 
plants for this purpose are tall, wide-branchiDg trees or shrubs, 
without much underwood. The other culture requisite is only to 
keep the ground tolerably clean from weeds, for which one cooly 
on from five to ten biggahs is sufficient. He should also prune 
ofi' decayed or dead branches. This treatment must be continued 
until the fourth year, when the trees will first begin bearing, and, 
after the gathering of each crop, the trees will require to be 
tbinned out from the superabundant branches, their extremities 
stopped, and the tops reduced to prevent their growing above 
seven or eight feet in height ; the stems, also, should be kept free 
from shoots or suckers for the height of at least one foot, as well 
as clear from weeds. 

Irrigation must be frequent during the first year that the plants 
are removed to the plantation, and may be aftenvards advanta- 
geously continued at intervals during the dry and hot weather, as 
a very hot season is found unfavorable to the plant, drying up 
and destroying the top branches and the extremities of the side 
shoots ; whilst, on the other hand, a very long rain destroys the 
fruit by swelling it out and rotting it before it can be ripened : 
hence it is necessary to attend to a good drainage of the planta- 
tion, that no water be anj^where allowed to lodge, as certain loss 
will ensue, not only of the crop of the current year, but most fre- 
quently of the trees also, as their roots require to be rather dry 
than otherwise. 

The crop will be ready to gather from October to January, 
when the ripe berries should be carefully picked from the trees by 
hand every morning, and dried in. the shade, the sun being apt to 
make them too brittle ; they must be •carefully turned to prevent 
fermentation, and wlien sufficiently dry the husks must be removed, 
and the clean cofi'ee separated from the broken berries. After 
being picked out and put aside, and then again dried, it is fit to 
pack. The first j'-ear's crop will be less than the succeeding ones, 
in which the produce will range from J a lb. to 1 lb. in each year. 
— (Simmonds's " Colonial Magazine," vol. xv.) 

Ceijlon. — Cofi'ee is stated to have been introduced into this island 
from Java, somewhere about the year 1730. It was extensively 
difi'used over the country by the agency of birds and jackalls. In 
1821 its cultivation may be said to have partially commenced, and 
in 1836, it had become widely extended through the Kandyan 
provinces. 

In 1839 not a tree had been felled on the wide range of the 
Himasgaria mountains. In 181<0 a small plantation was, for the 
first tiuie, formed. In 1846 there were fifty estates, then ave- 
raging, each, 200 acres of planted land, and yielding an average 
crop of 80,000 cwt. of cofiee. Every acre is nou- purchased in 



COFFEE. 



47 



that locality, and in large tracts, or tliere would hare been twice the 
number of estates in cultivation. In 1848, the G algawatte estate, 
situate in this range, at an elevation of 4,000 feet, containing 246 
acres, of which 72 were planted, v^-as purchased by Mr. E. D. 
Gerard, for £1,600. 

The quantity of land which had been brought under cultivation 
with coffee in this island in the ten years previous to the last re- 
duction of duty in 1844, was, in round numbers, 25,000 acres ; 
but so rapid was the subsequent increase, that in the succeeding 
three years, that extent of land was doubled ; so that, in 1847, 
there were upwards of 50,000 acres of land under cultivation 
Avith coffee, giving employment to 40,000 immigrant coolies from 
the continent of India, and upwards of two millions of capital 
were invested in the cultivation of this staple. 

The quantity of land under culture with coffee by Europeans, 
was about 55,000 acres in 1851. Allowing 20,000 acres to pro- 
duce the quantity of native coffee exported, and 5,000 for that 
consumed in the island, the total extent of coffee cultivation in 
Ceylon, European and native, will be 80,000 acres. 

The produce exported in 1849 was 373,593 cwt., while in the 
year 1836, when attention was first directed to this island as a 
coffee-producing country, the croj) was not more than 60,330 cv/t. 
Large profits were made by the first planters, more capital was 
introduced, until, between the years 1840 and 1842, the influx of 
capitalists, to undertake this species of cultivation, completely 
changed the face of the colony, and enlarged its trade, and the 
produce of coffee in sixteen years has increased sixfold. 

The general culture resembles the practice in Java. Of the 
Ceylon coffee, that grown about Kamboddi fetches the highest 
price, from the superiority of the make, shape, and boldness of 
the berry. The weight per bushel, clean, averages 56 lbs. ; 57i lbs. 
is about the greatest weight of Ceylon coffee. The lowest in the 
scale of Ceylon plantation coffee is the Doombera, which averages 
54| lbs., clear, per bushel. The following have been the prices of 
good ordinary Ceylon coffee in the port of London for the last eight 
years in the month of January, 1853, 46g. to 48s. ; 1852, 40s. to 42s. ; 
1851, 38s. 6d. to 40s. 6d. ; 1850, 56s. 6d. to 57s. 6d. ; 1849, 31s. 
to 32s. 6d. ; 1848, 31s. 6d. to 33s. ; 1847, 39s. 6d. to 41s. 6d. ; 
1846, 49s. to 50s. 

Forest lands are those usually planted in Ceylon, and the ex- 
pense attendant on clearing and reclaiming them from a state of 
nature, and converting them into plantations, is estimated to 
average £8 per acre. The lowest upset price of crown lands in 
the colony is £1 per acre. 

Coffee planting has failed over a considerable portion of the 
southern province of the island, where the experiment was tried. 
The temperature was found to be too equable, not descending 
sufficiently low at any time to invigorate the plant ; which, though 
growing luxuriantly at first, soon became weak and delicate. ISTur- 
series are established for young plants. The districts in which 



48 



corrEE. 



tlie coffee is principally cultivated, extend over nearly tlie whole 
of tlie hilly region, which is the niediiim and connecting link be- 
tween the mountainous zone and the level districts of the coast. 

The mania for coffee planting has recently subsided, in conse-' 
quence of the barely remunerative returns at which that article 
has been sold, ascribable partly to over-production, and in some 
measure, perhaps, to the temporary glut of foreign coffee thrown 
on the Eritish market by the reduction of the duty. As regards 
the yield, some estates in Ceylon have produced upvrards of 15 cwt. 
per acre, but it is a good estate that will average seven, and many 
do not give more than 4 cwt. the acre. 

The shipments from Colombo for five years, are stated below, 
with the class of coffee :— 





Plantation. 


Native. 


Total. 




cwt. 


cwt. 


cwt. 


1845 . 


75,002 . . . 


. 112,889 


187,891 


1846 . 


91,240 .. 


70,991 


162,231 


1847 . 


.. 106,198 ... 


. 143,457 


249,655 


1848 . 


.. 191,464 .. 


88,422 


279,886 


1849 . 


. . 243,926 . . 


. 118,756 


362,682 


1850 . 


.. 198,997 .. 


56,692 


255,689 


1851 . 


- . 220,471 . . . 


97,091 


317,562 



^^ile, in 1839, the total value of the exports from Ceylon was 
only £330,000, in 1850 the value of the single staple of coffee 
was no less than £609,262, and in 1851 had still fiu^ther in- 
creased. 

I append a memorandum of the quantities of coffee exported 
from Ceylon since 1836 : — 



Quantity. Yalue. 
cwt. £ 

1836 60,329 .... 

1837 34,164 .... 

1838 49,541 .... 

1839 41,863 .... 

1840 68,206 .... 

1841 80,584 .... 196,048 

1842 119,805 .... 269,763 

1843 94,847 .... 192,891 

1844 133,957 .... 267,663 

1845 178,603 .... 363,259 

1846 173,892 .... 328,781 

1847 293,221 .... 456,624 

1848 280,010 .... 387,150 

1849 373,593 545,322 

1850 278,473 .... 609,262 

1851 339,744 .... 



Total in 16 years 2,600,832 



Average . 162,552 (Ceylon Almanac for 1853.) 



The local export dut)- of two-and-a-half per cent., was abolished 
from 1st September, 1848. 



COPFEE. 



49 



Eroin these figures it appears that, in a period of sixteen years, 
Ceylon exported two and a half millions of cwts. of coffee. 
The consumption of cofiee, although for a long time stationary in 
Britain, now that adulteration is no longer legalised, is likely to 
increase as rapidly as in other parts of the world ; and it appears 
pretty evident that, so long as anything like remunerative prices 
can be obtained, Ceylon aylLI do her part in supplying the world with 
an article which occupies the position of a necessary to the poor as 
well as a luxury to the rich. The exports of coffee from this colony 
have, within a few thousands of hundredweights, been nearly 
quadrupled since 18^3, when only 9J<,000 cwts. were sent away. 

Dr. Eudolph G-ygax, in a paper submitted to the Cejdon Branch 
of the E/oyal Asiatic Society, offered remarks on some analyses of 
the coffe3 of Ceylon, with suggestions for the applications of 
manures. 

"Having had," h.e observes, "my attontion drawn to an account of an 
analysis of the Jamaica cotf^'C berry, made by Mr. Herapath, the Liverpool 
chemist, I have paid some little attention to the subject of the coffee plant of 
this island, forming, as it does, so very important a feature in the resources of 
this colony. The desire that I thus felt for obtaining some information regard- 
ing the constituent parts of the Ceylon tree and its fruit, was heightened by a 
knowledge of the fact, that not a few of those cotfee estates, which once gave 
good promise of success, are now in a very precarious state of production. 

I much regret that the means at my disposal have not allowed me to carry 
out aiiy qi' a dative analysis, but the result of my labours are sufficiently accU'. 
rate f jr my present purpose. I have analysed the wood and fruit of trees from 
two different localities, as well as the ashes of some plants sent me from the 
Rajawella estate near Kandy, and they all tend to bear out the result of Mr. 
Herapath' s inquiries. Placing the substances traced in the coffee plant in the 
order in which they occur in tbe greatest quantity, they will stand thus : — 

Lime, potash, magnesia, phosphoric acid, other acids. 

Of these lime is by far the most prominent, forming about 60 per cent, of 
the whole. 

I cannot help, therefore, arriving at the conclusion that, to cultivate coffee 
with any degree of success, the first-named substance must be present in the 
soil ; or, if not present, must be supplied to it by some process. 

Xow it is a singular fact that the rocks and soils of Ceylon are greatly de- 
fi.cient in alkaline matter ; and, taking this view of the case, one no longer 
■wonders that many estates cease to produce coffee. That all, or nearly all the 
plantations did, in their first year or two of bearing, produce liberally in fruit, 
may readily be accounted for by the fact that the alkaline poverty of the soil 
was enriched by the burning of the vast quantities of timber which lay felled 
on all sides. Whilst this temporary supply lasted, all was v^ell with the planter. 
Heavy rains, and frequent scrapings of the land with the mamotie, or hoe, soon 
dissipated this scanty supply, and short crops are now the consequence. 

But nature, ever bountiful, ever ready to compensate for all deficiencies, has 
provided to our hands a ready means of remedying this evil of the soil, by 
scattering throughout most parts of the interior supplies of dolomitic limestone. 
The dolomite of Ceylon is not pure, far from it, being mixed freely with apatite 
or phosphate of lime. Even in this very accidental circumstance the coffee 
planter is aided ; for the phosphoric acid thus combined with the limestone is 
the very substance required in addition. Some of the finest properties in the 
island are situated on a limestone bottom, and these no doubt will continue to 
yield abundant crops for a very long period. 

It has been urged against this opinion that in some districts where coffee 
planting has proved a complete failure, dolomite is found most abundantly ; but 

E 



50 



I have veiy little doubt that the dolomite here alluded to is only magnesian 
limestone, and which is most inimical to the coffee hnsh. 

I am aware that already several manures have been tried on coffee with vary- 
ing degrees of success. Guano has, I believe, quite failed, and is besides very 
costly. Cattle manure is said to be effective, and no doubt it is, but it is a costly 
and troublesome affair. Bones, ground fine, are now being tried, though they 
cannot but prove most expensive, especially when imported. 

A ton of bone dust contains of animal matter, 746 lbs, ; phosphates of lime, 
&c., l,2ioibs. ; carbonates of lime, &c., 249 lbs. 

The virtue of bones lies in the phosphates far more than in the animal matter, 
and thus their action on soils is felt for many years after their application. The 
Singalese cultivators of paddy about Colombo and Galle, appear to have been 
long aware of the fertiliziag effects of this kind of manure, and import the 
article in dhonies from many parts of the coast ; they bruise them coarsely be- 
fore applying them. 

The partially decomposed husks of the coffee berry have been tried for some 
years, and successfully, but they are dif&cult of collection, and bulky to remove 
from one part of the estate to another. 

In Europe it would appear that little is yet known as to the causes of the 
fertilising effects of oil- cake; some suppose them to arise mainly from the oil 
left by the crushing ]5rocess, but this is not at all clear. I do not, however, see 
that we must look for much assistance from Poonac as a manure for coffee : for 
the cocoanut tree it is doubtless most valuable, but we have yet to learn that, 
beyond supplying so much more vegetable matter, it helps the action of the 
soil on the roots of the coffee bush, which, after all, is what is really required. 

For the proper application of the dolomite to land as manure, it should be 
freely burnt in a kiln, with a good quantity of wood, the ashes of wiiich should 
be afterwards mixed with the burnt lime, and the whole exposed for suverai 
days to the action of the air, sheltered of course from the weather. The mix- 
ture should be applied just before the setting in of the monsoon rains : if the 
land be tolerably level, the lime may be scattered broad-cast on the surface, 
though not cj[uite near the plants. When the estate to be manured is steep, 
then the substance to be applied should be placed in ridges cut crossways to the 
descent of the slopes. 

About one cwt. to the acre would be ample for most lands ; some may, how- 
ever, require more. The contents of the husk pits might advantageously be 
mixed up with the burnt lime, when a sufficiency of it has been saved. 

A planter in Ambaganioe states tliat lie has tried tlie following- 
remedy for that desiructive scourge, the colfee-bug, with great 
success. 

He applies saltpetre in a finely-powdered state, dusted over 
the tree when wet with rain or dew. The operation is inexpensive, 
as a very small quantity suffices, one cwt. being sufficient for nine 
or ten acres. It can be applied through a bamboo-joint covered 
with a perforated top, or any equally simple contrivance. 

Messrs. Worms' are reported to have found coco-nut oil an 
effijctual remedy. 

To sum up the question of manures : — 

Poonac, the marc or cake, after the coco-nut oil is expressed, 
is represented to be a stimulating manure ; but is not durable. 
Lime is an useful application, especially to stiff soils, as the 
coffee tree contains 60 parts of lime. Bone-dust is an excellent 
fertiliser, but in Ceylon it is found that it cannot be applied at a 
less expense than £5 per acre. Cattle manure is the cheapest 
and most available. Guano does not seem suitable. 



COFFEE. 



51 



Peeling, pulping^ and winnowing. — The coifee-peeler, used for se- 
parating tlie beaa from the pellicle, was formerly a large wheel 
revolving in a trough, the disadvantage of which was the flatten- 
ing more or less of the bean when not thoroughly dr}^. A new 
machine has been recently introduced, tlie invention of Mr. Nel- 
son, C.E., of the Ceylon iron works, by which this evil is ob- 
viated ; its principle being not weight, but simple friction, of 
sufficient force to break the parchment at first, and, when con- 
tinued, to polish the bean free from the husk. A very simple 
winnowing machine for cleaning the coffee as it comes out of the 
peeler, is attached. From the winnowing machine it runs into 
^ the separating machine, which sorts it into sizes, and equalizes 
the samples, by which a vast amount of time and manual labour 
are saved. The same principle is intended to be applied by Mr. 
IsTelson to pulping, which Avill obviate the injury now inflicted by 
the grater upon the fresh berry. In spite of the greatest care 
numbers of the beans in a sample, on close examination, will be 
found scratched or pecked ; and when the closest attention is not 
paid, or the person superintending tlie process is devoid of me- 
chanical skill, the injury is proportionate. 

The ordinary pulping-mill in use, consists of a cylinder of wood 
or iron, covered with sheet brass or copper, and punctured simi- 
larly to a nutmeg grater. This cylinder, technically called the 
barrel, vuns upon a spindle, which turns a brass pick on each 
side nf a frame. Immediately in a line with the centre upon 
which it turns, and placed vertical to each other, are two 
pieces of wood, frequently shod with iron or copper, called 
"the chops," placed about half an inch apart, or sufficient to 
allow the passage of "parchment" coffee between them. 
The lower chop is placed so close to the barrel, yet without 
contact, that all coff'ee must be stopped by it and thrown out- 
wards. The upper chop is adjusted to that distance only which 
will permit the cherry coffee to come into contact with the barrel ; 
but will not allow the berries to pass on till they have been 
denuded of their red epidermis by a gentle squeeze against its 
rough surface. The far gi'eater portion of the pulps are separated 
by being carried past the lower chops upon the sharp points of 
the copper, and thrown out behind, and a few are left v. ith the 
parchment coffee. As from the different sizes of the berries, and 
their crowding for precedence as they descend from the hopper 
above to the gentle embrace of the barrel and upper chop, some 
pass unpulped, the coffee as it comes from the lower chop is made 
to fall upon a riddle, which separates the unpulped cherries. 
These are put back again, and passed through a puiper with the 
upper chop set closer. The secret of working appears to be the 
proper setting of the chops, and many have been the schemes 
proposed for reducing this to a certainty. Perhaps, after all, few 
plans are better than the old wedges, by tightening or loosening 
of which the chop is kept in the required position. Within the 
last few years^ the machine has been considerably improved by 

E 2 



52 



COrFEE. 



heing formed entirely of iron, cog-wlieels being substituted in the 
place of straps and drums to move the riddle, and the riddle itself 
is now formed of t\vo sieves, by vrhich the chance of unpulped 
berries reaching the parchment is lessened. On some estates 
water-wheels have been put up to drive several pulpers at one 
time, which otherwise would require from two to four men each 
to wort them, bat from the costly buildings and appurtenances 
which such machinery renders necessary, they are rare. 

Although the operation of pulping is so simple, it is one which 
requires the machine to be set in such a way that tiie a'reatest quan- 
tity of wovji maybe done, or, in other words, tli? - u: lie -r quaiitiry 
of unpulped berries be allowed to pass through. On the other hand, 
the berries must not be subjected to injury from the barrel ; for 
if the parchment skin is pricked through, tlie berry will appear, 
when cured, with an unsightly brown mark upon it. Several new 
coverings for barrels, instead of punctured copper, have been 
tried; among others, coir-cloth and wii'e net, but the old 
material is not as yet superseded. After pulping, the cofiee in 
parchment is received into cisterns, in which it is. by washing, 
deprived of the mucilaginous matter that still adheres to it. 
Without this most necessary operation, the mucilage would fer- 
ment and expose the berry to injury, from its hi grJy corrosive 
qualities. 

As some p jrt'.on of pulp finds its way with the cofiee to the 
cistern, which, if siiiiered to remain would, by its lo:ij retention 
of moisture, lengthen the subsequent drying pi' various 
methods have been adopted to remove it. One mode is to pass 
the coffee a second time through a sieve worked by two men ; 
another to pick it off the surfaces of the cistern, to which it natu- 
rally rises. 

In August, 1843, premiums were awarded by the Ceylon Agri- 
cultural Society to Messrs. Clerihew and Josias Lambert for the 
improvements they had introduced into coffee-pulpers, whicli, by 
their exertions, had been brought to great perfection. The first 
improved complete cast-iron pidper received in the island, was 
made for Mr. Jolly, from dra\vings sent home by Mr. Lambert to 
Messrs. B. Hick and Son. endneers. This pulper is one of the 
most perfect in every respect thiu has yet been brought into use, 
the disadvantages belonging to the old machine haAung been en- 
tirely remedied. The sieve crank has a double eccentric action. 
The chops are regulated by set screws, and the sieve suspended in a 
novel and secui^e manner, the whole combining strength and 
eScacy, together with an elegance of form, which will likewise be 
appreciated. 

Mr. W. Clerihew, of Ceylon, submitted to the Grreat Exhibition 
a model of his approved apparatus for drying coffee (which has 
been patented in the name of Eobert B. Banks, Great Greorge 
Street, Westminster), and received the Isis gold medal for the same. 
The intention is to dry the vegetable and aqueous moisture of the 
berry. Before this is requii-ed, the coffee has previously undergone 



COFFEE. 



53 



the process of pulpiug, or removal from the soft fleshy husk. Here 
let Mr. Clerihew describe the adyantages for himself — 

" "When the coffee beny is picked from the tree it bears a closer resemblance 
to a ripe cherry, both in size and appearance ; and several processes have to be 
gone through befoie the article knovvn in commerce as coffee is produced. 
In the first place, the pulpy exterior of the cherry has to be removed by the 
process of pulping, "svhich separates the seed and its thin covering called the 
parchment, from the husk. Vrhen the pulping process is completed, we have 
the parchment coffee by itself in a cistern, and the next process consists in 
getting rid of the mucilage with which it is covered." 

Ha™g become assured, both bj experiment and by Liebig's 
reasoning, that the successive stages of decomposition were wholly 
ascribable to the action of the stagnant air which occupies the 
interstices between the beans, and taking into account that a mass 
of coffee presented a medium pervious to air, it occurred to Mr. 
Cleriliew that it was possible, by means of fanners, working on 
the exhausting principle, so to withdraw air from an enclosed 
space as to establish a current of air through masses of coffee 
spread on perforated floors forming the top and bottom of that 
space. The plan he carried into execution at Kathgoongodde 
plantation in 184:9. Xo sooner was the plan put in operation 
than, instead of stagnant air occupying the interstices of the beans 
and gradually acting on them, a stream of air was established and 
flowing through the mass of coftee, each bean of it became sui*- 
rounded by a constantly renewed atmosphere of fresh air. 

J'ava. — When Arabia enjoyed the exclusive monopoly of coffee, 
it could not be foreseen that one day the island of Java would 
furnish for the consumption of the world from 125 to 130 millions 
of pounds per annum. The cultivation was introduced by M. 
Zwaendenkroom, the Governor- Greneral of Batavia, who obtained 
seeds from Mocha, in 1723. According to official statements 
the following are the exports. 

In 1839 there were exported 46,781,729 kilogrammes, valued 
at 48 million florins. Eight years labor, 1833 to 1841, brought its 
jDroduce of coffee from 12 million kilogrammes annually, up to 
55 millions. 

In 1846, the exports were 916,876 piculs, but, in 1850 they 
were only 14,801 piculs. The total coffee crop of Java was in 
1850, 1,280,702 lbs. ; in 1851, 1,436,171 lbs. ; in 1852, l,229,349rDs. 



Eesidences in which this produce has been 
cultivated in 1840 and 1841 . 

Kumber of families destined for the labor 

Trees which have yielded a crop 

Trees which have produced the average quan- 
tity of a picul of 125 lbs. Dutch .... , . . . . 

Quantity of coffee furnished to the godowns 
in piculs 

Trees according to the reckoning maie in the 

month of March, 1841 and 1842 | 336,922,460 




329,898,936 



54 



COFFEE. 



Toe comparative result of this table sliows — 1st. That, in the 
year 1841, coffee had been gathered from 20,000,000 more trees 
than the number in 1840, and that the crop had increased by 
171,000 piculs. 

2nd. That, in the month of March, 1842, there were above 
7 millions less of coffee trees than in 1840. This diminution is 
merely nominal, seeing that these trees have served to replace 
those vs^hich by their small produce have to be suppressed in the 
lowlands of the residency of Baylen. On the contrary, the increase 
of trees, planted from 1839 to 1840, amount to very nearly the 
same number, of 7 millions. 

3rd. That, in the season of 1842, there was planted nearly 
20 millions of plants ; of which 12 millions are to serve to replace 
the old trees, and 8 miliious are destined to extend this culture. 
It is calculated that this island will very soon be in a condition to 
produce a million of piculs or 125 millions more of Dutch pounds 
of coffee. Previous to 1830, Java scarcely exported as much as 
40 millions of pounds. 

Cultivation and Preparation of Coffee in Java. — For the follow- 
ing valuable details I am indebted to M. de Munnick, the inspector 
of the agricultural department, Batavia, as contributed to my 
" Colonial Magazine " (vol. xi. p. 46). 

Soil and Situation. — Elevated lands are found to be those best 
suited for the growth of coffee in Java. Land situated between 
1,000 and 4,000 feet above the level of the sea may be generally 
said to be adapted to the cultivation of coffee. It mnist not be 
taken for granted that all ground of less elevation is unsuited. 
Suitable ground is to be found lower down, but the cultivation on 
it is more difficult ; the tree gives less fruit, and the plant is less 
durable. Valleys lying between high mountains are more especially 
fit for coffee plantatious, because the soil which is washed down 
from the heights affords fresh food continually to the lowlands ; 
the valleys themselves are moist, since the hills surroundiug them 
attract the rain ; and they are shut out from severe winds by the 
same protecting enclosure. The soils best suited to the successful 
growth of coffee may be classed as follows : — 

Mrstly. Cleared forest lands, especially those iuAvhich the black 
leafy, or vegetable mould is found to considerable depth. These 
are the richest grounds^ and will support the coffee plant for many 
years, and they are also cultivated with the least trouble. 

Secondlij. Dark brown soils, approaching to black, which, with- 
out having much clay in them, appear to the eye to have a mix- 
ture of coral. The greater the depth of this coral-like stratum, 
and of the reddish or deep yellowish soil, the better is the ground 
for coffee. This kind of land also has sufficient strength and sub- 
stance to afford nourishment for many years to the plant ; but it 
entails niore trouble than the before mentioned soils, because the 
young plant does not so speedily strike root into it, and sometimes 
dies, so that provision has to be made against failures. 

Tiiirdlij. Eeddish and loose ground, such as is generally found 



corrEE. 



55 



in the ueiglibourhood of volcanic lands. This kind is frequently- 
found Avell adapted for coffee ; it floiu'ishes on such land luxur- 
iantly, but does not last long, as the ground possesses less strength 
and nourishing substance.* 

By digging in different places we become better acquainted with 
the nature of the ground, but tto may take it as a rule, that rich 
old forest land on which many larger trees are found, and plains 
covered Avitli heavy underwood, most frequently offer eligible sites 
for coffee plmtations. 

Groimds in which loam is found, and stony soils, are unfit for 
coffee. But I do not mean by " stony soils" land on which many 
stones are lying, for on that very account it may be most suitable ; 
but I mean land which shows a pebbly stratum just below the 
surface, or such as is of a porous, stony nature. In the choice of 
situation care must be taken to select that which is as much as 
possible protected against the south-east ^\-ind, because its dry 
iufluence is very injurious to the coffee plant, and also prevents 
the growth of the Erytlirina (known here locally as tiie Dadap 
tree) which is so necessary for its shade. Flat grounds, or gentle 
declivities, are better than steep slopes ; yet the latter can be well 
employed if proper care is taken. 

Cultivation. — After the ground has been cleared in the dry 
seasou — that is, after the bushes have been rooted out, the under- 
growth burnt off", and the thickets removed — ploughing is com- 
liienced in September, When the ground has twice been deeply 
ploughed, the weeds and roots must be brought together with the 
rake and carefully bui'ut. The depth of the ploughing must be 
regulated by the natin^e of the ground. In all kinds of culti\'ation, 
deep plougliing is recommended, but in Java we ought not to 
plough deeper than the stratum of fertile sod, as a kind of subsoil 
ma^' be wrought uppermo-st injurious to plants, and which, before 
it can become fertile, must for a year at least have been exposed 
to the atmosphere. 

The ground having been turned up, should be left exposed for 
some days to throw off" the vapor arising from it ; and must then 
be again ploughed and cleared with the rake. After v\'aiting 
for some d iys, it should be ploughed for the fourth and last time, 
and made as clean and friable as possible. In small plantations 
this is to be done with the spade, but on large estates the roller 
must be used. This roller consists of a heavy piece of round wood, 
eight or ten feet long, to which a pole is fastened in the middle to 
have oxen harnessed to it. It is drawn slowly over the ploughed 
land, and presses the clods to earth. To give it greater force 
the driver sits or stands upon it. 

Before the field has been properly ploughed and rolled in the 
above way, the middle of October will have arrived, and v\ e then 
begin to open a path through the plantation from the highest to 
the lowest point, about two roods broad, and the whole of the 

* In the AVest ludies, from my own experience, I have found this to be one 
of the worst <lcftcriptions of soil. F.L.S. 



56 



COFZEE, 



land is then divided into separate parcels. Portioning off the 
estates into divisions of eqnal size is a system to be much recom- 
mended. By this means labor may be eqnally divided, superin- 
tended and inspected. Order and regularity, which are necessary 
in all things, are most especially required in cultivation on a large 
scale. 

The size of these parcels is regulated by the nature of the es- 
tate. On flat or gently declining land they may be greater than 
on steep grounds, because, in order to prevent the washing away 
of the soil on precipitous land, the water must be led ofi* by 
trenches, which of themselves make the divisions of land smaller. 
On fiat ground the divisions may be each 625 square roods, each 
of which may contain, if planted — 

Trees. Trees. 
12 feet bv 12 . . 625 I 8 feet by 8 . . 1406 

10 „ ' 10 . . 900 I 6 „ 6 . . 2500 

The distance between the coffee bushes cannot be definitely 
laid down, as it depends on the nature of the soil. On the most 
fertile forest lands tweb e feet by twelve is a good distance. Only 
on low and meagre grounds, where the tree grows less luxui^iantly 
and strong, can sis feet by six be reckoned a proper distance. 

Between the divisions a path should be left, one rood in breadth. 
Along the middle paths and by the side of the divisions di-ains 
must be cut, the iormer two feet in breath and depth, the latter 
one foot. The • drains along the divisions must be cut in such a 
way as to conduct the rain-water to the larger drains which flank 
the middle paths. On precipitous ground, when the coffee is 
planted, small ridges should be raised between the rows, to pre- 
vent the rich earth from washing down, in the heavy rains. The 
steeper the land is, the closer the^e ridges should be ; and care 
should be taken to incline them, so as to break the descent, the 
direction of which they should in some degree follow. The first 
ridges may be made with, the branches of the trees which have 
been felled, or with the rubbish cleared from the ground on the 
first raking of it. 

Flacing tlie 'pickets. — 'When the gTonnd has been worked and 
divided in the above manner, the pickets are placed. These are 
slips of bamboo one-and-a-half to two feet long. Eirst — two long 
canes (which do not stretch like string), each one hundred feet 
long, are marked off in feet according to the distance at which the 
planting is to take place ; heavy stakes are made fast to each end 
of them, by which they can be well secured on the ground. At 
the places Avhere they are marked off in feet, strings are fastened 
so tightly that they cannot be displaced ; and then the canes are 
Md down and well fixed in the ground, one in the length and the 
other in the breadth. 

Picketing does not give much trouble ; it ensures regular plant- 
ing, and makes the daily inspection simple. The planting thus 
takes place in straight lines, which give an ornamental appearance, 
and afterwards renders the view over the whole plantation easy. 



corrEE. 



57 



At every place vrliere a string has been tied, a picket is stuck 
ia the gi'ound ; the:i che cane is removed to anotlier place, and so 
on till all the estate is marked out by pickets. After the picket- 
ing, a hole is made with the spade at every raark ; it should be a 
good foot broad and deep, and the earth inside should be made 
very fine and clear. The earth is noAv ready to receive the coffee 
plant, and the titxie has only to be \Yaited for T^'hen the first rains 
fully begin. 

Is'iirseries. — In the month of October, or earlier, if coff'ee trees 
are near at hand, nin-series must be prepared in the neighbourhood 
of the land about to be planted. This can be done in the ravines, 
or, if they are too far from the spot vrhere the plants are wanted, 
pieces of ground rriOst convenient can be selected. If the ravines 
are preferred, phi.je- must be chosen vrhich are shaded by trees not 
prejudicial to th - ih nee plants. On ground where there is no 
trees, the nurseries id ay be covered, at the height of four feet, 
with leaves of jack {Artoccrrpus intccjrifolici). areca, or other palm 
trees, in a manner to admit the air. 

The ground made loose and fine, coff'ee plants newly opening, 
or seeds only, are planted or sown at a distance of four inches 
square ; 500 square roods will in this way furnish 648,000 plants, 
which are sufhcient for an estate of 300,000 trees. Transplanting 
froQi nurseries is absolutely necessary in coffee cultivation, and the 
trouble it costs is always doubly repaid. Having a choice of plants, 
a person can be convinced he has taken none but healthy trees, 
and he proceeds therefore vdth a confidence of success. After the 
first year, all failures having been nearly replaced, the estate is 
fully planted, the trees are of regular growth, and no useless 
clearing is required — a thing which is always necessary in irregular 
plantations. It is easy also to pick the berries from the trees 
which are planted with regularity ; the work goes on smoothly ; 
and, when the estate has lived its time, it may be abandoned alto- 
gether, without leaving patches of living trees here and there, 
which renders superintendence so very difficult. 

Tliere shoudd always be a plentiful supply of plants, to give an 
ample choice and to make up for failm^es. Vf hen plants are placed 
in the nurseries, they should not have more than two off sheets, or 
leaves, above each other ; and when the ball plants are transplanted, 
they shoidd not be higher than a foot, as lai-ge plants always give 
meagre trees. 

At the end of IN ovember or beginning of December, if the mir 
series are kept free from weeds, and, if necessary, occasionally 
watered, the plants will be about a foot high, and will have put 
forth I or 5 leaves ; they are then just fit to be transplanted. Then 
the ground is cloven with the spade, at a distance of an inch and 
a half round the stem of the plant, to about three inches deep ; 
the plant, with the ball of earth adhering to it, is carefully hfted 
out of the ground, and the ball is wrapped in a jack, plantain, or 
other leaf, and tied to prevent the earth falling off": but, before 



58 



COITEE. 



the plants are thus takjn from the ground, it must be moistened 
to make the earth adhesive. 

Planting the coffee trees. — The plants, which, after the above 
operation are called "ball jDlants," are then placed in a bamboo 
wicker frame, and are carefully carried by two men to the place 
where they are to be put into the ground. They are then taken 
out of the frame and placed in the holes next to the pickets. The 
pickets are removed, and the plant is fixed upright ; the leaf sur- 
rounding the bail is made loose, but not taken away ; the planter 
presses the plant down with his hand and fills up the hole with 
fine loose earth, and the business of planting the colFee tree is 
finished. 

I^lanting tlie Dadap tree. — This is a species of Erythrina, pro- 
bably E. indica, or JiJ. arhorescens ; that used for the purpose in 
the West Indies is E. Gov alio dendrum. In Java, as soon as the 
coffee is planted, the operation of planting the dadap tree is com- 
menced. The best sort of dadap comes from Serp or Mienyak ; 
it is smooth and broad-leaved, and shoots up quickly. Thick 
young stems are chosen, about three feet long, and the lower part 
is pointed off". If the dadap is moist or juicy, it should be cut 
twenty-four hours before it is planted. The dadap is planted uni- 
formly by measuring the cane in the same way as the coffee itself. 
Between every two rows of coff'ee one of dadap is planted, not on 
a line with the coffee plants, but alternately with them ; thas, if 
the coff'ee is eight feet by eight, the dadap is sixteen by sixteen. 
The dadap is planted to the depth of a foot, with somewhat of a 
westerly inclination, in order that the morning sun may fall on a 
larger surface of the stick. The ground must be stiffly trodden 
round the bottom of the stem, and the upper part of it should 
have some kind of leaf tightly bound around it to prevent the sap 
from escaping. When the coffee and dadap plants have thus been 
put out, every fifth day the young plantation should be carefully 
inspected, and a picket placed wherever there is a failure, as a 
mark to the planter that a new plant is there required. This ope- 
ration of replacing failures is carried on aU through the wet season, 
and the dadaps which have not succeeded are at the same time 
changed. 

Keepinq up tlie estate. — In the first six months after planting, 
the estate should be cleaned each fortnight with the hoe ; the 
ground being well moved and the weeds taken out. Those weeds 
which are too close to the plants to be removed in this manner, 
must be pulled out with the hand. When the plantation is thus 
w^holly or partially cleaned, the earth must be taken off" the weeds, 
and they must be collected and thrown on the pathways. 

The weeding in this manner gives at first a great deal of trouble, 
but it is most advantageous in the long run, as the weeds are thus 
easily kept down. 

Great care must be taken to do away with an old custom of 
burying the weeds in large holes on the estates. It conduces to 



corrEE, 



59 



bad and slovenlj habits, siicb as cutting ofFtbe tops of the Aveeds 
bv wholesale, and thus giving the plantation an appearance of 
cleanliness, whilst it, in fact, is as dirtv as ever. This is soon 
discovered by the weeds showing themselves again above ground 
in a very few days, and even if they rot under ground, they breed 
insects which are very hurtful to the bushes, and the seeds 
vegetate. 

After the first six months, this weeding will be sufficient if it 
takes places once a month, but this must be persevered in till the 
third year, when there may be a much greater interval between 
the weeding. When the trees are coming to fall growth, the hoe 
should be less frequently used in cleaning ; the hand must be used 
to the full extent to which the branches reach, as the roots of the 
tree spread to a like distance, and if they are injured the growth 
of the tree is prejudiced. 

The well-being of an estate chiefly depends on frequent cleaning 
of the plantation in the beginning. The idea of some persons that 
cleaning in the diy season is of little consequence, must be given 
up, as it is principally at that very time that it is extremely profit- 
able to remove and clear the ground round the trees in then* 
growth. In the first place, this destroys the weeds which take 
the nourishment away from the trees ; secondh", the ground is 
rendered more open to receive the slight shoAvers and dews 
which moisten it, and to benefit by the influence of the air; 
the roots are thus considerably refreshed. The dew falling on 
ground which has been recently moved, penetrates at once into 
it, and does good to the plant ; but if it falls on the weeds, the 
first rays of the sun absorb it, and deprive the tree of this source 
of refreshment. 

The dadap is to be taken care of whilst clearing goes on ; it must 
be cropped so as to cause it to grow upright, and to throw as much 
shade as possible on the coftee without pressing upon it. 

In warm fertile ground, where the coftee plant grows rapidly, 
the trees should be topped in the third year ; but this should be 
done sparingly, and as a general measure it is not to be recom- 
mended ; it should be resorted to only as a means to prevent the 
too rapid growth of the tree, or its running up to a point. Topping 
and taking ofl" suckers are both necessary on meagre soils, v^•here 
the trees run much to wood ; and it prevents the trees being in- 
jured in the picking season, which often occurs without this pre- 
caution. The top or middle stem is broken oft at a height of six 
or seven feet, but care must be taken not to tear the tree ; when 
the top shoots out again it must be cropped a second time, and it 
is seldom necessary to do this more than twice. The cropping 
causes the tree to shoot out in breadth, and to push forth a greater 
number of sprigs, and good strong ones. 

Fiching coffee. — "\Yhen the estate becomes productive, it must 
in the picking season, just before the work begins, be kept exceed- 
ingly clear of weeds, and be even swept clean with brooms, in 
order that the berries which fall off may be gathered up. 



00 



corrEE. 



The picking slioiild take place under proper superintendence, 
the trees be picked row by row, and care taken that each berry is 
plucked off* separately, and not a heap together, by which the 
trees are torn and the first offshoots prevented. In picking high 
trees, light ladders should be used, made out of two or three 
bamboos tied together. 

Customary preparation of the terry in tlie pulp. — "When the 
coff'ee is picked and brought into the Tillage, it is piled up in a 
heap in the open air, and left in that manner for twenty-foiu' 
hours. Thus heaped up it gets warm, and this creates a certain 
fermentation of the juice which is in the berry. That fermenta- 
tion promotes the drying and loosens the silvery pellicle which is 
attached to the bean inside the parchment, and which cannot be 
entirely got rid of in any other way. Coffee which still retains 
that pellicle is called in trade "grey coffee," and is lower priced 
than good clean sorts. After the fermentation, the coffee is spread 
out in rather thick layers, and turned -over twice a day. If it 
rains during this first spreading out, the coff'ee does not require 
to be sheltered, as the washing causes the juicy substance to eva- 
porate, and this accelerates the drying afterwards. 

In proportion as the coffee becomes diyer, the thickness of the 
layer must be reduced, and the turning over must be more frequent 
till the coffee is quite dry outside and the pulp has become hard. 

Then the coffee is laid out on drying floors, which can be easily 
and speedily covered in rainy or damp weather, and is dried by the 
povrerfnl heat of the sun. 

This system of drying in the pulp requires six weeks or two 
months, as it is advisable not to be over hasty with drying. 

When the coffee is entirely dry, it is either at once pounded or 
placed in the stores to await that operation. In order to know if 
the coffee be sufficiently dry, take a handful of it and shut your 
hand close ; shake it to your ear, and listen if the beans rattle 
freely in the pulp. Or try them by biting the berry, and see if 
the bean and pulp are both brittle and crisp, which shows that the 
fruit is dry enough. 

JPreparationoftJie coffee in the parcliment,or the West India system. 
— Only sound and fully ripe beans can be prepared in the "West 
India manner. In pickiug, therefore, allumipe, green, or unsound 
beans must be taken away to dry in the pulp. As soon as the 
coffee is brought in, it must be pulped. This operation is per- 
formed by means of small peeling mills. These mills consist of 
two horizontal wooden cylinders rubbing on a plank ; they are 
covered with hoop-iron, and set in motion by a water-wheel. The 
coffee is driven under the cylinder, and kept constantly moist : by 
being tinned through the mill, the pulp is so bruised that the bean 
in the parchment falls from it into the bamboo open frame, which 
is placed in front of the mill. The coffee is then pressed with the 
hand, and falls through the frame into a basket, The pulp, and 
beans not rid of the pulp, remain on the frame ; the first is cleared 
away, the rest passes a second time into the mill, and this cpera- 



COrFEE. 



61 



tion is continued till all tlie coiiee is stripped of the pulp, and the 
parcLiment beans are in the basket. When the parchment coffee 
is thus separated from the outer skin, it is thro^Yn into the washing 
trouo^hs. and remains there for twenty-four hours ; this drains from 
it the sli substance adhering to it. After being thus steeped, 
it is wj.>ric'd with pure water two or three times in the basket, so 
that it becomes quite free from slimy matter. The parchment 
coffee is then spread out on drpng frames, and exposed for six or 
eight days to the heat of the sun, till the outside is perfectly dry. 
To do this equally it must be stirred about every hottr. These frames, 
which serve also to dry the coffee in the pulp, are made as follows : 
— A. bamboo roof is set up, resting on four wooden pillars, and 
sloping considerably ; it is covered closely with reeds ; its length 
is ten feet, its breadth six feet ; the pillars are from nine to ten 
feet high ; a wooden framework is attached to this, about thirty 
feet long, or three times the length of the space covered by the 
roof. On this frame are brought out three platform.s, one above 
the other, which are pushed out by means of little rollers nnder 
them ; they are ten feet long by six broad, and six inches deep. 
The borders are of wood, and the bottom of platted bamboo. In 
rainy weather, or when the drying cannot go on, the three plat- 
forms are pushed under the covered space. These drying places 
are set up near the overseer's dwelling, where they stand free, and 
are not shaded by trees or buildinL>:s. After this hrst drying on 
platforms, the parchment coffee is again dried inside the house, and 
bamboo huts are for this purpose erected on each side of the out- 
house of the planters. These huts have trays, divided into two or 
three compartments, one above the other, to keep the coffee sepa- 
rate, according to the time of its having been picked. The paich- 
ment coffee is spread out as thin as possible, and turned over with 
a small wooden rake every hour. In proj)ortion to the dryness of 
the weather, from one to two months are required to dry the coffee 
fully. In drying inside the houses, the gTeatest care must be 
taken to prevent heating the coffee ; this is the great object of the 
AVest Indian system, as such heating is very prejudicial. On this 
account the lints in which the platforms are placed must be very 
airy, so that the wind may have good play among the trays, on 
which the coffee must be thinly spread and frequenily turned. 

Founding. — Coffee in the pulp, as Avell as that in the parch- 
ment, must, before being pounded, be exposed for some hours to 
the sun to make it ci'isp and hard ; but it must be allowed to cool 
agam before the pounding begins, or the beans will be liable to be 
broken. 

The pounding is done in small baskets of a conical form, two 
feet high, at the top eighteen inches in diameter, and at the bottom 
one foot. These baskets are, up to one-third of their height, 
thicldy woven rotmd with coir, and fastened on the ground be- 
tween four thick bamboo poles, and with the bottom half an inch 
in the ground itself. The coffee is pounded by small quantities 
at a time with light wooden pestles ; the baskets must not be 



62 COFFEE. 

more than half fall. AYhen the coffee is sufficiently ponnded, the 
basket is lifted from between the poles and the beans are thrown 
into sieves, on which it is cleaned from skin, and white, black, or 
broken beans. According to the AYest Indian system, the coffee 
mnst now be instantly pnt in bags, to preserve its greenish co- 
lour, which is very peculiar. If the green coffee is not instantly 
sent to the packing stores to be bagged, it must be put up in a 
very dry place, and be turned over once every day, to prevent 
heating, which damps and discolors the berry. 

Coffee is grown to some extent in Celebes — the average crop 
being from 10,000 to 12,000 piculs of 133 English pounds. The 
production has rather fallen off than increased during the last 
few years. The whole of the coffee grown must be delivered by 
the inhabitants to the government exclusively, at twelve copper 
ilorins per picul. It is much prized in the K'etherlands, and main- 
tains a higher price in the market than the best Java coffee. As 
the treatment of the product in Java differs wholly from that 
which is in vogue in Celebes, and this, in our eyes, is much inferior, I 
know not whether the higher price is ascribable to the name, or 
to an intrinsic superiority in quality. It is certain that this cul- 
tivation is susceptible of much improvement, and might be ad- 
vanced to a much higher condition. 

From tables given by 31. Spreeuwenberg (" Journal of tl:e 
Indian Archipelago," vol. ii. p. 829) of the quantity of coffee deli- 
vered from each district of this island, for the years 1838 to 
1842, it appears that the average annual deliver v of coffee was 
1,288,118 lbs. 

Of the production of Sumatra I have no details, but a very 
fair proportion is grown there — about five million pounds. 

Production of America and the West Indies. — The cultivation of 
the coffee plant is largely carried on in South and Central Ame- 
rica and the West India Islands. 

Its culture has greatly increased within the last few years in 
Venezuela, particularly in the valleys and on the sides of the hills. 
The exports from La G-uayra. in 1833, were about twelve millions 
of pounds, being nearly double the quantity exported in 1830. 
The price there is about ten dollars the 100 lbs., which is still 
too high to enable it to enter into competition with the produce 
of Brazil or Cuba. 

The total produce of coffee in Venezuela in 1839 was 251,567 
quintals. The quintal is about 10 lbs. less than the English cwt. 

La Guayra. — The exports of coffee from this port in 1796, 
were 283 quintals. 

Quintals. Quintajs. 
In 1843 .... 164,066 1846 .... 17-5,346 

1844 .... 141,934 1847 .... 130,671 

1845 ..... 134,585 1850 .... 179,537 

The exports of coffee from La Gruayra have been declining 
within the past few years ; the shipments were but 153.001 quin- 
tals in 1851, and only 121,623 in 1852, 



COFFEE. 



63 



Caracas coffee ranks in our market with good ordinary St. 
Domiiigo. 

The decline in the produce of coffee in the British W^est India 
possessions has been verr great. In 1338, ^Ye imported from the 
"W^est India IsLinds and British Guiana 17i million pounds of 
coffee, in 1850 we only received 4^ million pounds from thence. 
The shipments from Jamaica have decreased from about 15 million 
pounds in 1836, to 4 million pounds in 1850; Berbice and Deme- 
rara. from 5 million pounds in 1837, to about 8,000 pounds in 1850. 

Production of coffee in tlie Brazils. — Porty-two years ago the 
annual crop of coffee in Brazil did not exceed 30,000 bags, and 
even in 1820 it only reached 100,000 bags. About that time the 
high price of coffee in England, superadded to the diminished pro- 
duction in Cuba, stimulated the Brazilian planters to extend its 
cultivation, and in 1830 they sent to market 400,000 bags, or 
64,090,000 lbs., and in 1847, the enormous quantity of 300,000,000 
lbs. 

It would seem from the annexed figures that the production of 
coffee in Brazil doubled every five years, up to 1840, since when it 
has increased eighty per cent. The increase since 1835 has been 
upwards of two hundred millions of pounds, and of that increase 
the United States ha^"e taken one half. 



lbs. 

1820 .... 15,312,000 

1825 .... 29,201,600 

1830 .... 62,685,600 

1835 .... 100,346,400 

1840 .... 170,208,800 

1850 .... 303,556,960 



The sources from whence the United States derives its sup- 
plies of coffee are shown in the following table : — 



Years. 


Brazil. 


Cuba. 


St. Domingo. 


Java. 


Total. 


1835 . . 


35,774,876 


29,373,675 


19,276,290 


4,728,890 


103,199,577 


1840 . . 


47,412,756 


25,331,888 


9,153,524 


4,343,254 


94,996,095 


1845 . . 


78,553,616 


1,157,794 


13,090,359 


3,925,716 


108,133,369 


1850 . . 


90,319,511 


3,740,803 


19,440,985 


5,146,961 


144,986,895 


1851 . . 


107,578,257 


3,009,084 


13,205,766 


2,423,968 


152,453,617 



Coffee, up to 1830, paid a duty in the United States of five 
cents a pound. Since 1832 it has been free. 

The population of the United States in 1840 was, in round 
numbers, seventeen millions ; the average consumption of coffee 
for the three years ending 1841, 98 J millions of pounds, which gave a 
consumption of Sflbs. per head. The average for the three years 
endmg 1850, was 143 millions of pounds, and the population was 
twenty-three millions, which gave a consumption of G^lbs. per 
head. In 1830 the consumption was only 3 lbs. per head ; but 



64 



COFFEE. 



the pricv^ ruled nearly double wliat it was in the three years pre- 
ceding 1850. 

In 1821 the consumption per head, to the inhabitants of the 
United States, was 1 lb. 4 oz. In 1830, the proportiou had in- 
creased to 3 lbs. per head, the foreign price having fallen fiftv per 
cent. The importation in the year 1831 doubled, in coasequeuce 
of tlie reduced duty ; and the consumption per head for the four 
years ending with 1842, averaged 6 lb. per head, having qua- 
drupled to ea^h inhabitant since 1821. I'rom 1820 to 1840, the 
Brazilian product increased 1,100 per cent., or 155 million pounds. 
In the same time the consumption in the United States increased 
137 million pounds ; leaving an increase of eighteen million pounds 
of Hio coilee, besides the enlianced products of all countries, to 
supply the increased consumption of England and Europe. 

The consequence of the duty in England is, that while the 
United States, with a population of seventeen millions, consumed, 
in L844, 149,711,820 lbs. of coffee. Great Britain, with a popula- 
tion of twenty-seven millions, consumed 31,931.000 lbs. only, or 
less than one-fourth the consumption of the United States. In 
1851 the figures remained nearlv the same, viz., 148.920,000 lbs. 
in the United States, and 32,534,000 lbs. for Great Britaiu. 

The cultivation of coffee forms the present riches of Costa 
Kica, and has raised it to a state of prosperity unknown in any 
other part of Central America. It was begun about fifteen years 
ago ; a few plants having been brought from ^ew Granada, and 
the first trial being successful, it has rapidly extended. AH the 
coffee is grown in the plain of San Jose, where the three principal 
towns are situated — about two-thirds being produced in the en- 
virons of the capital, a fourth in those of Hindia, and the remain- 
der at Alhajuela, and its vicinity. The land which has been found 
by experience to be best suited to coffee is a black loam, and the 
next best, a dark-red earth — soils of a brown and dull yellow 
color being quite unsuitable. The plain of San Jose is mostly 
of the first class, being, like all the soils of Central America, 
formed with a large admixture of volcanic materials. Contrary 
to the experience of Java and Arabia Eelix, coffee is here found 
to thrive much better, and produce a more healthy and equal berry 
on plain land, than upon hills, or undulating slopes, Avhieh doubt- 
less arises from the former retaining its moisture better, and 
generally containing a laS'ger deposit of loam. 

I am inclined, in a great measure, to attribute the practice of 
sowing coffee in sloping land in Java to this fact, that the plains 
are usually occupied by the more profitable cultivation of sugar- 
canes. In Arabia, the plains are generally of a sandy nature 
(being lands which have, apparently, at no very distant geological 
period, formed the bed of the sea), wliich may account for the 
plantations existing only upon the low hills and slopes. 

A coffee plantation in Costa Bica produces a crop the third 
year after it is planted, and is in perfection the fifth year. The 
coffee trees are planted in rows, with a space of about three yards 



COFFEE. 



65 



bet^veen eacli and one between each plant, resembliiig in appear- 
ance hedges of the laurel bay. The weeds are cnt down, and the 
earth sliglitlr turned with a lioe,. three or four times in the year ; 
and the plant is not allowed to increase above the height of six 
feet, for the facility of gathering the fruit. The coiiee tree here 
begins to flower in the months of Z\Iarch and April, and the berry 
ripens in the plains of San Jose in the months of i^ovember and 
December, strongly resembling a wild cherry in form and appear- 
ance, being covered with a similar sweet pulp. 

As soon as the crimson color assumed by the ripe fruit indi- 
cates the time for cropping, numbers of men, women, and chil- 
dren are sent to gather the berry, which is piled in large heaps, 
to soften the pulp, for forty-eight hours, and then placed in tanks, 
through which a stream of water passes, when it is continually 
stirred, to free it from the outer pulp ; after which it is spread out 
on a platform, with which every coffee estate is furnished, to dry 
in the sun ; but there still exists an inner husli, which, when per- 
fectly dry, is, in the smaller estates, removed by treadmg the berry 
under the feet of oxen ; and in the larger, by water-mills, which 
bruise tlie berry slightly to break the husk, and afterwards sepa- 
rate it by fanners. The entire cost of producing a quintal 
(lOi 1-5 lbs. British) of coffee, including the keeping of the estate 
in order, cleaning and fanning the plants, and gathering and pre- 
paring the berries, is, at the present rate of wages (two rials, or 
about a shilling per day), calculated at two and a half dollars 
(equal to ten shillings) ; but the laborers are now hardly suf- 
ficient for working all the estates which are planted, so that the 
price may probably rise a little, though the present rate of pay- 
ment enables the natives to live much better than has been their 
wont. 

The coffee tree bears flowers only the second year, and its 
blossoms last only 24 hours. The returns of the third year are 
very abundant ; at an average, each plant yielding a poimd and a- 
half or two pounds of coffee. 

The price of coffee in San Jose during the months of Eebruary, 
March and A.})ril, after which none can generally be met with, was, 
in 1846, about 5 dollars cash per quintal, the duty (which is col- 
lected for the repairs of the read) one rial more, so that the sne- 
culator makes at least ten rials, or about 20 per cent., by pur- 
chasing and sending the coffee to the port, on his outlay and 
charges ; but it is often bartered for manufactured goods, and is 
also purchased before-hand, half being paid in imports and half 
in cash to the grower. 

The largest coffee estates of Costa Tlica are possessed by the 
family of Montealegre and Don Juan Moira. The principal of 
these I have examined. They appear to be very carefully and 
judiciously managed, possessing good mills for cleaning and husking 
the coffee, worked by water power ; and annually producing 500 
tons. The entire produce of the year 1836, amounted to about 
3,000 tons, and the crop of 1847 exceeded 4.000 tons, near which 



66 



COFPEE. 



quantity it will probably contiiiue, till the population gradaally 
increases, the laborers, as already mentioned, being barely suf- 
ficient for the present caltiration. As the value at the present 
average price in the English market of 50s. a cvrt,, will give 
£200,000, the produce of the district will appear pretty con- 
siderable for a petty American State, possessing only 80,000 in* 
habitants, and just emerging from a half- savage condition. — (Dun- 
lop's " Central America.") 

The cultivation of coffee on the plains of San Jose, in Costa 
E-ica, according to Stephens, has increased rapidly within a fe^ 
years. Seven years before, the whole crop was not more than 500 
quintals, and in 18^i it amounted to 90,000. 

Don Mariano ]Montealegre is one of the largest proprietors 
there, and had three plantations in that neighbourhood. One, 
which Mr. Stephens visited, contained 27.000 trees, and he was 
preparing to make great additions the next year. He had ex- 
pended a large sum of money in buildings and machinery ; and 
though his countrymen said he would ruin himself, every year he 
planted more trees. His wife, La Senora, was busdy engaged in 
husking and drying the berries. In San Jose, by the way (he 
adds), all the ladies were what might be called good business-men, 
kept stores, bought and sold goods, looked out for bargains, and 
were particularly knowing in the article of coffee. 

The coffee at Surinam is suffered to grow in three stems from 
the root, and when one of them does not produce plenty of berries, 
it is cast away, and the best shoot in appearance next the root is 
allowed to grow in its room. Tlie trees are not permitted to 
rise higher than about five feet, so that the negroes can very 
easily pluck the berries, for gathering which there are two seasons, 
the one in May, or the beginning of June, and the other in 
October or the beginning of November. The berries are often 
plucked of unequal ripeness, which must greatly injure the quality 
of the coffee. It is true when the coffee is washed, the berries 
which float on the water are separated from the others ; but they 
are only those of the worst quality, or broken pieces, while the 
half-ripe beans remain at the bottom vrith the rest. Now, in the 
description I have given of the method of gathering coffee in Ara- 
bia, it is seen that the tree is suflered to grow to its natui^al height, 
and the berries are gathered by shaking the tree, and making them 
fall on mats placed for them. By this way the Arabians harvest 
only the beans perfectly ripe at the time, and which must give the 
coffee a more delicate flavor. A ti^ee will yield each time on an 
averagefrom 1 lb. to li lb. of coffee, when pulped and perfectly di'ied. 
An acre of land planted with coffee, when favored by the weather, 
becomes more profitable than when it is planted with sugar canes ; 
but its crops are always very precarious, as the blossoms, and even 
the berries, are sometimes damaged by the heavy rains, which are 
much less injurious to sugar canes ; wherefore a planter feels 
himself best secured in his revenue, as soon as he can cultivate 
them both. 



COFFEE. 



67 



iN'othing cau exceed the beauty of the walks planted with coffee 
trees, from their pyramidical shape and from their glossy dark 
green leaves, shining with great brightness, amongst which are 
hanging the scarlet-coloured berries. Mr. Baird, in his " Impres- 
sions of the AYest Indies," thus speaks of a coffee plantation: — 

"Anything in the ^ray of cultivation more beautiful, or more fragrant, than 
a coffee plantation, I had not conceived ; and oft did I say to myself, that if 
ever I became, from health and otherwise, a cultivator of the soil within the 
tropics, I would cultivate the colfee plant, even though I did so irrespective 
altogether of the profit that might be derived from so doing. Much has been 
\vritten, and not without justice, of the rich fragrance of an orange grove ; 
and at home we ofctimes hoar of the sweet odors of a bean -field. I have, too, 
often enjoyed in the Carse of Stirling, and elsewhere in Scotland, the balmy 
breezes as they swept over the latter, particularly when the sun had burst out, 
with unusual strength, after a shower of rain. I have likewise, in Martinique, 
Santa Cruz, Jamaica, and Cuba, inhaled the gales wafted from the orangeries ; 
but not for a moment would I compare either Avith the exquisite aromatic 
odors from a cofi"ee plantation in full blow, when the hill-side — covered over 
with regular rows of the tree-like shrub, with their millions of jessamine-like 
flowers — showers down upon you, as you ride up between the plants, a perfume 
of the most delicately delicious description. 'Tis worth going to the West 
Indies to see the sight and inhale the perfume." 

The decline in the quantities of coffee drawn from the 'West 
Indies to supply the great demand, is manifest in the following 
summary of imports from those islands : — 

lbs. 

In 1828 they exported about .... 30,000,000 
1831 the imports from British West Indies were . 20,017,623 
1841 Ditto Ditto . . . 9,904,230 

18o0, the last year in which distinct accounts were kept 4,262,225 

Decrease from 1831 . lo,7oo,398 

Jamaica. — The coffee plant was first introduced into Jamaica by 
Sir Xicholas Lawes, in 1728, when it was cultivated on an estate 
called Temple Hall, in Liguanea, not far from Kingston. In 1752 
there Avere exported 60,000 lbs. ; and in 1775, 41,000 lbs. Until 
1788 little attention was paid to this product. In the four years end- 
ing 30th September, 1794, the average exportation of coffee was 
1,603,066 lbs. ; in 1804 it amounted to 22,000,000 lbs. ; and during 
the three years ending 30th September, 1807, the ayerage annual 
exportation was more than 28,500,000 lbs.; which, at £6 per cwt,, 
its cost in Jamaica, produced more than £1,700,000. It is calcu- 
lated that £20,000,000 was invested in coffee estates. The coffee 
plant thrives in almost every soil about the mountains of Jamaica, 
and in the very driest spots has frequently produced abundant 
crops. In 1844 there were 671 coffee plantations in the island. 
Coffee is grown in the vicinity of the Blue Mountain Peak at a 
height of 4,700 feet above the level of the sea, and some of the 
finest and most productive plantations are in this locality. The 
branches of a coffee tree, on Eadnor estate, covered, in 1851, a 
space of thirteen feet in diameter, and the tree was about thirteen 
years old. 

In 1789 Hayti exported 77,000,000 lbs. of coffee, but in 1826 

F 2 



68 



COFFEE. 



it had declined to 32,000,000 lbs., in 1837 it was 31,000,000 lbs., 
and the shipments of this staple are now very inconsiderable. 

In the West Indies, I speak principally ot* Jamaica, where my 
experience extended, the soil best adapted for the cultivation of 
coffee is found to be loose gravelly or stony. A rich black 
mould will produce a luxuriant bush, which will yield little fruit. 
Decomposing sandstone and slate, known in Jamaica as rotten 
rock, mixed with vegetable mould, is one of the most favorable 
soils. The subsoil should be also carefully examined by a boring 
augur, for a stilT moist clay, or marly bottom retentiv^e of mois- 
ture, is particularly injurious to the plant. A dark, rusty-colored 
sand, or a ferruginous marl on a substratum of hmestone, kills 
the tree in a few years. In virgin lands, after the wood has been 
felled and cleared, the land is lined off into rows of from six to 
seven feet square, and at each square a hole is made about eight- 
teen inches deep, into which the young plant is placed and the 
earth plied gently about it, leaving from six to eight inches of 
the plant above ground. 

Nurseries for raising plants from seeds were formerly made, but 
for many years this has been neglected, and plantations are set 
out now from suckers which are drawn and trimmed of their roots, 
and cut about two feet long. 

The young plants require to be kept well clear from weeds, 
and four cleanings in the year may be deemed necessary, the 
plants which have failed must be supplied in order to ensure uni- 
formity of appearance. 

All manure, whether fluid or solid, in warm climates should be 
applied in vret seasons, where it is not practicable to dig or turn 
it in to prevent the escape of its volatile and nutritive principles. 

As respects situation, coffee thrives best on elevated situations, 
where the morning sun has most influence ; and on lower moun- 
tains, where the temperature is higher, in situations facing the 
south-east, or where the sun does not act with such intensity. 
Low mountains, in which the thermometer ranges from 75 to 90 de- 
grees Eahr., as well as those exposed to sea breezes, are less suit- 
able for the cultivation of coffee than those districts where the 
temperature averages 65 to 80 degrees Fahr., and situated at 
higher elevations in the interior. 

As a general rule, it may be asserted that the elevation best 
adapted for coffee is at an altitude ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 
feet, at a temperature from 70 to 75 degrees Pahr. A west or 
south-west aspect is the best, and the field should be well shel- 
tered from the the north breezes. As a general rule in plan ting- 
in light soils and high temperatures, trees may be placed at the 
distance of four or live feet, while in stronger soils and lower 
temperatures the average distance would be from five to seven 
feet. 

lopping. — The young tree shoots out its lateral branches at each 
joint, which follow^ in regular succession, till the tree attains the 
height of about four feet six inches, when it is usual to top it down 



COFFEE. 



6^ 



to four feet. But care sliould be taken that the wood has ripened, 
Avhich is known by its assuming a broArn and hard appearance. 
This strengthens the vegetation of the branches, which begin to 
throw out buds, and these shortly form collateral branches ; in 
the course of eighteen months after the tree will have arrived at 
its bearing point. Trees, after being topped, throw off suckers, 
which are called gormandizers, from each joint, but more espe- 
cially at the head. They should be plucked off with care, but 
not cut, as the sap would flow more readily if cut. 

In pruning, one of the main objects is the admission of a free 
circulation of air and light through the branches to the root of 
the tree. No general rules can be laid down for pruning ; much 
must depend on judgnunit, experience, and a nice eye to ap- 
pearance and preservation of primary branches for bearing and 
ripening wood for the ensuing year, as well as to regulate and pro- 
portion the size of the tree to the functions of the roots in supply- 
ing sustenance, and the convenience of picking the berries when 
ripe. Every old bough which has seen its day, every wilful shoot 
growing in a wrong direction, every fork, every cross branch or 
dead limb, must be cut away. 

The hlossoming, and ripening of tlie fruit varies according to 
the situation and temperature of the plantation. In low and hot 
situations, where the thermometer ranges from 78 to 90 degrees, 
the tree shows its first blossoms when about two-and-a-lialf years 
old. In higher and colder situations the ti-ee will jiot blossom in 
profusion until the fourth or fifth year. If there be light showers, 
the blossoms will continue on the tree for a week or more, and 
by the setting of the blossoms the planter can determine what 
germs will become fruit. The trees will blossom in low situations 
as early as March, but the April bloom is considered the most 
abundant. In higher elevations, the trees will bloom even so late 
as August or September. In warm climates the fruit advances as 
rapidly, and in a month will have attained the size of a pea ; in 
more elevated and colder localities, it will take two months to 
arrive at this stage. The fruit will be ripe in from six to eight 
months after the blossom has set ; it ripens in warm districts 
about the month of August, while in others the crop will not be 
mature till Tebruary. An acre will usually contain 1,200 trees 
in Jamaica, and the pi-oduce would be about 400 lbs. of coffee 
an acre, or six ounces as the produce of each tree annually. In 
some instances, but very seldom, one pound a tree may be obtained. 
A bushel of cherry coft'ee produce about ten or twelve pounds 
of merchantable coffee. 

The coffee berry, after being pulped and soaked for a day and 
night to free it from the mucilage, is spread out on barbacues 
to dry ; in ten or twelve days, if the weather has been good, it 
will be sufficiently cured for the peeling mill. 

Mr. W. TI. Marah, of Jamaica, in a Prize Essay on the Cultiva- 
tion and Manufacture of Coftee in that Island, published in my 

Cohjnial Magazine," makes some useful remarks: — 



70 



The manufacture of this staple commodity, with a view to its improrement 
in qualitV; is a sul^ject vrhicli demands our serious attention ; and when we ob- 
serre the vast importance and pecimiary advantage which accrue upon the 
slightest shade of improvement either in colour or appearance, it becomes the 
more imperative on us to use all those means which are available, in order to 
place oiu'selves on a footing with the foreign gi'ower. It is true that we are 
unable to enter the contest with the East Indian or slave cultivator, from the 
abundance and cheapness of labour which is placed at their command ; but by 
means of our skill and assiduity, we can successfully compete with them by the 
manufacture of superior produce. 

To this portion of plantation management I haye given an attentive inc[uiry, 
and shall s'.ortly proceed to state my views on the system best adapted to the 
curing and preparing for market of good quality produce. 

The fruit should he gathered in when in a blood-ripe state, to all appearance 
like cherries. The labourers are principally accustomed to reap the crop in 
baskets, of which they carry two to the field ; and when the coflee is bearing 
heavily, and is at its full stage of ripeness, the good pickers will gather in four 
bushels ])'''/• dkni. and cany the same on their heads to the v>'orks. 

The fruit is then mcnsurL-d and thrown into a loft above the pulper in a heap. 
It should be submitted to the first x)rocess of machinery, the pulper. within 
twenty-four h'jurs after, if not immediately ; but it not unfrequently hf.ppens 
that the nianag3r is unable to pulp his coffee tor two and sometimes three days, 
by which time fermentation ensues, and it becomes impossible after pulpine to 
wash otf the mucilage, which rather adheres to the outer envelope of the beriy, 
and gives the produce what is termed a "red'" or '■ blanketty " appearance 
when spread out on the bnrbaeues. The produc-e is let dovm by means of a 
small hole cut into the ' :■ loft, or a floating bo-v. into the hopper of the 

pulper, and by m.eans > i , . forcing the fruit against the chops, the hemes 
are dislodged I'^-iiv tl-" p i^' fall upon a sieve, which being shaken by the 
machinery, lit- xl:-" I'Liri. s 11,11 into the cistern, whilst the grater catches the 
pulp and carii:; it uaL-kward; at each evoluti-^n of the roller, around which it is 
encii'cled. 

The fi'uit which might have passed through without being more than half 
squeezed, and having- 'jiily ejected one beny, is then retuimed ^ifter being 
shaken off by the sit vt^^ into the hopper, to undergo the process a second time. 
The pulped cofiee is then permitted to remain in the cistern for a day and a 
night, during which period it undf:rgoes a process of fermentation ; it is then 
washed out in two or throe water-, 1 th -'-h-le of the miicilaiino"? stuff 
which had risen from the berry l>y the i- :i is entirely wa-h. •! • 'if. and 

the coffee presents a beautiiiil whitu ;.. ^ - ■. From this the prvdi;«.c is 
turned out to drain on a barbacue. slope a .-o s to throw all the water to the 
centre, where a di-ain is placed to cany it all off. 

In an hoiu' or so after, the coffee may be removed to the barbacues for ctu'ing; 
it is there spread out thinly and exposed to the sun. which, if shining strong, 
will in eight or nine hours abs-'irli all the water, and the cetfee be tit for housing 
that day. I say fit for housill^^ because I have rtpcatcdly seen conce washed 
out early in the morning and put up tliO same evening. I cannot say I approve 
of the system, though in fine weather it has been attended with success. From 
the time the coffee is first exposed to the sun till the silver skin starts, is the 
stage, in my opinion, during which the produce sutters most injury. In the 
first instance, it should be kept constantly turned, in order to get the water ab- 
sorbed as early as possible; and after it has been housed, the greatest precaution 
should be taken to prevent its heating : and it is for this reason that I disap- 
prove of early housing, for if wet weather should intervene, and the coffee cannot 
be turned out, it is sure to get heated. From this neglect I have seen a perfect 
steam issuing from the house in the morning when the doors have been opened ; 
and I haye known, as a natural consequence, the adhesion cf the silver skin to 
the beny so finn, that it could not be removed by a sharp penknife without 
slicing the berry. 

In a succession of wet weather the produce has remained on the barbacues 
for scycral weeks, without the slightest advance in curing ; and, unless it be 



COFFEE. 



71 



frequently turned w"]iile in this wet state, it is sure to germinate ; the berries first 
swell, then a thin white spire issues from the seam, and on opening the berry 
the young leaves will be actually seen formed inside, so rapid is the course of 
vegetation. 

I am of opinion that coffee should not be housed till the silver skin begins to 
start, when no danger can ensue ; for if a few M'et days should intervene, by 
turning the coffee over in the house, and allowing a current of aii* to pass through 
it, it will keep for weeks. It is at tbis stage that the parchment skin begins to 
show itself, for at first it adheres to the inner kernel, but the heat of the sun 
starts it from its hold and it separates : thus, on shaking a handful of the produce 
it will be heard to rattle, a sure indication that the silver skin has risen from 
the bean, without even threshing it to ascertain the fact. The bean is perfectly 
white till the silver skin starts ; it then begins gradually to assume the dark, or 
what is called the half-cured appearance. A good day's strong sun will then 
half cure it, and by subsequent exposui-e the produce takes another stage, and 
gradually loses the half-cured, and assumes a blue colour ; and when the produce 
is properly euix-d and fit for the mill, not the slightest dark spot will be percep- 
tible in the bean, but it will exhibit a horny blue colour. 

It is within my observation that coffee has been gathered from the field on 
the Monday, and prepared for market on the Saturday, in a spell of dry weather; 
but I have known it also to lie on the barbacues for as many weeks in contrary 
weather, before it had gone through the same ordeal. With good weather and 
smooth terraces whereon to cure, nothing but gross igniorance and unpardonable 
carelessness can produce a bad quality of coifee. The difficulty arises in wet 
weather, when one's skill and assiduity is called into action to save the produce 
from being spoiled. After coffee has been half-cured, the putting it up hot at 
an early period of the day has the effect of curing it all night. I have noticed 
produce housed in this manner, and requiring another day's exposure to fit it 
for the mill, found perfectly cured next morning. 

The barbacues sh(;uld be kept in good order — all ruts and holes neatly patched 
every crop, for to them and other roughnesses is to be attributed the peeling of 
the berries, their being scratched, and various injuries which the jn'oduce sustains. 
And while on the subject of " Works," I cannot help noticing the extreme care- 
lessness and inattention which, on visiting properties, the works and buildings 
present to our view. It is utterly impossible to manufacture good produce un- 
less the machinery and buildings are kept in good order ; and the parsimony 
which is thus displayed in this necessary outlay is fallacious, when one thinks 
of the result of one or two shillings per 100 lbs. lost on a crop thi-ough this 
neglect. 

When the coffee is perfectly cured — which is generally ascertained by thresh- 
ing out a few berries in one's hands, and seeing if it has attained its horny blue 
colour — it is then fit for milling, which is the secoiid process of machinery which 
it has to undergo. Here the parchment and silver skins are dislodged from the 
berry, by means of the fricticn of a large roller passing over the produce in a 
wooden trough. It is then taken out of the trough, and submitted to the fanner 
or winnowing machine, when the trash is all blown away, and the coffee, pass- 
ing through two or three sieves, comes away perfectly clean and partially sized. 
From this it is again sieved in order to size it properly, hand-picked, put into 
bags, and sent on mules' backs to the wha'f. It is then put into tierces and 
sold in the Kingston market, or shipped to Britain. 

A variety of circumstances tend to injure the quality of the coffee, Avhich it 
is beyond human agency to control. Dry weather intervening at the particular 
period when the berry is getting full, subjects it to be stinted and shrivelled ; 
and strong dry breezes happening at the same period, will cause an adhesion of 
the silver skin which the ordinary process of curing and manufacture wiR not 
remove. Late discoveries in the latter have, however, shown the possibility of 
divesting the produce of that silvery appearance, when brought about under the 
foregoing: circumstances. It is almost unnecessary to state that this improve- 
ment in manufacture refers to the inventions of 5lessrs. Myers and Meacock, 
whose respective merits have already undergone public revision. In reference 
to Mr. Myers' plan of immersing coffee in warm Avutcr, I may Ijc allowed to 



72 



COrFEE. 



state that it has come under my oyvn obseryation, that produce which had pre- 
Tiously been heated through some carelessness in the curing, suhsequently was 
exposed to a slight sprinkling of rain, and when ground out and fanned, was 
found to have lost its silvery appearance. 

To the invention of Mr. Meacock, a preference has, however^ been given, in 
consequence of the impression that the produce thus immersed in water will 
absorb a portion of the liquid, which will deteriorate its quality in its passsage 
across the Atlantic. Several gentlemen have shipped coffee submitted to this 
process to England, but I have not learnt the result. 

It appears very manifest that a great deal might be done in the way of 
machinery, to relieve produce of that silvery or foxy appearance which is so 
prejudicial to its value in the British market, and which, appearances might 
accrue from a variety of incidents to which all plantations are more or less 
subject. 

A manifest preference is given in the leading European markets to cotfee 
which has gone through the pulping and washing process ; hxit, strange to say, 
the consumers of this beverage are totally ignorant of the fact, that the pro- 
duce which is cured in the pulp furnishes a stronger decoction than an equal 
quantity of the same which has undergone the other process. Many persons 
are of opinion that the mucilaginous substance which is washed off in pulping is 
absorbed by the bean when cured in the pulp, and which gives strength to the 
produce and enhances its aromatic flavour. On most properties it has been 
customary to cure the remnants of the crop in this way, for the use of the 
plantation ; and it has been well noticed by great eincures in the flavour cf the 
decoction, that the coffee thus cured produced the strongest and best beverage." 

Trinidad. — The coffee plant does not succeed well in Trinidad, 
the tree giving but little fruit, and perishing at the end of ten or 
twelve years ; though the article is always of a superior quality, 
and has the advantage over that of Martinique and the other 
Antilles of not requiring age to produce an agreeable beverage. It 
is from the fault and obstinate attachment to old habits of the 
planters, that this cultivation has not been more successful in 
Trinidad. Because coltee trees thrive in St. Domingo, G-uadaloape, 
Dominica, St. Lucia and Martinique, on the hills, they had con- 
eluded that it would be the same hi Trinidad; without noticiug that 
the hills of that island are composed onlj of schistus covered 
with gravel, on which lies a light layer of vegetative earth, that 
tlie rain y\'ashes away after some years of cultivation ; whilst the 
hills of the Antilles, much more high and cool, are covered with a 
deep bed of earth, which is retained by enormous blochs ca stone, 
that at the same time maintain humidity and freshness. 

Messrs. Branbrun, of Tacarigua, aud Don Juan de Arestimuno, 
of Cariaco, worthy and intelligent planters, some years ago 
adopted the plan of planting coffee trees on the p'Jains, in the 
manner cacao trees are planted, that is, in the shade of the 
Mrytlirina, and this mode of cultivation has perfectly succeeded. 
It is to be hoped that their success will encourage the cultivation 
of this valuable tree in the united provinces of Yenezuela, and in 
those parts of Trinidad which were deemed unfavorable to it 
from the too great dryness of the climate. 

In 1796, the year preceding its capture, there were 130 coffee 
plantations in Trinidad, which produced 330,000 lbs. of coffee. 
In 1802, tlie produce had slightly increased to 358,600 lbs., but 
there were two plantations less. 



corrEE, 



73 



In the islaud of G-renada, according to tlie returns made to 
the local Treasury of the staple products raised, while there were 
6-±.654:lbs. made in 1829, the quantity had decreased to 13,651 lbs. 
in 1837. 

The colony of British Guiana was formerly noted for its produce 
of coffee. The following figures mark the decline of the culture 
of this staple, showing the exports in Dutch pounds : — 





Demerara and Essequibo. 


Berbice. 


1834 


. . . . 1,102,200 . . . . 


1,429,800 


1835 


. . . . 1,299,080 . .. . . 


1,979,850 


1836 


. . . 2,117,250 


2,684,100 


1837 


. . . . 1,849.650 . . . . 


2,217,300 


1838 


. , . . 2,486,240 .... 


1,700,550 


1839 


. . . . 747,450 . . . . 


1,255,800 


1840 


. . . . 1,531,350 .... 


1,825,950 


1841 


.... 568,920 . . . . 


519,750 


1842 


. . . . 1,372,650 . . . . 


804,470 


1843 


.... 428,800 . . . . 


999,300 


1844 


.... 716,137 . . . . 


774,600 



Thus the exports of the colony which in 1836 were 4,801,350 lbs., 
had declined in 1844 to 1,490,737 ; whilst in 1831 we received 
from British Gaiana 3,576,754 lbs. of coffee, in 1850 we only 
received 8,472 lbs. 

There are about 500 acres under cultivation with coffee in St. 
Lucia. The exports, which in 1840 were 323,820 lbs., had declined, 
in 1844, to 58,834 lbs. 

The British West Indies exported to Great Britain, in 1829 
and 1850, the following quantities of coffee : — 



1829. 1850. 

lbs. lbs. 

Jamaica .... 18,690,654 ... 4,156,210 

Demerara . . . 4,680,118 .. 17,774 

Berbice .... 2,482,898 .. 698 

Trinidad . . . 73,667 . . 96,376 

Dominica . . . 942,114 .. 792 

St. Lucia . . . 303,499 . . 35 



Cuba. — For the following valuable remarks and details of coffee 
culture in Cuba, lam indebted to Dr. TurnbuU's "Travels in the 
West:"— 

At the period of the breaking out of the French revolution, the cultivation 
of coffee could scarcely be said to have reached the South American continent; 
so that till then its cultivation was in a great measure confined to Arabia and 
the Caribbean Archipelago. Its extreme scarcity during the war enhanced its 
price so enormously, that on the first announcement of peace in 1814, the plants 
were multiplied to infinity, and cottee plantations were formed in every possible 
situation — on the Coste Firme of South America, along the Brazilian shores of 
that continent, and even at some points on the coast of Southern J* frica. To 
show the extreme rapidity with which the cultivation has been extended, take 
the statistical returns of La Guayra, the chief port of the State of Venezuela, 
from whence the whole export of coffee in the year 1789 was not more than 
ten tons ; and of late years from that port alone, and in spite of the internal 
disunions of the country, it has reached the enormous quantity of 2,500 tons. 
In the Isle of Boiubon (nov,- Keunio.n), and the Mauritius and Ceylon, the 
planters have also applied themselves to this branch of industry ; it has been 
prosecuted successfully in our Eastern Possessions, paid the French government, 



74 



COITEE, 



not content with the natural influence of the universal demand for it, have been 
endeavouring to stimulate the production by means of premiums and other arti- 
ficial advantc^ges. 

In forming a cofiee plantation, the choice of situation and soil becomes a con- 
sideration of the fijTst importance. A very high temperature is by no means a 
favourable condition. If a spot could be found where the range of the Fahren- 
heit thermometer did not sink below 75 degrees, nor rise above 80 degrees, and 
where the soil was otherwise suitable, no planter could desire a more favourable 
situation. In the mountainous islands of Jamaica and St. Domingo, the nearest 
approach to this temperature is found where the elevation is not less than 2, 000, 
and not more than 3,000 feet above the level of the sea ; and it is most success- 
fully ciiltivated in the two islands I have named. The Island of Cuba being 
much less mountainous, but at the same time being nearer the tropical limit, 
the planter in seeking the degree of heat he requires is forced to confine him- 
self in a great measure to the northern side of the island, where, accordingly, 
we find that the cultivation of cofi'ee is most successfully carried on. 

The vicinity of the co fetal to a convenient place of embarcation, enters largely, 
of coiu'se, inti) the consideration of the planter when choosing a suitable locality. 
A compact form is also thought desirable, in order to save the time and labour 
of the negroes ; and the ordinary extent is about six caballerias, or something 
less than 200 English acres. 

The locality being finally chosen, such open places are formed or selected, 
from distance to distance, as may be found most suitable, in respect to shade 
and moisture, for the establishment of convenient nurseries. The finiit which 
has been gathered in the beginning of the month of October, and which has 
been dried in the shade, is preferred for seed. The seed is sown in drills half a 
yard asunder, and introduced, two beans together, by means of a dibble, into 
holes two inches deep and ten or twelve inches apart. The extent of one of 
these nurseries is generally about 100 yards square, which, with such intervals 
as I have mentioned, ought to contain about 60,000 plants. 

A quarter of a caballeria, or about eight English acres, is usually set apart, 
in a central and convenient position, for the site of the buildings, and for grow- 
ing provisions for the use of the labourers on the futui'c plantation. In favour- 
able seasons it is found that heavier crops are obtained from coifee trees left 
wholly unshaded ; but, in the average of two years, it seems to be eettled, in 
the island of Cuba at least, that a moderate degree of protection from the scorch- 
ing rays of the sun produces a steadier, and, upon the whole, a more advanta- 
geous return. 

The distribution of the land into right-angled sections, and the planting of 
the trees in straight lines, is so contrived as to favour the future supervision of 
the labourers much more than from any strict attention to mere symmetry. 
The distance of the trees from each other ought to be regulated by the quality 
of the soil, and the degrees of heat and shade they are to enjoy. The ranges 
from north to south are usually four yards apart, and those from east to west 
not more than three ; but the lower the temperatui^e the wider should be the 
interval, because in that case the vegetation is more active and more rapid, and 
the tree requires a wider space over which to extend itself. 

The best season for planting the trees is the middle of the month of May, if 
there be then a sufficient degree of moisture ; but the operation is often per- 
formed successfrilly during the rainy month of October ; subject always to the 
risk, however, of serious injury to the young plantation fiom the north winds 
which prevail at that advanced season of the year. The holes prepared to re- 
ceive the plants are eighteen inches in diameter, and about two feet deep. 

In the island of Cuba there are two rival modes of planting the cofiee tree. 
The one is called " la siembra a la mota ;" the other " la siembra a la estaca." 

By the method " a la mota," a circle is formed around the plant in the nursery, 
and care is taken to remove it without distui'bing the earth around the roots. 
The plants are then placed carefully in willow baskets, prepared for the purpose, 
and carried to the holes already opened for their reception ; gathering up the 
earth aroimd the stem, and pressing it carefull^^ down with the foot, in such a 
manner as to form a basin or filter for the reception of the rain -water, and for 



COrFEE. 



75 



suffering it to percolate among the roots, and also to provide a convenient place 
of deposit for the subsequent application of manure. 

The " siembra a la estaca" is differently executed. Such plants are selected 
from the nursery as are of the thickness of the little finger, or from that to an 
inch in diameter. In \rithdrawing them from the ground, great care is taken 
not to injui-e or compress the bulbs or buttons within eight or ten inches of 
the level of the soil, because these are to serve for the production of fresh roots 
when the " estaca " is afterwards planted more deeply in its permanent position. 
The greater part of the capillary roots are cut away with a knife ; but a few, 
together with the principal root, are suffered to remain from four to six inches 
long. In planting them, from three to four inches of the trunlc are left above 
ground. The little basin of earth for the reception and filtration of the rain- 
water, is not so large in the stake system of planting as in that with the clod of 
earth "a. la mota ;" but if the soil be poor, it must be proportionably enlarged 
to admit the application of the necessary quantity of manure. 

The stake system, requiring much less labour than the other, is generally 
preferred ; but when there is abundance of shade to protect the young plant from 
di'ought, and always, of course, in replacing the decayed trees of an old planta- 
tion, it is consiilered more desirable to remove the whole plant, its roots and 
branches entire, with as much as possible of the adhering soil from the nursery, 
according to the system " a la mota." 

In the third or fourth year of the plantation, the trees, according to the best 
system of husbandry, are pruned doAvn to the height of three feet from the 
ground on the ricJiest soil, and still lower in proportion to its sterility. All the 
branches which are not as nearly as possible at right angles with the trunk, are 
likewise removed by the i)runing-knife, so that in the following spring the whole 
stem is covered with tresh shoots. By this operation the power of nature seems 
to be exhausted, as for that year the trees in general bear no fruit ; but in sub- 
sequent seasons the loss is amply repaid by a crop often greater than the branches 
can support, or than the flow of nourishment is always able to bring to full 
size and maturity. 

The machinery for removing the extenaal pulp of the coffee-bean is seldom of 
a very perfect description in this island, and the loss sustained in consequence is 
often very considerable. It is almost uniformly moved by the power of horses 
or oxen, working in a gin, and the name it bears is that of the Bcscerccador. 
The Barbecues, when the coffee is laid out to dry, are called indiscriminately 
Tendcdes or Secadores. They ax"e more numerous and of smaller dimensions 
than is customary in the British colonies, where a single barbecue, laid dow n 
with tiles or plaster, is considered sufficient for a whole estate. 

The warehouse for receiving the crop and preserving the coffee after it is put 
into bags and ready for the market, is generally of such limited dimensions as 
to be barely sufficient for the purposes for which it is designed; so that, when 
the harvest has been abundant, or when anything has occurred to interfere with 
the despatch of what is ready for removal, the constant accumulation is 
attended with serious inconvenience. In fact, the occupation of the coffee 
planter has been for some time on the decline in the island, owing to the 
superior rate of profit derived from the making of sugar ; and everything re- 
minds you of it, the moleno de pilar ^ the aventador, and the separador, down to 
the humblest implement of husbandry on the estate. 

The gathering of the fruit commences in Cuba in August; but November 
and December are the most active and important months of the harvests. The 
labom-ers are sent out with two baskets each, one large, the other small. Every 
labourer has a file of coffee trees assigned to him ; the large basket he leaves 
near the place where his work is to begin ; the other he carries with him to 
receive the berries from the trees ; and as often as it is full he empties it into 
the large one. The baskets are made of rushes, willows, or bamboo; and the 
large one is of such a size that three of them ought to fill the barrel, without 
top or bottom, which serves the purposes of a measure at the Tendal or 
Secador. 

Thr-ee baskets, or one barrel-measure, of the newly-gathered coffee berry, 
ought to produce thirty pounds after the i)rocess of drying, the removal of the 



76 



corrEE. 



pulp, and the final preparation for the market. When there is a sufficient 
numher, or a sufficient space of Barbecues or Secaclors. sixty or seventy barrels 
only are put together ; but from, want of room it often happens that the quantity 
amounts to a hundred barrels. In either case, the whole is gathered into tvvo 
great heaps, and in this state it is allowed to remain for foiir-and- twenty houi's, 
in order to subject it to a certain degree of fermentation. After this, it is spread 
out to dry over the whole sm-face of the Barbecue, and until it is sufficiently 
so, it remains there uncovered day and night. When the dessication is 
found to be far enough advanced, it is no longer exposed dui ing the night ; 
nor even during the day, if the weather be damp or unfavorable, 'j he sub- 
sequent operations are certainly not better, probably not so well, conducted as 
in our own West India possessions. 

In the fourth year, it is presumed that the agricultural produce of the land, 
and the first returns of coffee, should be sufficient to meet all the current ex- 
penses. At the end of the fifth year there ought to be forty thousand coffee 
trees four years old on the estate, 60,000 of three years, and 100.000 of two and 
one year, the [ reduce of which ought to be at least 400 quintals, which, at a 
moderate estimate, should be worth 2,400 dollars. Thus the calculation goes 
on until we arrive at the end of the seventh year, when the estate ought to be 
in full bearing. The returns are estimated at 3,000 arrobas, or 750 quintals, 
which, at eight dollars per quintal delivered free on board, make 6,000 dollars. 
The minor products of the estate, such as Indian corn, pigs, and oil, are given 
at 1,130 dollars, making the gross returns 7,130 dollars ; and, after deducting the 
annual expenses, leaving 5,300 dollars as the regular return on the capital in- 
vested, which, having been about 40,000 dollars, gives about thirteen per cent. ; 
not certainly to be C(msidered extravagant in a coimtry where twelve per cent, 
is the regular rate of interest. The produce of cofiee from each section is given 
at 400 arrobas, or 3,500 arrobas for the whole of the nine sections. The average 
price of coffee, free of the expense of caiTiage, is assumed to be two dollars the 
arroba, or eight dollars per quintal, which would give a return of 7,200 dollars, 
besides the repayment of the rent by the colonists. 

The cultivation of cofiee has been falling off in Cuba for seA^eral 
years past, the crops it is asserted being too precarious there, and 
the prices too low to encourage the continuance of planting. On 
the northern side of the island is where this decrease is most per- 
ceptible, several of the largest estates having been converted to 
the growth of sugar and tobacco, others abandoned to serve as 
pasture fields, and the very few remaining yielding less and less 
every year. Henceforward the culture of this berry here is likely 
to be very insignificant, and not many years will elapse before the 
amount produced will merely suffice for the local consumption. 
About St. Jago de Cuba the cultivation is more attended to, the 
article forming still their principal export. Taking five quinquen- 
nial periods, the following figures show the average animal exports 
cf cofi"ee : — 

arrobas. 

1826 to 1830 1,718,865 

1830 „ 1835 1,995,832 

1835 „ 1840 1,877,646 

1841 „ 1846 1,887,444 

1846 „ 1851 768,244 

The better to exhibit the decrease of production throughout the 
island, I may state that the export from 1839 to 1S41 inclusive, 
was in the aggregate 1,332,221 quintals ; 1812 to 1811, inclusive, 
was in the aggregate ], 217, 666 quintals; 1845 to 1817, inclusive, 
was in the aggregate but 583,208 quintals. The exports of cofiee 



COrFEE. 



77 



for the whole island, were, iu 18-10. 2.197.771 arrobns ; in 1841, 
1,260,920 i arrobas. 

In 1817 there were 2,061 plantations under cultivation witli 
coftee in Cuba, in 1816 there were ou\v 1,670. The production 
of 1819 was 1,170,751 arrobas, valued at 2,206,131 dollars. 
Erom the vear 1811 to 1816, the average vearlv production was 
45,236,100"lbs. : but from 1846 to 1851, it was only 19,206,100 lbs. ; 
showing a falling olf of 72 per cent. ; the production still fiu'ther 
decreased in 1851, it being only 13,001,350 lbs., or 1.52 per cent, 
less than the preceding year. This enormous decline in the pro- 
duction of coffee has been caused by the low price of the article 
iu the markets of Europe and the United States, coupled with the 
more remunerative price of sugar, during the same period ; causing 
capitalists rather to invest money in the formation of new sugar 
estates. As a consequence, many coffee plantations have been 
turned into cane cultivation; or, being abandoned, the slaves 
attached thereto were sold or leased to sugar planters. 

The following is private information from a correspondent : — 

" TVe generally plant about 200,000 trees within a space of 500 feet, choosing 
the strongest soil. I have adopted a different ss^stem from the one generally iu 
use hjre, for they usually plant the trees too near each other. I find by 
giving them space and air, that the plant develops itself and yields more 
beans. It is very important to protect the trees from the rays of the sun, for 
which purpose I plant bananas at intermediate rows ; their broad leaves, like 
parasols, shei a delightful shade rouad the coffee plant, and tend to accumulate 
the moisture which strengthens the roots of the young tree. 

"When the tree is about two years old the top branches are lopped off for the 
purpose of throwing the sap into the bean. Some plonters cut the trees so 
short, that they do not allow them to stand more than live or six feet above the 
ground; but I allow mine to attain greater height prior to lopping them, 
whereby they produce larger crops. Xor do I allow my negroes to boat the 
trees, or force them to pluck a certain quantity a day, for I discovered that 
they picked the ripe and unripe beans indiscriminately — frequently injuring the 
trees. I only allow them to shake the tree, and pick up the beans that have 
fallen during the night." 

Coffee exports from the ports of Havana aud Matanzas, in 
Cuba, for the years ending December in 



Quintals. 

1839 .... 344,725 

1840 .... 402,135 

1841 .... 212,767 

1842 .... 314,191 

1843 .... 223,265 

1844 .... 186,349 



Quintals. 

1845 42,409 

1846 ... 65,045 

1847 .... 106,904 

1848 .... 31,674 

1849 .... 92,974 
1852 .... 42,510 



Porto Eico exported 85,384 cwt. of coffee in 1839. 

Africa. — Coffee will require some four years to grow before it 
will give to the cultivator any income, but it should be known 
that after that time the tree, witb little or no labor bestowed on 
it, will yield two crops a year. The quality of coffee grown in 
tbe republic of Liberia, on the western coast of Africa, is pro- 
nounced by competent judges to be equal to any in the world. 
In numerous instances, trees full of coffee, are seen at only three 
years old. 214 casks and bags of coffee were imported from the 
western coast of Africa in 1846. 



78 



COFFEE. 



Coffee, it has been proved, can be cultivated with great ease to 
any extent in the republic of Liberia, being indig:^nous to the 
soil, and found in great abundance. It bears fruit from thirty to 
forty years, and yields 10 lbs. to the shrub yearly ! A single tree 
in the garden of Colonel Hicks, a colonist at Monrovia, is said to 
have yielded the enormous quantity of 16 lbs. at one gathering. 
Judge Benson, in 1850, had brought 25 acres nnder cultivation, 
and many others had also devoted themselves to raising coffee. 
It was estimated there were about 30,000 coffee trees planted in 
one of the counties, that of Grand Bassa, and the quality of the 
produce was stated to be eqnal to the best Java. 

About the villages and settlements of the Sherbro river, and 
Sierra Leone, wild coffee-trees are very abundant. In several 
parts of the interior, the natives make nse of ;.he shrub to fence 
their plantations. 

Coffee has been successfully groT\-n at St. Helena, of an excel- 
lent quality, and might be made an article of export. 

Portugal sent to tlie Grreat Exhibition, in 1851, a very valuable 
series of coffees from many of her colonies ; of ordinary descrip- 
tion from St. Thomas ; tolerably good from the Cape de Yerd 
islands ; bad from Timor ; worse (but curious from the very small 
size of the berry) from Mozambique ; good from Angola ; and 
excellent from Madeira. 

Aden, alias Mocha coffee, is, along with the other coffees of the 
E-ed Sea, sent ffi'st to Bombay by Arab ships, where it is " gar- 
belled," or picked, previously to its being exported to England. 

An excellent sample of coffee, apparently of the Barbera 
(Abyssinia) variety, was contributed to the Grreat Exhibition from 
-NTorfolk Island. It was of good color, well adapted for roasting, 
and a most desirable novelty from that quarter. 

Dr. Grardner, of Ceylon, has taken out a patent for preparing 
the coffee leaf in a manner to afford a beverage like tea, that is by 
infusion, forming an agreeable refreshing and nutritive article 
of diet." An infusion of the coffee-leaf has long been an article 
of universal consumption amongst the natives of parts of Suma- 
tra ; wherever the coffee is gTOwn, the leaf has become one of the 
necessaries of life, which the natives regard as indispensable. 

The coffee-plant, in a congenial soil and climate, exhibits great 
luxuriance in its foliage, throwing out abundance of suckers and 
lateral stems, especially when from any cause the main stem is 
thrown out of the perpendicular, to which it is very liable from 
its great superincumbent weight compared with the hold of its 
root in the ground. The native planters, availing themselves of 
this propensity, often give this plant a considerable inclination, 
not only to increase the foliage, but to obtain new fruit-bearing 
stems, when the old ones become unproductive. It is also found 
desirable to limit the height of the plant by lopping off the top to 
increase the produce, and facilitate the collecting it, and Iresh 
sprouts in abundance are the certain consequence. These are so 
many causes of the development of a vegetation Avhich becomes 



COrFEE. 



79 



injurious to the quantity of the fruit or berry unless removed ; and 
when this superabundant foliage can be converted into an article 
of consumption, as hitherto the case in Sumatra, the culture must 
become the more profitable ; and it is clearly the interest of the 
planters of Ceylon to respond to the call of Dr. Grardner, and by 
supplying the leaf on reasonable terms, to assist in creating a 
demand lor an article they have in abundance, and which for the 
want of that demand is of no value to them. It ought to be 
mentioned also, that the leaves which become ripe and yellow on 
the tree and fall olf in the course of nature, contain the largest 
portion of extract, and make the richest infusion ; and I have no 
doubt, should the coffee leaf ever come into general use, the ripe 
leaf will be collected ^dth as much care as the ripe fruit. 

The mode of the preparation by the natives is this. The ends 
of the branches and suckers, with the leaves on, are taken from 
the tree and broken into lengths of from twelve to eighteen inches. 
These are arranged in the split of a stick or small bamboo, side 
by side, forming a truss in such a manner, that the leaves all appear 
on one side, and the stalk on the other, the object of which is to 
secure equal roasting, the stalks being thus exposed to the fire 
together, and the leaves together. The slit being tied up in two 
or three places, and a part of the stick or bamboo left as a handle, 
the truss is held over a fire without smoke, and kept moving about, 
so as to roast the whole equally, without burning, on the success 
of which operation the quality and flavor of the article must 
depend. AVhen successfully roasted, the raw vegetable taste is 
entirely dissipated, which is not the case if insufficiently done. 
When singed or overdone, the extract is destroyed and the aroma 
lost. When the fire is smoky, the flavor varies with the nature 
of the smoke. The stalks are roasted equally with the leaves, 
and are said to add fully as much to the strength of the infusion. 
By roasting the whole becomes brittle, and is reduced to a coarse 
powder by rubbing between the hands. In this state it is ready 
for use, and the general mode of preparing the beverage is by 
infusion, as in the case of common tea. 

That it would soon become a most valuable article of diet 
amongst the laboring classes, and on ship board particularly, if 
once brought into use, there can be no doubt. The coffee-tree 
can be grown to advantage for the leaf in the lowlands of every 
tropical country, where the soil is sufficiently fertile, whilst it re- 
quires a different soil and climate to produce the fruit *, 

Dr. Hooker, in the Jury Reports, observ^es upon the prepared 
coffee leaves, submitted by Dr. Grardner, of Ceylon, to be used as 
tea leaves, that they are worthy of notice as affording a really 
palatable drink when infused as tea is ; more so, perhaps, than 
coffee is to the uninitiated. That this preparation contains a con- 
siderable amount of the nutritious principles of coffee, is evident 
from the analysis ; but as the leaves can only be collected in a 

* Correspondent of the Singapore Free Press, December, 1852, 



80 



TIA. 



good state at tlie expense of tlie coffee bush, it is cloubtfLil whether 
the coffee produced by the benies be not. after alL the cheapest, 

as it certainly is the best. 



TEA. 

The immense traf&e in the produce of this simple shrub, the 
gi^owtli of a remarkable country, hitherto almost entii^ely isolated 
from the western narions, is one of the most remarkable illus- 
trations of the enterprise and energy of modern commerce. The 
trade in tea now gires employment to upwards of 60.000 tons of 
Eritish shipping, and about ten millions sterling of English capi- 
tal, producing a revenue to this country of nearly six millions ster- 
ling. 

Every reflectino; man will admit that articles of such vast con- 
sumption as tea and coffee (amounting together to more than 
34:3.500 tons annually), forming the chief liquid food of whole 
nations, must exercise a gi'eat influence upon the health of the 
people. 

There is scarcely any country in the world in which a dietetic 
drink or beverage resembling tea, is not prepared, and in general 
use, from some exotic or indigenous shrub. The two chief j)lants 
laid under contribution are. however, the Chinese tea-plant, and 
a species of holly peculiar to South America, producing the Para- 
guay tea. Astoria tlie'iforniis is used at Santa Pe as tea. Tlie 
leaves of Canotlius Anierica/ius. an astrmgent herb, have been used 
as a substitute, under the name of Xew .Jersey tea, 

It has been a matter of surprise why tea should be so much 
sought after by the poorer elasses. since by many it is looked on 
more as a luxury than of use to the liuman system. The manner 
in which it acts, and the cause why it is so much in demand by 
all classes, is satisfactorily explained by Liebig ; and the benefit, 
therefore, which will be conferred by selling it at a low rate, and 
thus placing it within the means of alL has at last come to be 
duly appreciated. Liebig says, without entering minutely into 
the medical action of cafieine. theine, cV:c.. it will surely appear a 
most striking fact, even if we were to deny its iulluence on the 
process of secretion, that the substance, with the addition of 
oxygen and the elements of water, can yield tamdne, the nitro- 
genised compound peculiar to bile : — 

1 atom caffeine or tlieirLe . 
9 atoms vrater 
9 atoms oxygen 

- - 2 atoms taui'ine 

To see how the action of caffeine, theobromine, theine. &q., may 
be explained, we must call to mind that the chief constituent of 



Carbon. Xiu-o^en. Hvdrogen. Oxrgeru 
8 2' " .5 2 

P 9 
9 

S 2 20 

2 4 9 10 



TEA. 



81 



the bile contains only 3.8 per cent, of nitrogen, of which only the 
half, or 1.9 per cent., belongs to the taurine ; bile contains, in its 
natural state, water and solid matter, in the proportion of ninety 
parts by weight of the former, t-o ten of the latter. If we sup-= 
pose these ten parts, by weight of solid matter, to be chloric acid, 
with 3.87 per cent, of nitrogen, then 100 parts of theine would 
contain 0.171 of nitrogen in the shape of taurine. ]Srow this 
quantity is contained in 0.6 parts of theine, or 2 grains S.lOths of 
theine can give to an ounce of bile the nitrogen it contains in the 
form of taurine. 

Althougli an infusion of tea contains no more than the one- 
tenth of a grain of theine, still, if it contribute in point of fact 
to the formation of bile, the action even of such a quantity can- 
not be looked upon as a nullity. Xeither can it be denied, that 
in the case of an excess of non-azotised food, and a deficiency of 
motion, which is required to cause the change of matter of the 
tissues, and thus to yield the nitrogenised product which enters 
into the composition of the bile, that in such a condition the 
health may be benefited by the use of compounds which are 
capable of supplying the place of the nitrogenised substances pro- 
duced in the healthy state of the body, and essential to the pro- 
duction of an important element of inspiration. In a chronical 
sense, and it is this alone which the preceding remarks are in- 
tended to show, caffeine, or theine, &€., are, in virtue of their com- 
position, better adapted to this purpose than all nitrogenised ve- 
getable principles. The action of these substances in ordinary 
circumstances is not obvious, but it unquestionably exists. Tea 
and coffee were originally met with among nations whose diet 
was chiefly vegetable. 

Considerable discussion has taken place regarding the tea 
plants ; some say that there is only one species ; others that there 
are two or three. Mr. Fortune, who visited the tea districts of 
Canton, Fokien, and Chekiaog, asserts that the black and green 
teas of the northern districts of China are obtained from the same 
species or variety, known under the name of Thea Boliea. Some 
make the Assam tea a different species, and thus recognise three : 
T. Cantoniensis or Boliea, T. ViiHdis, and T. Assamica. The qua- 
lity of the tea depends much on the season when the leaves are 
picked, the mode in which it is prepared, as well as the district in 
which it grows. The green teas include Twankay, Young Hyson, 
Hyson, Grunpowder, and Imperial ; while the black comprise 
Bohea, Congou, Souchong, Oolong, and Pekoe. The teas of cer- 
tain districts, such as Anhoi, have peculiar characters. 

The first tea imported into England was a package of two 
pounds, by the East India Company, in 1664, as a present to the 
king ; in 1667, another small importation took place, from the 
company's factory at Bantam. The directors ordered their ser- 
vants to " send home by their ships 100 pounds weight of the 
best tey they could get.""^ In 1678 were imported 4,713 lbs. ; but 
in the six following years the entire imports amounted to no more 



S2 



TEA. 



than 410 lbs. According to ]Milbum's ''Oriental Commerce," 
the consLimptiou in 1711 was 111,995 lbs.; 120.595 lbs. in 1715, 
and 237,901 lbs. in 1720. In 1745 the amoimt Tras 730,729 lbs. 
Por above a century and a half, the sole object of the East India 
Company's trade -with China was to provide tea for the consump- 
tion of the United Kingdom, The company had the exclusive 
trade, and were bound to send orders for tea, and to provide ships 
to import the same, and always to have a year's consumption in 
their warehouses. The teas were disposed of in London, where 
only they could be imported, at quarterly sales. The act of 1834, 
however, threw open the trade to China. 

Erom a Parliamentary return, showing the quantity of tea re- 
tained for home constunption in the United Kingdom, in each 
year, from 1740 to the termination of the East India Company's 
sales, and tbence to the present time, it appears that in 1740, 
1,493,695 lbs. of tea were retained for home consumption. Two 
years afterwards, the quantity fell to 473,868 lbs., and in 1767 
onlv 215,019 lbs. were retained. Xext vear the amount increased 
to * 3.155.417 lbs. ; in 1769 it was 9,114.854 lbs.; in 1795, 
21,342,845 lbs. ; in 1836, 49,842,236 lbs. 

The return in question also specifies the quantity of the various 
kinds of tea, with the average sale prices. 

According to the annual tea reports of ^Messrs. Tr. J. Thomp- 
son and Son, and Messrs. W. E. Eranks and Son, the total im- 
ports of tea during the last fifteen years were as follows, 
reckoned in milhons of lbs. : — 



Years. 


Black. 


Green. 


Total. 


Home Consumption. 


1838 ,,. 


... 26,786 ... 


... 8,215 ... 


35,001 


. . 36,415 


1839 ... 


... 30,644 ... 


... 7,680 ... 


38,324 


36.351 










.. 31,716 


1841 ... 








. . 36,811 


1842 ... 


... 31.915 ... 




, 41,644 


37,554 


1843 ... 


.. 39,518 .. 


7,340 ,. 




. . 39,102 


1844 ... 


... 39,644 ... 


... 8,749 ... 


, . 48,393 


.. 41,176 


1845 ... 






... 51,338 


. . 44.127 


1846 ... 


... 44,017 ... 




... 56,5C3 


.. 47,534 


1847 ... 


... 46,887 ... 


.. 8,368 ... 




46,247 


1848 ■•• 






... 45,123 


. . 48,431 


1849 ... 


... 43,234 ... 


... 9,156 ... 
... 8,427 ... 


... 52,400 


.. 50,100 


1850 ... 


.. 39,873 ... 


... 48,300 


51.000 


1851 ... 


... 62,369 ••• 


9,131 ... 


... 71,500 


. . 54,000 


1852 




... 9,175 ... 


, 64,700 


. . 54,724 



The dutv on tea was gradually raised from 9d. per lb. in 1787 
to 3s. a lb.' in 1806. It was 2s. 2d. per lb. until 3Iay, 1852, when 
4d. per lb. was taken off, and fiu^ther annual reductions are to be 
made. Down to the year 1834 the duty was an ad valorem one 
of 96 per cent, on all teas sold under 2s. a lb., and of 100 per 
cent, on aU that were sold at or above 2s., charged on the prices 
which they brought at the East India Company's sales. The ad 
valorem duties ceased on the 22nd of April, 1834, and under the 
act 3 and 4 William lY. c. 100, aU tea nnported into the United 



TEA. 



83 



Kingdom for home consumption was charged with a customs dutj 
as follows : — 

Bohea Is. 6d. per lb. 

Congou, twantay, hyson skin, oransre 

pekoe, and campoi . . .2 2 
Souchong, floTrery pekoe, hyson, young 
hyson, gunpowder, imperial, and 
other teas not enumerated . .30 

In 1S36, the uniform duty of 2s. Id. per lb. on all descriptions 
of tea was imposed, which, with the additional 5 per cent, im- 
posed in 1S40, made the total duty levied per lb. 2s. 2d. and a 
fraction. 

During the years from 1S31 to ISil, in sj^ite of an increase of 
nearly three inillions in the population of the country, and not- 
withstanding the impetus given to the tea-trade by the aboHtion 
of the East India Company's monopoly in 1S33, the increased 
consumption was only 6,675,566 lbs. G-reat as the increase has 
been of late years, however, it is very far short of what we might 
expect to see were the duty reduced to a moderate per centage on 
the value of the article as it comes from the Chinese merchant. 
In Jersey and Gruernsey, where there is no duty on tea, the 
average consumption is 4^ lbs. per head per annum. The same 
rate for the United Kingdom would require an annual importa- 
tion of nearly 150 million lbs. I asserted, many months ago, if 
the duty coidd be gradually reduced from its present exorbitant 
amount to Is. per lb., the revenue would not sufler much, whilst 
the comfort of the people would be much increased, and our trade 
with China greatly improved. 

Years. Teas Imported, lbs. Entered for Home Consumption, Iba, 

1843 .. 42,779.265 35,685,262 

1844 .. 50,613,328 41,176,009 

1845 .. 53,570.267 44,127,000 

1846 .. 57,53i,56l 46,554,787 

1847 .. 55,255,000 50,921,486 

1S48 ., 47,774,755 43.735,696 

1849 .. 53,460,751 50.024,688 

1850 .. 50,512,384 51,178.215 

1851 .. 71,466.421 53.965.112 

1852 .. 66,361,020 54,724,615 

Amonnt of duty received on tea : — 

£■ Prices of Sound Common Congou per Vo. 

Is. 7d. to 23. Od. 

1 7 .. 1 10 

1 0 .. I 2 

0 10 . . 1 0 

1 0 .. 1 9| 

0 9 .. 0 9^ " 

0 8^.. 0 9i 

0 8 .. 0 8^ 

0 8i.. 0 9^ 

0 104.. 1 1 

0 8'.. 0 8| 

....... 0 Ik... 2 2 

Mr. Montgomerv ^lartin, in his work on China, published in 

& 2 



1841 . 


. 3,973,668 


1842 . 




1843 . 


. 4.407,642 


1844 . 


. 4,524.093 


1845 . 


. 4,833,351 


1846 . 


. .5,112,005 


1847 . 


. 5,066,860 


1848 . 


. 5,330,515 


1849 . 


. 5,471,641 


1850 . 


. 5,597,708 


1851 . 




1852 . 


5,985,482 



84 



TEA. 



1847, gave the average annual consumption of tea, the produce of 
China, as follows : — 

lbs. 

. 45,000,000 



Great Britain and Ireland 
British North America and "West Indies 
Australasia, Cape of Good Hope, &c. 
British India and Eastern Islands 



2,500,000 
2,500,000 
2,000,000 



Total used throughout the British Empire 52,000,000 



United States of North America 
Russia . . . . 

France and Colonies 
Hanse Towns, &c. 
Holland and its Colonies 
Belgium 

Denmark, Sweden, and Norway 

The German States 

Spain and Portugal 

Italian States 

South American States . 



7,000,000 
10,000,000 
500,000 
150,000 

1,000,000 
200,000 
250,000 
500,000 
100,000 
50,000 
500,000 



Total consumption in foreign countries 20,250,000 
According to this statement, it would seem that the English 

consume twice the quantity of tea that is used by all the other 

countries excepting China and Japan. 

The consumption of tea in Europe and America I estimated a 

year or two ago as follows : — 

lbs. 

Russia 16,000,000 

United States of America 18,000,000 

France 2,000,000 

Holland 2,800,000 

Other countries 2,000,000 

Great Britain 50,000,000 



Total 89,800,000 

The estimated consumption, at the rate of consumption found 
where taxation is favorable (as for instance 1|- pounds 
average of this country) would give the following : — ■ 



the 



cwts. 

England 400,000 

France ... 510,000 

Germany 400,000 

Austria 500,000 



cwts. 

Prussia 

Belgium 63,000 

EuBsia 900,000 

Rest of Europe 750,000 



The total exportation of tea by sea from Chijoa, was estimated 
by Mr. Martin in 1847 at 75 millions of pounds, viz. : — 

England 50,000,000 

United States 20,000,000 

All other countries 5,000,000 



75,000,000 

which, at 20 taels per picul (133 lbs.) amounts to 11,280,000 taela 
of silver at 80d. per tael, £3,760,000. The present Chinese duty 

* This is only one-third the actual consumption. 



TEA. 



85 



of two taels five mace, does not include shipping and otlaer charges ; 
the old duty was five taels, and included all charges paid the Hong 
merchants. The export by sea is now about 97 millions of lbs. 

The following was the retuimed value of the tea exported from 
the five Chinese ports in 1844 and 1845 : — 

1844. 1845. 

Canton £2,910,474 £3,429,790 

Shanghae ........ 67,115 462,746 

Xingpo 2,000 2,000 

Amoy 544 

Foo-chow-foo .... 638 



£2,979,589 £3,895,718 

The average cost of tea in China at the ship's side is lOd. per 
pound, while it is confidently asserted that it could be produced in 
many parts of America at 5d. the pound. The great cost in China 
is owing to the expensive transportation, the cultivation of the 
fuel used, the absence of all economy of machinery, &c. It is 
only by adulteration that tea is sold in China as cheap as lOd. In 
America the beating and rolling of the leaves (one half of the 
labor) could be done by the simplest machinery, fuel could be 
economised by flues, &c. 

The Eussian teas, brought by caravans, are the most expensive 
and best teas used in Europe. The Chinese themselves pay 7i 
dollars per pound for the " Yen Pouchong " teas. 

Tull chests were exhibited in 1851, by Mr. Eipley, of various 
Pekoe teas, some of which fetch 50s. per lb. in the China market ; 
whilst 7s. is the very highest price any of the sort will fetch in Eng- 
land, and this only as a fancy article. The plain and orange- scented 
Pekoes now fetch little with us ; but as caravan teas, are pur- 
chased by the wealthier Eussian families. The finest, however, 
never leave China, being bought up by the Mandarins ; for though 
the transit expenses add 3s. to 4s. per lb. to the value when sold 
in Eussia, the highest market price in St. Petersburg is always 
under 50s. Among these scented teas are various caper teas, 
flavoured with chloranthus flowers and the buds of some species 
of plants belonging to the orange tribe, magnolia fuscaia, olea 
flowers, &c. The Cong Souchong, or Ning-young teas, are chiefly 
purchased for the American market. Oolong tea is the favourite 
drink in Calcutta, though less prized in England, its delicate flavor 
being injured by the length of the voyage. Eor delicacy, no teas, 
approach those usually called " Mandarin teas," which being 
slightly fired and rather damp when in the fittest state for use, 
will bear neither transport nor keeping. They are in great de- 
mand among the wealthy Chinese, and average 20s. per lb in the 
native market. — (Jin'y Eeports.) 

The consumption of tea in the United Kingdom may now be fairly 
taken at fifty-four million pounds yearly, and sold at an average 
price to the consumer of 4s. 6d., per pound. The mouey expended 
for tea is upwards of twelve millions sterling. 



86 



TEA, 



The expenditure of this sum is distributed as follows, in round 
numbers : — 

Net cost of 54,000,000 pounds, average Is. per pound £2,700,000 

Export duty in China of l*d. a lb. ... ... ... 337,500 

Shi^jping charges, &c., in China 25,000 

Preight,''<i-c., China to England, about 2d. per lb 450,000 

Insurance, M. per lb. 112,500 

Commission, about id. per lb 56,250 

Tasting charges, (tc, about i of a penny per lb 28,125 

Interest for 6 months on £3.709,375 at 5 per cent 92,734 

Total outlay in China £3,802,109 

Profit to exporters in China, (about 12 per cent.) 445,116 

Landing charges, Sec, in England 39,000 

Cost price in bond in England ... £4,286,225 

Duty received by government at 2s, per lb., about ... 5,985,482 

£10,271,707 

Profit divided among tea-brokers, wholesale and retail 

dealers, &c 1,878,293 

Total outlay by British pubUc for tea, at 4s. 6d. per lb. ... £12,150,003 

The tea imported into England in 1667 was only 100 lbs., while 
for the year ending June 30, 1851, the export from China to Great 
Britain was 61,020,000 lbs., employing 115 vessels in its trans- 
portation : and to the United States, during the same time, 
28,760,800 lbs., in sixty -four vessels. "Within the last five years, 
the export has increased 10,000,000 lbs. to the Ignited States, and 
17,000,000 to G-reat Britain. These statistics will show the im- 
mense importance of this article to commerce, and the vast amount 
of sHpping it supports. But let us follow out the statistics a 
little more in detail. 

The population of the Chinese provinces, as quoted by Dr. 
Morison, from an official census taken in 1825, was 352,86(3.012, 
and we may fairly conclude that during the last twenty-eight years 
this population has extensively increased. If we assume the 
annual consumption of tea at foiu' lb. per head on the above popu- 
lation ; and this is no unreasonable assumption in a country, where, 
to quote from Murray's valuable work on China, tea is the na- 
tional drink, which is presented on every occasion, served up at 
every feast, and even sold on the public roads ; " we shall have a 
tolerably accm'ate result as to the total consumption in the empire. 
Indeed this computation falls short of the actual relative con- 
sumption in the island of Jersey, where, as we have seen, nearly 
five lbs. is the annual allowance of each individual. 

If we multiplv the population of China bv fom\ we have — 

lbs. 

Total coiisumption of tea in China I,411,464j048 

Export of Grreat Britain and Ireland, for the year ending 

June 30, 1851 64,020,000 

Export to the United States, same period 28,760,800 

Export to Holland, returned at 2,000,000 in Davis's 

"China" 3,000,000 



TEA. S7 

Inland trade to Eussia 15,000,000 

Export to Hamburg, Bremen, Denmark, Sweden, &c., 

seven cargoes, about 3,000,000 

Export to Sydney, and Australasian Colonies, at least . . 6,000,000 

Export to Spain and Erance, fom* cargoes 2,000,000 



Total lbs. 1,533,244,848 
The above is exclusive of the hea^'y exportation in Chinese 
vessels to all parts of the east where Chinese einigTants are settled, 
such as Touquin, Cochin China, Cambodia. Siam, the Philippines, 
Borneo, and the various settlements within the Straits of !^Ialacca. 
In comparison with such an enormous quantity, the million lbs. 
consumed in the United Kingdom sink into insignificance. 

£ 

The cost of tea to America, at the ship's side in China, say 



29,000,000 lbs., at an average of Is. per lb., would be . 1,450,000 

The cost to England, 64,000,000, at the same price . . 3,200,000 

The cost to otHer places, say 25,000,000 . . . 1,250,000 

Russia, 15,000,000 ...... 750,000 



Total ...... £6,650,000 



It is therefore clear, that were the demand to be doubled from 
Great Britain, it would make very little difference in the Chinese 
market ; since it would be only a question of letting us have six 
per cent, of their growth of the article, instead of three. 

AVhen we remember that the tea plant attains to maturity in 
three years, and its leaves are then fit for picking ; and that there 
is a vast extent of coimtry to which it is indigenous, growing in 
every climate between the equator and the latitude of 45 degrees, 
it is evident that, were there a necessity for it, the actual produc- 
tion of tea in China could be increased to an almost unlimited 
extent in the space of three or four years, an extent far more than 
compensating for the extra three per cent., which might be, in the 
first instance, required by the British. 

The certainty of an increased consumption following upon a re- 
duction in the price of tea to the actual consumers of it, is so 
obvious as to requne demonstration to those only who have not 
considered the subject. The population of Great Britain and 
Ireland is, say in roimd numbers 30,000,000, the actual consump- 
tion of tea is only 54,000,000 lbs., or little more than one pound 
and three quarters for each individual. In the neighbouring island 
of Jersey, there are nearly five lbs. of tea consumed by every in- 
habitant yearly ; and as we may fairly infer from analogy that simi- 
lar results would arise from a similar cause, the consumption in the 
United Kingdom in the same ratio would amount to no less than 
150 millions of pounds annually. 

Tea, observes a most competent authority Qlr. J. IngTara 
Travers), is the favourite drink of the people : all desire to have it 
strong and good, and none who can afford it are without it. But 
in the agricultural districts the laborers use but little ; numbers 
of them make tea with burnt crusts, because the Cliina tea is 
too dear." In Ireland the consumption is greatly below that of 



88 



TEA, 



England ; there are comparatively few people who do not, on com- 
pany occasions, make their tea stronger than for ordinary use, and 
the general economy in the use of tea forms an exception to almost 
every other article of consumption. As to the working classes in 
the manufacturing districts, Mr. Bayley, President of the I\Ian- 
chester Chamber of Commerce, himself a very extensive manu- 
facturer, and therefore well qualified to speak to the fact, says : — 
" The common calculation of two ounces per head per week I 
should think is very much in excess of what the working classes 
consume. Domestic servants, I believe, have that quantity allowed 
them, but I should say that the working classes do not consume 
one quarter of that." And yet it is these classes who are the 
great consumers of everything cheap enough to be within their 
reach. It is this consumption that, under better earnings, has 
sustained the steady increase of nearly two million pounds of tea 
per annum for the last eight years, and still there is such ample 
room for increase that domestic servants are allowed at least four 
times as much per head as those working people who value, more 
than any other class, the cheerful refreshingness of tea, but who, 
stinted in its use by the exorbitant duty, are tempted and almost 
driven to the use, instead, of degrading drinks. 

And if the general consumption of the population should rise to 
even half servants' allowance, or one ounce per head per week, the 
consumption of tea would reach 97,500,000 lbs. per annum. And 
as to what might be used if the taste for it had free scope, some 
idea may be formed from the fact that the consumption of such 
people as have found their way from these countries, where the 
consmnption is 1 lb. 9 ozs, per head, to Australia, has there risen 
to 7 lbs. per head, at which rate the consumption of the United 
Kingdom would be about 210,000,000 lbs. per annum, and which, 
even at a 6d. dut}', would produce five millions and a half. There 
is nothing in the air of Australia to give any especial impulse to 
tea drinking : on the contrary ; in this comparative!}^ cold, damp 
climate, people would naturally use a hot beverage more largely 
than in the dry warm climate of Australia ; and, after all, great as 
the Australian consumption seems, it is scarcely more than a 
quarter of an ounce per head per week above the allowance to 
English domestic servants. 

The consumption of tea, notwithstanding the dicta of Mr. Mont- 
gomery Martin, is destined to a prodigious increase, l^or is it 
solely to an increase in the consumption of tea, that we must look 
to prevent any deficiency in the revenue, as there is no doubt that 
a reduction in the price of the article would lead to a prodigious 
increase in the quantity of sugar consumed, especially by the lower 
classes, who seldom take the one without the other. 

It is not, however, merely that they would buy sugar in propor- 
tion to the quantity of tea that they consume ; the cncumstance 
of a smaller sum being requisite for their weekly stock of tea, 
would enable them to spend a larger amount in other articles, 
among which sugar would, undoubtedly, be one of the most impor- 



TEA. 



89 



tant. The inerehaiit, s}lipo^Yner, manufacturer, and all connected 
with the trade between Grreat Britain and China, are in a position 
to see the prodigious advantages that such a measure as an exten- 
sive reduction of the impost on tea would occasion to the general 
trade of the country ; and the public at large, who are not practi- 
cally familiar ^ith the subject, only require it to be brought before 
them in a distinct point of view, when the important results of 
such a reduction cannot fail to be apparent to them. 

Tea is not now within the reacb of the poor man. A person 
taking tea once a day, will consume about 7 1 lbs. a year. 

lbs. 

Say 500,000 persons take tea twice a day, or 15 lbs. a year, is 7,500,000 
Say 4,000,000 persons take tea once a day, or 7| lbs. a year, is 30,000,000 
Say 12,000,000 persons take tea once a week, or 1 lb. a year, is 12,000,000 

49,500,000 

Which shows that, at present, only one person out of every sixty 
can havc tea twice a day ; one of every seven only once a day ; and 
that out -of the remaining 13,500,000 persons, only five millions 
and a half can procure it once in the week. The exact state of the 
case shows that only eight millions of the people of the United 
Kingdom enjoy the use of tea, leaving the other twenty-two mil- 
lions excluded. A Chinese will consume thirty pounds of tea in 
the year. 

But it is said we must not, if our accumulated stocks be drank 
off this year, expect the Chinese to meet at once so huge an in- 
crease in the demand as to supply us with as much next year. 

Now on no point of the case is the evidence so clear as upon the 
capacity of the Chinese to furnish, within any year, any quantity 
we may require. The Committee of 1847, on Commercial delations 
with China, state — " That the demand for tea from China has been 
progressively and rapidly rising for many years, with no other re- 
sults than that of diminished prices :" — a fact to be accounted for 
only upon the supposition that our ordinary demand is exceedingly 
small in proportion to the Chinese supply. Nor is it an unrea- 
sonable inference, that if so much more than usual was to be had 
at a less price than before, any rise of price, however trivial it might 
be, would bring forward a much larger quantity :* a supposition 

* It is important, in considering what tea may be bad from China, to consider 
the manner of its production. It is grown over an immense district, in small 
farms, or rather gardens, no farm producing more that 600 chests. " The tea 
merchant goes himself, or sends his agents to all the small towns, villages, and 
temples in the district, to purchase tea from the priests and small fanners ; the 
large merchant, into whose hands the tea thus comes, has to ref re it and pachit 
for the foreign market." — (Fortune's Tea Districts. J This refiring is the only 
additional process of manufacture for our market. Mr. Fortune elsewhere, in 
his valuable work, giving an account of the cost of tea from the farmers, the 
conveyance to market, and the merchant's profit, states that " the small farmer 
and manipulator is not overpaid, but that the great profits are received by the 
middlemen." Xo doubt these men do their utmost to keep the farmers in com- 
plete ignorance of the state of the tea -market, that they may monopolise the ad- 
vantages, but it is pretty certain that the news of a bold reduction of duty, and 



90 



TEA. 



which is completely confirmed by a review of prices here, and ex- 
ports from China within the last four years ; and in considering 
which it is important to bear in mind — 1st, that our tea trade 
year, on which our account of import, export, home consumption, 
and stock on hand is taken, is from January to January, and the 
Chinese tea year from July to July ; 2nd, that a rise at the close 
of the last months of the year in England, influences the next 
year's exports from China ; and Srdly, that of late years, since 
something of decrepitude has fallen upou the Chinese G-overnment, 
smuggling there, to escape the export duty, has been carried on 
largely and at an increasing rate, so that the return is considerably 
below the real export. 

In the Chinese tea year, July to July, 18i8-9, the price of good 
ordinary congou, the tea of by far the largest consumption here, 
and which, in fact, rules the market, was S^d. to 9|d., and the 
export from China 47,251,000 lbs. The year closed with the higher 
price, and the Chinese export from July 1849, to July 1850, was 
54,000,000 lbs,, showing an increase of export on the year of 
6,7-30,000 lbs. Throughout 1850, here, prices fluctuated a good 
deal. They were low in the earlier part of the year, but in January 
went up from 9|d. to ll^d., and from July 1850, to July 1851, 
the export from China rose to 64,000,000 lbs., being an increase 
of ten million pounds on a previous increase of nearly seven 
million lbs. Prices here, during 1851, varied very much : it was 
difficult to say whether any rise would be established, but the 
export still went up and reached, from July 1851, to July 1852, 
67,000,000 lbs., giving a total increase in three years of 19,750,000 
lbs. Nor was it pretended that in any of those years the Chinese 
market showed even the least symptoms of exhaustion. " We 
know," say the Committee, " that the Chinese market has never 
been drained of tea in any one year, but that there has been alw^ays 
a surplus left to meet any extraordinary demand." But the effect 
of the rise in price in 1850 is still more forcibly shown by a com- 
parison of our total imports in that and the following year. In 
1850 we imported 48,300,000 lbs. ; in 1851, 71,500,000 lbs., being 
an increase of 23,200,000 lbs. Doubtless the Chinese export, if 
made up totally with our year, would not account for the whole 
quantity, part of which is to be set down to Chinese export-smug- 
gling, and part to arrivals from America and the Continent. The 
probability is that the increase of price referred to above never 
reached the Chinese tea farmers ; the supply came from the mer- 
chants' stock on band. The rise was, besides, uncertain, and from 
any established advance a much larger increase of export might be 
looked for. 

Bat the mistake made in England in estimating what tea we 
may look for from China goes upon the supposition that they grow 
expressly for us : the fact being, as stated by Mr. Eobt. Eortime, in 

the promise of an immensely increased consumption, -would reach even the 
Chinese farmers, and make them pick their trees more closelj^ — a little of which 
amongst so many Avould make a vast diiference in the total supply. 



TEA. 



91 



his recently published Tea Districts of China," " that the quan- 
tity exported hears but a small proportion to that consumed by the 
Chinese themselves." On this point the report of the Parliamen- 
tary Committee is explicit : — There is a population in China, 
commonly assumed at above three hundred millions, at all hours 
in the day consuming tea, which only requires some change of 
preparation to be fit for exportation ; thus implying an amount of 
supply on which any demand that may be made for foreign export 
can be, after a very short time, but slightly felt." Mr. Fortune, 
in his evidence, says that the Chinese drink about four times as 
much as we do: they are always drinking it." Four times as 
much is probably very much an under-estimate. With rich and 
poor of all that swarming population, tea, not such as our Avorkiug 
classes drink, but fresh and strong, and with no second watering, 
accompanies every meal. But even taking their consumption at 
four times as much per head as ours, and their population at the 
lowest estimate, at three hundred millions, their consumption, 
setting ours at 55,000,000 lbs., will be no less than two thousand 
two hundred millions of pounds per annum, or forty times the 
quantity used in the United Kingdom. As reasonably might the 
few foreigners who visit the metropolis in the summer expect to 
cause a famine of fruit and vegetables in London, as Vv-e that a 
doubling of our demand for tea would be felt in China. The 
further fifty -live million pounds would be but another fortieth of 
Avhat they use themselves, and would have no more effect upon 
their entire market than the arrival of some thousand strangers 
within the year in London would have upon the supply of bread 
or butchers' meat. There is no need, therefore, to wait for the 
extension of tea plantations, and so far from taking for granted 
the statement of the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, " that time 
must be given to increase production, and that the point of its 
taking three or four years to make a tea- tree is to be considered 
in dealing with the duties," we have the fact unmistakeably before 
us, that the production is already so vast, that any demand from 
us could liave no appreciable effect. And as to future supplies, if 
we should come to drink as much as the Chinese themselves, a 
matter not at all needful to be considered at present, the Com- 
mittee report that " the cultivation of the plant may be indefinitely 
extended;" whilst Mr. Fortune, who has been upon the spot, 
states " that there is not the slightest doubt that there is a great 
part of the land which is nearly uncultivated now, which, Avere 
there a demand for tea, could be brought into cultivation. The 
cost would be very little indeed ; they would cut down a quantity 
of brushwood, and probably dig over the ground and plant the 
bushes. They could clear and plant it in the same year, and in 
about two years they could get something from it." As, however, 
without this extension they have hitherto found enough for the 
increase of their own vast population, for every extension of de- 
mand from us and every other foreign customer, whether by land 
or water, without the least tendency to an advance in price, there 



92 



TEA. 



is no need to do more than thus touch upon the undeveloped re- 
sources of tea production. — Travers on tlie Tea Duties. 

The consumption of tea in Russia is very great, as the middling 
classes make a more frequent use of that beverage than the rest. 
Every year 60,000 chests of tea arrive at Maimiatchin and Kiakhta, 
of the declared of&cial value of £1,185,000 sterling ; and to this 
may be added £38,650 for inferior tea used by the people of the 
south, which makes the total declared value of the tea introduced 
about one and a quarter million sterling. The consumption of 
Russia may be assumed at over fifteen millions of pounds, although 
we have no correct data, as in the case of shipping retmms, to cal- 
culate from. In 1848, however, the Russians took 136,217^ boxes 
of fine tea of the Chinese, for which they paid 5,349,918 silver 
roubles — one million sterling. The quantity forwarded from 
Kiakhta into the interior consisted of — 

Foods. 

Flowery or Pekoe tea ..... 69,677 

Ordinary tea .... . 183,752 

Brick tea . . . . . . 116,249 

Equal to about fifteen million lbs. English. 

Brich tea of Thibet. — A sample of this curious product was shown 
by the East India Company in 1851. It is formed of the refuse 
tea-leaves and sweepings of the granaries, damped and pressed into 
a mould, generally with a little bullock's blood. The finer sorts 
are friable masses, and are packed in papers ; the coarser sewn up 
in sheep's skin. In this form it is an article of commerce through- 
out Central and ^^orthern Asia and the Himalayan provinces ; and 
is consumed by Mongols, Tartars, and Tibetans, churned with 
milk, salt, butter, and boiling water, more as a soup than as tea 
proper. Certain quantities are forced upon the acceptance of the 
Western tributaries of the Chinese Empire, in payment for the 
support of troops, &c. ; and is hence, from its convenient size and 
form, brought into circulation as a coin, over an area greater than 
that of Europe. — Dr. Hooker, in Jury Reports. 

The quantity and value of the tea imported into the United 
States, from 1821, is thus stated : — 



Years. 


Pounds. 


Value, dolls. 
. 1,322,636 


Years. 


Pounds. 


Value, doUs. 


1821 


. 4,975,646 . 


1835 


. . 14,415,572 


. 4,522,806 


1822 


. 6,639,434 . 


. 1,860,777 


1836 


.. 16,382,114 . 


. 5,342,811 


1823 . 


. 8,210,010 . 


. 2,361,245 


1837 


.. 16,982,384 


. 5,903,054 


1824 


. 8,920,487 . 


. 3,786,312 
. 3,728,935 


1838 


.. 14,418,112 . 


. 3,497,156 


1825 


. 10,209,548 . 


1839 


. 9,439,817 . 


. 2,428,419 


1826 . 


. 10,108,900 . 


. 3,752,281 


1840 


. 20,006,595 . 


. 5,427,010 


1827 . 


. 5,875,638 . 


. 1,714,882 


1841 


. 10,772,087 . 


. 3,075,332 


1828 . 


. 7,707,427 . 


. 2,451,197 


1842 


. 13,482,645 . 


. 3,567,745 


1829 . 


. 6,636,790 . 


. 2,060,457 


1843 


. 12,785,748 . 


. 3,405,627 


1830 . 


. 8,609,415 . 


. 2,425,018 
. 1,418,037 


1844 


. 13,054,327 . 


. 3,152,225 


1831 . 


. 5,182,867 . 


1845 


. 17,162,550 . 


. 4,802,621 


1832 . 


. 9,906,606 . 


. 2,788,353 


1846 


. 16,891,020 . 


. 3,983,337 


1833 . 


. 14,639,822 . 


. 5,484,603 
. 6,217,949 


1847 . 


. 14,221,410 . 


. 3,200,056 


1834 . 


. 16,282,977 . 


1848 


. 18,889,217 



The annual reports of the Secretary to the Treasury, for the last 



TEA. 



93 



twenty years, show a considerable increase in the consumption of 
tea in the United States, but not so great as in the article of coffee. 
The establishment of tea shops, in all the large cities of America, 
is a new feature in the retail trade, dating only some six years 
back. 

The average rate of duty, which previously ranged between 
thirty and thirty-four cents, per pound, was reduced in 1832 to 
fourteen cents (7d.) a pound. 

The proportion of green to black used is shown by the followdng 
return of the imports : — 

lbs. 

1844 . . Green . . . 10,131,837 

Black . . . 4,125,527 



Total . . 14,257,364 



1845 . . Green . , . 13,802,099 

Black . . . 6,950,459 



Total . . 20,752,558 

The large import of 1840, of 250,000 chests, of which 200,000 
were green, was in anticipation of the disturbances arising from 
the war with Grreat Britain, and the blockade of the ports. 

In 1850, there were 173,317 chests of green tea, and 91,017 of 
black tea exported from China to America ; these quantities, with 
a further portion purchased from England, made a total of about 
twentv-three million lbs. of tea which crossed the Atlantic in 
1850.^ 

The imports and exports of tea into the United States, in the 
years ending Dec. 31st, 1848 and 1849, w^ere as follows : — 

IMPORTS. 

1849. 1848. 

lbs. lbs. 

Green . . 14,237,700 13,686,336 

Black . . 5,999,315 3,815,652 



Total .... 20,236,916 17,503,988 

EXPORTS. 

Green . . 230,470 262,708 

Black . . 186,650 194,212 



Total. . ..417,120 ' 456,920 

The value of tea imported into the United States during the 
year ending June 30th, 1851, amounted to 4,798,006 dollars 
(nearly £1,000,000 sterling) ; of this was re-exported a little 
over 1,000,000 dollars worth, leaving for home consumption 
3,668,141 dollars. 

The quality of tea depends much upon the season when the 
leaves are picked, the mode in which it is prepared, as well as the 
district in which it grows. 

The tea districts in China extend from the 27th degree to the 
31st degree of north latitude, and, according to missionaries, it 
thrives in the more northern provinces. Koempfer says it is cul- 



94 



TEA. 



tivated in Japan, as far nortli as 45 degrees. It seems to succeed best 
on the sides of mountains, among sandstone, scliistus, and granite. 

In 1834, tlie East India Company introduced the cultivation of 
tea in Upper Assam, where it is said to be indigenous ; and they 
now ship I'dTge quantities of very excellent tea from thence. 

Mr. Boyer, director of the museum at Port Louis, Mauritius, has 
succeeded in rearing 40,000 tea-trees, and expresses an opinion, 
that if tlie island of Bourbon would give itself up to the cultiva- 
tion, it might easdy supply France with all the tea she requires. 

The culture has also l3een commenced on a small scale, in St. 
Helena, and the Cape Colony 

The cultivation of the tea-tree might be tried with probability 
of success in JSTatal, and the Mauritius. The plant grows in every 
soil, even the most ungrateful ; resists the hurricanes, and requires 
little care. The picking of the leaves, like the pods of cotton, is 
performed by women, children, and the infirm, without much ex- 
pense. The preparation is known to the greater part of the 
Chinese, of whom there are so many in Mauritius ; besides, it is 
not difficult, A Mr. Duprat has, I am informed, planted a cer- 
tain extent of land in the neighbourhood of Cernpipe, in that 
island, but I have not jet learnt with what success. 

The tea-plant has been successfully cultivated, on a large scale, 
in the island of Madeira, at an elevation of 3,000 feet above the 
level of the sea, by Mr. Hy. Teitch, British ex-Consul. The 
quality of the leaf is excellent. The whole theory of preparing it 
is merely to destroy the herbaceous taste, the leaves being perfect, 
when, like hay, they emit an agreeable odor. But to roll up each 
leaf, as in China, is found too expensive, although boys and girls 
are employed at about two-pence or three-pence per day. Mr. 
Yeitch has, therefore, tried the plan of compressing the leaves 
int o small cakes, which can be done at a trifling expense. It is 
performed when the leaf is dry ; whereas, the rolling requires 
moisture, and subsequent roasting on copper plates is necessary 
to prevent mustiness. In this process the acid of the tea acts 
upon the copper, and causes that astringency which we remark in 
ad the China teas. 

The tea of Cochin China is considered inferior to that of China, 
being less strong and pleasant in flavour. 

An inferior sort of tea, with a leaf twice or thrice as large as 
that of Bohea, grows wild in the hilly parts of Quang-ai, and is 
sold at from 12s. 6d. to 40s. the ijicul of 133 lbs. 

The Dutch have devoted much attention to tea cultivation in 
Java, and the plantations are in fine order. Xearly a million lbs. 
of tea were shipped thence in 1848 ; but the tea is said to be of 
inferior quality, and grown and manufactured at considerable 
expense. 

Japan produces both black and green tea. The Japanese prefer 
the latter to the Chinese green tea. The black tea is very bad. 
The Japanese tea-tree, is an evergreen, growing in the most sterile 
places to the height of about six feet. It is described as above. 



TEA. 



95 



by Koempfer, as having leaves like the cherry, with a flower like 
the wild rose ; when fresh, the leaves have no smell, but a very 
astringent taste. Tea gTows in all the southern provinces of 
Japan, but the best green is produced in the principaUty of Elioto, 
where it is cultivated with great care. 

A few years ago, Messrs. Worms attempted the cultivation of 
tea in Ceylon. The island, however, lies too far within the tropics 
to offer a climate like Assam, which is situate without them. The 
plants may thrive to appearance, but that is not a demonstration 
of their quality. The tea-plant has reached upwards of six feet in 
height at Pinang, and in as healthy a state as could be desired, 
but the leaf had no flavor, and although thousands of Chinese 
husbandmen cultivate spices, and other tropical productions on 
that island, no one thinks it worth wliile to extend the cultivation 
of the tea-plant in Pinang. The Chinese there laugh at the idea 
of converting the leaf into a beverage. 

The cultivation of the tea-plant has been introduced into the 
United States, and those planters who have tried the experiment have 
succeeded beyond their highest expectations. Dr. Junius Smith 
had successfully cultivated the plant on his property called Grolden 
grove, near G-renville, in South Carolina. His plants were in fidl 
blossom, and as healthy and flourishing as those of China at the 
same stage of growth. Everything connected with them looked 
favorable, and Dr. Smith felt abundantly encouraged to extend 
the cidture of the several descriptions of tea upon his property. 
It is stated that his expectations were so great, that he contem- 
plated to place fresh tea on the tea-tables of England and Paris in 
twenty days, from the plantation. He had a large supply of 
plants, and tea seed enough for a miUiou more. The black de- 
scriptions blossomed earlier than tbe green plant, but the latter 
also blossomed luxuriantly. 

He introduced at first about 500 plants of from five to seven 
years' growth, overland from the north-west provinces of India, 
and some from China direct. 

In the close of 1849, he writes me : — 

" During the past year the tea-plant under my care has passed through se- 
vere trials, from the injuiy received in transplanting, from the heat generated 
in the packing-cases, from the "^-ant of shelter during the severe frosts of Fe- 
bruary, from the excessive heat in June, and fi'om the drought of 58 days' con- 
tinuance in July and August. The plants were divested of their leaves and ge- 
nerally of their branches and twigs in February, during my absence in Xew 
York. Knowing that the plants were tender, and not fortified by age and ma- 
ture growth against severe weather, I had directed them to be covered in case a 
material change of temperature should occur. But these orders were neglected, 
and they consequently suffered from that cause. 

The plant is sufficiently hardy to resist any weather occiu'ring in this part of 
the country, when seasoned for one year. 

The plant has grown thrifty since April, and the quantity of foliage, buds, and 
blossoms, show that the root has taken strong hold, and is now fully equal to 
produce its fruit next autumn, which always follows the year after the blos- 
soms. I have a variety of both black and green tea-plants. The buds and 
blossoms of the latter did not appear until a fortnight after the black tea-plant. 
But the blossoms were larger when they did appear in September, October, No- 



96 



TEA. 



vember, and December. From present appearances, I think the blossoms of 
some of the late plants will continue to unfold until spring. It is not an un- 
usual thing for the blossoms and the fruit to appear at the same time upon the 
same plant. In this particular it differs from any plant I have seen. As my 
chief object, at present, is to cultivate and increase the tea -nut, it will be a year 
or two perhaps before I attempt to convert the leaf into tea. The root supports 
the leaf and fruit, and the leaf the root, so that neither can be spared without 
detriment. 

This climate appears congenial to the growth of the plant, and the soil is so 
diversified in this mountainous district, that there is no difficulty in selecting that 
best adapted to seed-growing plants, or that designed for the leaf only. Upon 
the plantation purchased this summer, I have light-yellow, dark-brown, and red 
clay subsoil, of a friable character, with a surface soil sufficiently sandy to an- 
swer the demands of the plant. I do not see any reason to doubt, from a year's 
experience, that the tea-plant in its varieties will flourish in what I heretofore 
denominated the tea-growing district of the United States, as well as in any part 
of China. 

The slowness of its growth requires patience. But when once established, 
the tea-nuts will supply the means of extending cultivation, and the duration of 
the plant for twenty years diminishes the expense of labor. To illustrate the 
hardihood of the plant, I may observe, that notwithstanding the zero severity of 
February frost destroyed the leaves and branches of most of the plants, and 
those now blooming in great beauty and strength are from roots the growth of 
this summer, I have one green tea-plant the stem and branches of which with- 
stood the frost of February without the slightest protection, and is now a splen- 
did plant, covered with branches and evergreen leaves, affording undeniable 
evidence not only of its capability of resisting frost, but of its adaptation to just 
such a degree of temperature. 

I have often remarked that the tea-plant requires for its perfection the influ- 
ence of two separate and distinct climates, the heat of summer and the cold of 
winter. The thermometer in this vicinity during the heat of summer generally 
ranges from 74 at 6 o'clock a.m. to 82 at 3 o'clock p. m., only one day during 
the summer so high as 86, 

This is a most agreeable temperature, nights always cool, which the tea-plant 
enjoys, and the days hot and fanned with the mountain breeze. 

The drought I found the most difficult point to contend with, owing to the want 
of adequate means for irrigation. I lost 20 or 30 plants through this, and learned 
that no tea plantation should be established without irrigation. After two or 
three years there wiU be little necessity for it, because the depth of the roots 
will generally then protect the plant. 

My plantation at Golden Grove is well supplied with water, or I should not 
have purchased it at any price. 

It is the first and most important point to secure a southern or western as- 
pect, a gentle declivity the second, salubrious air and suitable soil the third. 

Our country is filled with natural tea plantations, which are only waiting the 
hand of the husbandman to be covered with this luxuriant and productive plant. 

I know the public is naturally impatient of delay. Like corn, it is expected 
that the tea -nuts will be planted in the spring, and the crop gathered in the au- 
tumn. But they forget that the tea-plant does not interfere with any other crop, 
and when once planted it does not soon require a renewal. 

I have sometimes felt this impatience myself, and longed for a cup of tea of 
my own growing, but I have never had one. As a husbandman, I must wait 
some time longer, and let patience have her perfect work." 

Again, under date May 1, 1850, he states that he has succeeded 
admirably in the culture. The plants bear the winter well, and 
their physiology and general characteristics remain unchanged by 
the change of climate and soil. The leaf puts out at the same 
period of the year that it does in China. 

On the 27th of May, 1850, Dr. Smith received a further batch 



TEA.. 



97 



of trees, fresh, green and healthful, as if still growing in the 
plantations of China, after a passage of little more than five 
months. These plants, together with the seedlings and nnts, 
were of the green tea species, and obtained from a quarter 
situated about 700 miles from Canton. 

In a letter, dated Grrenyille, S. 0., June 17th, 1850, with which 
I have been favored, he adds : — 

" I never heard of the failure of the tea-crop. All vegetation may be re - 
tarded, or lessened, or augmented, in its production, in a slight degree, by- 
excessive rains, or drought, or cold, or heat, or atmospheric action ; but the 
tea-plant is sure to produce its leaf. From all I have observed, a decided 
di-ought is the most detrimental to the health of the tea plant The almost 
continued rains which marked the advance of the past spring, seemed perfectly 
agreeable to the tea-plant, and facilitated the germination of the tea-nuts. 
Where any vitality remained in the nut, it was sure to germinate. Curiosity, 
•on this point shoiild be restrained, and no picking and pawing up of the nuts 
permitted. I have seedlings with tap roots four inches in length, where no ap- 
pearance of germination is visible upon the surface of the ground. The chances 
are ten to one that the seedling would be destroyed by the tamperings of idle 
curiosity. Let natui-e have her own most perfect work, and see that the enemy, 
the drought, is vanquished by an abundant supply of water. 

From experience, I notice that nothing is more congenial to the germination 
of the tea-nut than a good stiff, blue, clayed soil. The marly colour of the 
soil is undoubtedly the result of a rich loam, combined with the clay of a lighter 
hue. The adhesive nature of the clay retains moisture in an eminent degree, 
and the fertilising qualities of the loam are well known to every bottom laud 
farmer. 

Plants put out three weeks ago, after a long voyage from China, are now 
taking root, and look fresh and vigorous, notwithstanding the recent heat and 
dryness of the atmosphere. But I have taken unwearied pains in the cultiva- 
tion. Every plant is sheltered from the scorching influence of the sun, now 
from 70 deg. to 86 deg. of temperature. Although the soil is naturally moist 
and clayey, and half bottom land, from the work of gentle acclivities, rising on 
either hand, yet I have given the plants a liberal watering in the evening. By 
last summer's drought of fifty-seven days, I was taught the absolute necessity 
of deep digging and deep planting. None of my plants, of this season's plant- 
ing, are more than two or three inches above the surface of the ground. 

If any of the plants have leaves, as most of them have, below that height, 
they are planted with the leaves retained ; none are removed. Some of the 
older plants have no leaves remaining, and looked like dry sticks. Many of 
these are now beginning to break, and put forth fresh leaves." 

In 1851, Mr. Prank Bonynge set on foot a subscription list of 
fifty dollars each, to procure tea and various Indian plants for cul- 
ture in America. That tea can be grown successfully in Carolina, 
G-eorgia, and Elorida, is almost certain, because the experiment lias 
been pretty fairly tried, as above shown, by Dr. Smith. The ther- 
mometer at Shanghai indicates the cold as more severe by thirteen 
degrees than at Charleston, South Carolina. The cold winter of 
1834-5, which destroyed the oranges in Mr. Middleton's planta- 
tion, in Charleston, left his tea plants uninjured. 

The question of cultivating tea in California has been seriously 
discussed, and will no doubt be gone into when the gold digging 
mania has a little subsided. There is the necessary labor and ex- 
perience on the spot, in some 12,000 or 14,000 Chinese, most of 

Jl 



98 



TEA. 



Avhom cloLihrles? understand the culture and manufacture. The 
cliuiate, soil and surface of California exactly answer the require- 
menls for the growth of this plant. Tlie time mar vet come when 
the vast ranges of hills that traverse this Suare shall present 
terraces of tea gardens, cultivated by the laborious Chinese, and 
addmg ]aillions to the value of its products. 

A company for the cultivation of tea, under the title of the 
Assam Company, was estahlisiiedin March. 1S39; and which, with 
a called-up capital of £193.337, has made up to the present time 
rery profitable progress ; haAung now got its plantations into ex- 
cellent cultivation, and all its arrangements in admirable working 
order, it has sold teas to the amount of £90.000, and has 
a steamboat, a considerable plant and macliinery. 

In the report of the Company, at their annual meeting, held at 
Calcutta, in Jan., 1S50. it was stated, as the result of their opera- 
tions, that during the year 181:9, the manufacturing season was un- 
usually cold and ungenial, in consequence of which the development 
of leaf for manufacture was much checked. Although some loss was 
sustained, there was considerable increase in the crop notwith- 
standing, attributable to the continued improvements in the culture 
which had been obtained, and improvements over the previous 
season in some departments of the manufacturing proce.vs. The 
gross quantity of unsorted tea manufactured in the southern di- 
vision was 207,952 lbs., being 2.673 lbs. less than that of the 
previous season, but the actual net out-turn was expected to reach 
200,000 lbs. As much as 157,908 lbs. of the crop had been already 
received and shipped to England. These teas consisted chiefly of 
the finer qualities, ^^hilst the crops have been thus sensibly 
advancing in quantity and Cjuality, and the value of the company's 
plantations permanently raised by extended and imin^oved culture, 
and some increase to the sowings, the total otitlay had been some- 
what less than the previotis vear. the expenditiu^e being limited to 
£500 for a crop of 12,000 acres of tea. With more extended 
gardens, the produce Avill be raised at a yet lower rateable cost 
than at present. 

The number of acres in cultivation in 1819. was about 12,000 ; 
these were not all in bearing, but wotdd shortly be so, and the 
produce from this extent might be estimated at 300.000 lbs., and 
the cost of producing this wotild be abotit £11.000. 1,010 chests 
of the produce were sold in London on the 13th of March, 1850, 
at a gross average of Is. ll|d. per lb. The produce of 1847, 
sold in England, was 111,277 lbs., at a gross average of Is. 8d. 
per lb. : that of 1848 was 176,149 lbs. which sold at the average 
of Is. Sid. per lb. The produce of 1849 was 216,000 lbs., and 
there was every expectation of the average prices realised being 
higher than those of the previous years. The season Avas cold 
and unfavorable, or the crop would have been 10.000 lbs. more. 

The exact amounts obtained for the Company's teas in the five 
years, ending with 1851, win be seen from the following figures : — 



TEA- 



DO 



iSTet produce, lbs. Average price. £ 



1817 . . 144.164 at per lb. 

1848 .. 182,953 

1849 .. 216,000 

1850 .. 253,127 

1851 .. 271,427 

1852 esmtd. 280,000 



Is. 7 1-16d.., 11,513 

Is. 8\d. . . 15,436 

Is. 9R . . 19,350 

Is. 6|d. .. 18,153 

Is. 8id. 22,152 



This exhibits a progressive increase in the aggregate value of 
the Company's produce, and this has been effected, it is stated, 
without any sensible increase of the cnrrent expenditure. It ex- 
hibits also a rise in the value of the tea (157,9 i2 lbs. having been 
sold at the high average price of Is. Hid.), a fact strongly indi- 
cative of its increasing excellence. The details of the crop of the 
season of 1849 showed a net produce of 237,000 lbs. of tea ; so 
that the Company are increasing their cultivation to the extent of 
nearly ten per cent, per annum, and the increase will doubtless 
proceed with greater rapidity, whenever the increase of capital 
enables the directors to extend their operations. 

In a report submitted to the Directors, by Mr. Burkinyoung, 
the managing director in Calcutta last year, he thus speaks of 
the Company's field of operations and future prospects : — • 

" The box-making is especially worthy of notice for its eifectiye organisation 
and economical arrangement; the "work is performed chiefly by Assamese boys in- 
structed at the factory : the number of boxes required for the year's consumption 
will not be short of four thousand, the whole of which will be made at the 
factory, — an achievement that cannot be too highly estimated in a country so 
destitute of mechanical labor. 

Notwithstanding the high standard of quality and strength to which our teas 
have already attained, I am of opinion that, as experience advances, and our 
knowledge and system of plucking and manufacturing the crops become im- 
proved, and better organised, a higher standard of quality and value may yet 
be realised; in this opinion the superintendent concui-3 with me, and the at- 
tainment of this object is one to which his attention is prominently directed. 

In the course of my enquiries and trials of different samples of tea in 
Assam, my attention was directed to one description of black tea, of rough 
strong flavor, made by a quicker process than that ordinarily used in the manu- 
facture of black tea : under this mode of manipulation, a quality of tea is 
produced sufficiently distinctive in its flavor and appearance to render it worthy 
of attention and trial, and I think, when perfected in the process of mami- 
facture, calculated to come into popular estimation. Samples of this tea the 
superintendent will forward to the board for trial. 

In conducting the operations in Assam, the chief difficulty of importance 
which has not yet been effectually met is the paucity of labor ; this does not, 
however, exist to the extent of materially checking any of the important 
operations connected with the production of the tea, but it is felt in the arrear 
of various descriptions of work, in providing bricks for building, and in the 
preparation of a stock of seasoned timber and boards for building and box- 
making ; while the out factories would be benefited by a larger proportion of 
agricultural labor. Great advance, however, has been made by the superin- 
tendent in the employment of Assamese labor in contract woi-k : under the 
arrangement he has established, these contracts are now, for the most part, 
fulfilled with much punctuality, and there is reason to expect that this system 
of labor will be further extended. The Kachorie Coolies are a valuable class 
of laborers, but they do not appear to be sufficiently numerous, or to emigrate 
in sufficient numbers to afford with the native Assamese a supply of labor 
altogether equal to our wants, so as to render the concern i idependent of 
Bengal labor. 

VT 9 



100 



TEA. 



The tea lands are for the most pait adrnntageously situated, within convenient 
reach of Trater-carriage, either hy the 'Dickhoo,' ' Desana,' and ' Dehing' 
rivers, or hy means of small streams leading to them. I'he Plantations of the 
Satsohea and Eookang forests, and on the hanks of the Tingri in the Northern 
Division, are all valuahle centres of extension in each district. The lands snit- 
ahle for tea cultivation are ample in extent, and of the highest fertility ; while 
the Eill Factories of the Southern and Eastern Divisions, althongh secondary 
in importance, are, as regards extent and quality of soil, equally eligihle as 
hases of extension. 

The prospects of the future, I entertain no douht, will keep pace with the 
satisfactory results that have hitherto heen realised, looking to the sound organ- 
isation that now exists in our estahlishment at Assam, '.;n organisation that has 
already taken healthy root, and naust in its growth gain strength and perma- 
nence. I think we may safely calculate, after the current year, upon an annual 
increase in our production of 40,000 Ihs. of tea, until a larger system of opera- 
tions can be matured, of which the basis is akeady laid down, in the new lands 
cleared and sown during the past cold season, averaging 225 to 2-50poorahs ; 
and this extended basis will be doubtless followed up hy annual extensions of 
similar, if not larger, area. The concern is now taking a position which will 
place it on a scale of working commensurate with the objects entertained upon 
the first incorporation of the company, the profits now likely to be realised 
being adequate to all the outlay necessary," 

The prices in the last two years in London have been fiilly main- 
tained at Is. 3d. to 4s. 4d., according to sorts. Of Assam tea. the 
sates in the London market in 1851 amounted to 2.200 prLckaa;es. 
against 1,900 packages in 1850, and all were freely trken ii 
accoimt 01 their great strength) at very fuU prices, S.'venty-six 
packages of Kumaon tea, both black and green, grown by the East 
India Company, in the Himalayas, as an experiment, were also 
brought to sale. They were teas of high quiJiy: I ut being of 
the light flavored class, and not duly esteemed m lids market, 
they realised only about their relative value as compared" with 
China teas of similar grade. The Souchong and Pouchong sold 
at Is. lid. to Is. 3|d. ; the Hvson, Imperial, and Gunpowder 
reahsed Is. 7|d. to 2s. Ojd. 

Mr. Eobert Eortune, who, in the service of the Horticultural 
Society of London, gave such satisfaction by his botanical re- 
searclies in China, was, on his return to England, in 1848, engaged 
by the DiiTctors of the East India Company to proceed again to 
the Celestia.1 Empire, and procure and transmit to India such a 
quantity and variety of the tea plant, that its cultivation in the 
north-western provinces woidd be a matter of mere manual labor. 
Having penetrated about 300 miles into the interior, he It-fr Hong 
Kong in the middle of 1851 for Calcutta, with a large quantity of 
choice plants, selected in the green tea districts, and these have flou- 
rished as well as could possibly be expected ; so that, in the court e of 
a few years, there is every probability that tea will form a consider- 
able article of export from oui' Indian Presidencies. Zvlr. Fortime 
secured the services of, and took with iiim, eight Chinese, from tlie 
district of ei-chow, under an agreement for three years, at the 
rate of fifteen dollars a month each. Six of these are regular tea- 
ma.nufacturers ; the other two are pewterers, whose sole business is 
that of preparing lead casings for tea-chests. 

In the British portion of the Punjaub, it has been resolved to 



TEA. 



101 



expend £10/000 a year on the cultivation of the tea plant on tlie 
b inks of tlie Beas, as well as at AnarkuUee, and Kotghur in the 
Simla jurisdiction. Beyond the Beas there is a series of valleys 
on to Noonpoor, viz., the Palklun, Kangra, Hillo, &c., from 3,000 
to 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, separated from each other 
by small ranges of iiills. The valleys are horn tliree to four miles 
in breadth, and from sixty to seventy in length ; they are sheltered 
on the north by high mountains. They are described as admi- 
rably suited for the cultivation of the plant, now about to be 
attempted nnder the able management of Dr. Jamieson. Should 
it prove successful, tlie benelits it wiU confer on the country will 
be enormous. Tea is a favorite beverage everywhere wdth the 
natives : at present their supplies come i:i scanty measure and 
bad condition, at extravagant charges, across the frontier. 

The cultivation of the tea plant in the highlands of the Pun- 
jaub, is likely to be successful, even beyond the hopes of its pro- 
moters. Thousands of plants sown in 1849 have attained a height 
of four or five feet, and there seems no reason why tea should not 
ultimately become an important article of trade in the Punjaub, 
as weU as in Kumaon. The Indian teas are already becoming- 
popular in the English market, and the cultivators have the ad- 
vantage of a demand which is almost unlimited, and of prices which 
seldom fluctuate to any great extent. 

The experiment of growing tea in the Madras Presidency lias 
been often successfully tried, on a small scale. A number of 
plants supplied by government, through Dr. Wallich, were i)lanted 
in the Shevaroy hills, about twelve or fourteen years since, and 
have tin^ven well; but though no doubt is entertained of the ease 
witli whicii they could be propagated over a wide extent of coun- 
try, no attempt has been made to give the cultivation a practical 
turn, or to make a cup of tea from the southern Indian tree. In 
Ooorg, too, the experiment has been tested with like results, so 
that sufficient v/arranty exists to justify trials on the largest 
scale. 

Tea plants grow in luxuriance in the open air, at the Botanical 
Grardens, at Kew. Mr. Bonynge has seen this plant growing 
wikl in jN". lat. 27 deg. 30 min. on hills from three to 500 feet in 
height, where too, there was an abundance of frost, snow and haiL 

Those persons in England who possess tea plants, and who cul- 
tivate them for pleasure, should always bear in mind that, even in, 
the tea districts of China, this shrub will not succeed if it be 
planted in low, wet land ; and this is, doubtless, one of the reasons 
why so few persons succeed in grovfing it in this country. It 
ought always to be planted on a warm sloping bank, in order to 
give it a fair chance of success. If some of the warm spots of 
this kind in the south of England or Ireland were selected, who 
kjiows but that our cottagt-rs might be able to grow their own 
tea? at ail o\eiii.^, iko) might have the fragrant herb to look 
upon. 

The Dutch ui.id liic Uiol ii ..-inciii lu '>a eak i i il oliarm i^t 



102 



TEA, 



Chinese monopoly, by introducing and cultivating the tea plant 
in their rich and fruitful colonj^ of Java, That island lies between 
the sixth and eighth degrees of south latitude. 

In 1828, the first espernnent in the cultivation of tea was made 
in the garden of the Chateau of Burtenzorg, at Java, where 800 
plants of an astonishing vigor, served as an encouragement to 
undertake this culture, and considerable plantations were made in 
many parts of the island. The first trials did not answer to the 
expectations, as far as regards the quality of the article, the 
astringent taste and feeble aroma of which caused the conjecture 
that the preparation of the leaf, and its final manipulation, are not 
exactly according to the process used in China. At present tea 
is cultivated in thirteen Ilesidencies : but the principal establish- 
ment, where the final manipulation is made, is in the neighbour- 
hood of Batavia. The tea w^hich Java now furnishes yearly to 
the markets of tlie mother country, may be stated at from 
200,000 to 300,000 pounds. It is intimated that the government 
intends to abandon this culture to the industry of private indi- 
viduals, under the guarantee of equitable contracts. 

The mountain range, which runs through the centre of the 
island, is the most productive, because the tea gardens, extending 
from near the base, high up the mountains, reach an atmosphere 
tempered by elevation. The plant escapes the scorching heats of 
the torrid zone, and finds a climate, by height ratlier than by 
latitude, adapted to its nature. But the plant is not confined to 
lofty ridges. In the plains, the hedges and fences, if one may 
so call them, are all planted with the tea shrub, which flourish in 
greater or less perfection throughout the island. But, as has 
already been intimated, the equatorial latitudes are not the most 
auspicious for the vigorous growth of a plant that requires a tem- 
perature equally removed from the extremes of heat and cold, and 
the quality of the tea is as much affected by the climate as the 
growth of the plant, A considerable quantity of tea is annually 
shipped from Java to Europe ; but the extension of the cultiva- 
tion is no doubt checked by the exceeding fertility of the soil, and 
its adaptation to the growth of the rich products of tropical 
regions. 

Mr. Jacobson, inspector of tea culture in Java, has published 
at Batavia a w^ork in three volumes, upon the mode of cultivating 
this plant, upon the choice of grounds, and the best processes for 
the preparation and manipulation of the leaves. This book, the 
fruit of many years of experience and care given to the subject, 
has been well received by the cultivators who devote themselves to 
this branch of industry. If, by means of careful experiments and 
experience, the government succeed in conferring on the island of 
Java this important branch of commerce, she may hope to obtain 
brilliant results ; at all events, it will open to the country a new- 
source of prosperity and riches. 

An interesting account of the tea plants, and the manufacture 
of tea, will be found in Fortune's "Wanderings in China," in 



TEA. 



103 



Ball's "Account of the Cultivation and Manufacture of Tea," 
Koyle's "Illustrations of Himalayan Botany," and his "Pro- 
ductive Eesources of India." 

From Fortune's " Travels " I take the following extract 

" There are few subjects connected with the vegetable kingdom which have 
attracted such a large share of public notice as the tea-plant of China. Its 
cultivation on the Chinese hills, the particular species of variety which produces 
the black and green teas of commerce, and the method of preparing the leaves, 
have always been objects of peculiar interest. The jealousy of the Chinese 
government in former times, prevented foreigners from visiting any of the dis- 
tricts where tea is cultivated ; and the information derived from the Chinese 
merchants, even scanty as it was, was not to be depended upon. And hence 
we find our English authors contradicting each other ; some asserting that the 
black and green teas are produced by the same variety, and that the diiference 
in colour is the result of a different mode of preparation ; while others say that 
the black teas are produced from the plant called by botanists Thea Bohea, and 
the green from Thea viridis, both of which we have had for many years in our 
gardens in England. During my travels in China since the last war, I have 
had frequent opportunities of inspecting some extensive tea districts in the black 
and green tea countries of Canton, Fokien, and Cliekiang : the result of these 
observations is now laid before the reader. It will prove that even those who 
have had the best means of judging have been deceived, and that the greater 
part of the black and green teas which are brought yearly from China to Europe 
and America are obtained from the sanie species or variety, namely, from the 
Thea viridis. Dried specimens of this plant were prepared in the districts I 
have named, by myself, and are now in the herbarium of the Horticultural 
Society of London, so that there can be no longer any doubt upon the subject. 
In various parts of the Canton provinces where I have had an opportunity of 
seeing tea cultivated, the species proved to be the Thea Bohea, or what is com- 
monly called the black tea plant. In the green tea districts of the n^rth — I 
allude more particularly to the province of Chekiang — I never met with a 
single plant of this species, which is so common in the fields and gardens near 
Canton. All the plants in the green tea country near Kingpo, on the islands of 
the Chusan Archipelago, and in every part of the province which I have had 
an opportunity of visiting, proved, withovit an exception, to be Thea viridis. 
Two hundred miles further to the northwest, in the province of Kiang-nan, 
and only a short distance from the tea hills in that quarter, I also found in 
gardens th.j same species of tea. Thus far my actual observations exactly 
verified the opinions I had formed on the subject before I left England, viz : that 
the black teas were prepared from the Thea Bohea, and the green from Thea viridis. 
When I loft the north, on my way to the city of Foo-chow-foo, on the river 
Min, in the province Fokien!^ I had no doubt that I should find the tea hills 
there covered with the other species, Thea Bohea, from which we generally 
suppose the black teas are made ; and this was the more likely to be the case 
as this species actually derives its specific name from the Bohea hills in this 
province. Great was my surprise to find all the plants on the tea hills near 
Foo-chow exactly the same as those in the green tea districts of the north. 
H ere were, then, green tea plantations on the black tea hills, and not a single 
plant of the Thea Bohea to be seen. Moreover, at the time of my visit, the 
natives were busily employed in the manufacture of black teas. Although the 
specific differences of the tea plant were well known to me, I was so much sur- 
prised, and I may add amused, at this discovery, that I procured a set of speci- 
mens for the herbarium, and also dug up a living plant, which I took north- 
ward to Chekiang. On comparing it with those which grow on the green tea 
hills, no difference whatever was observed. It appears, therefore, that the 
black and green teas of the northern districts of China (those districts in which 
the greater part of the teas for the foreign market are made) are both produced 
f]-om the same variety, and that that variety is the Thea viridis, or what is com- 
monly called green tea plant. On the other hand those black and green teas 
-\\ hich are manufactured in considerable quantities in the vicinity of Canton, 



104i 



TEA. 



are obtained from the Thea Bohea^ or black tea, 

la the green tea districts of Chekiang, near Xingpo, the first crap of leaves 
is generally gathered about the middle of April. Tliis consists of the young 
leaf buds just as they begin to unfold, and fonns a fine and delicate kind of 
young hyson, which is held in high estimation by the natives, and is generally 
sent about in small quantities as i^resents to their friends. It is a scarce and 
expensive article, and the picking off" the leaves in such a young state does con- 
siderable injury to the tea plantation. The summer rains, however, which fall 
copiously about this season, moisten the earth and au' ; and if the plants are 
young and vigorous, they soon push out fresh leaves. In a fortnight or three 
weeks from the time of the first picking, the shrubs are ag:un covered with 
fresh leaves, and are ready for the second gathering, which is the most impor- 
tant of the season. The third and last gathering, which takes place as soon as 
new leaves are formed, produces a very inferior kind of tea, ivhich is rarely sent 
out of the district. The mode of gathering and preparing the leaves of the tea 
plant is very simple. We have been so long accustomed to magnify and mys- 
tify everything relating to the Chinese, that in all their arts and manufactiu'cs 
we expect to find some peculiar practice, when the fact is, that many operations 
in China are more simple in their character than in most parts of the world. 
To rightly understand the process of rolling and drying the leaves, which I am 
about to describe, it must be borne in mind that the grand object is to expel the 
moisture, and at the same time to retain as much as possible of the aromatic 
and other desirable secretions of the species. The system adopted to attain 
this end is as simple as it is efficacious. In the harvest seasons, the natives 
are seen in little family groups on the side of every hill, when the weather is 
dry, engaged in gathering tea leaves. They do not seem so particular as I 
imagined they would have been in this operation, but strip the leaves off rapidly 
and prom'scuously, and throw them all into round baskets, made for the piu- 
pose out of split bamboo or ratan. In the beginning cf May, when the princi- 
pal gathering takes place, the young seed-vessels are about as large as peas. 
These are also stripped off and mixed with the leaves ; it is these seed-vessels 
which we often see in oirr tea, and which has some slight resemblance to capers. 
"When a sufiicient quantity of leaves are gathered, they are carried home to the 
cottage or barn, where the operation of drying is performed." 

This is minutel}' described, and the author continues : — 

" I have stated that the plants grown in the districts of Chekiang produce 
green teas, but it must not be supposed that they are the green teas which are 
exported to England. The leaf has a much more natural color, and has little 
or none of what we call the 'beautiful bloom' upon it, which is so much ad = 
mired in Europe and America. There is now no doubt that all these 'blooming' 
green teas, which are manufactured at Canton, are dyed with Prussian blue and 
gypsum, to suit the taste of the foreign 'barbarians ;' indeed the process may be 
seen any day, during the season, by those who give themselves the trouble to 
seek after it. It is very likely that the same ingredients are also used in dyeing 
the northern green teas for the foreign market ; of this, however, I am not 
quite certain. There is a vegetable dye obtained from Isa.tis incJigciica much 
used in the northern districts, and called Teinsing ; and it is not unlikely that 
it may be the substance which is employed. The Chinese never use these dyed 
teas themselves, and I certainly think their taste in this respect is more correct 
tban ours. It is not to be supposed that the dye used can produce any very bad 
effects on the consumer, for, had this been the case, it would have been dis- 
covered before jiow ; but if entirely harmless or inert, its being so must be 
as;;ribed to the very small quantity which is employed in the manufacture." 

In short, the bLick and green teas which are generally exported 
to England and the United States from the northern pro\'inces of 
Chuia, are made from the same species ; and the difference of 
color, Savor, &c., is solely the result of the different modes of 
preparation. 



TEA. 



105 



I shall make an extract, also, from "Williams's " Middle King- 
dom :"— 

" The native names given to the various s jrts of tea are derived for the most 
part from their appearance or place of growi;h ; the names of many of the best 
kinds are not commonly known abroad. Bohea is the name of the "Wu-i hills, 
(or Bu-i, as the people on the spot call them,) where the tea is grown, and not 
a term for a particular soit among the Chinese, though it is applied to a very 
poor kind of black tea at Canton. Sioiglo is likewise a general term for the 
gi-een teas produced on the hills in Eaangsu. The names of the principal 
vai-ieties of black tea are as follows : Fecco^ ' white hairs,' so called from the 
whitish down on the leaves, is one of the choicest kinds, and has a peculiar 
taste; Orange Fecco, called shang hiang^ or 'most fragTant,' differs fr'om it 
slightly ; H'tngmxeg^ ' red plum blossoms,' has a slightly reddish tinge ; the 
terms princess egehrows, carnation hair, lotus kernel, sjHirroiiS s tongue, fir-leaf 
pattern, dragon 8 pdlet, and dragon's ichisJcers, are aU translations of the native 
names of dilferent kin.ls of Souchong or Pecco. SoucJiOpg, or siau c/iung, means 
little plant or sort, as Fou. hong, or folded sort, refers to the mode of packing- 
it ; Carnpoi is corrupted from kanpei, i. e. carefully fired ; Chulan is the tea 
scented with the chulan flower, and applied to some kinds of scented green tea . 
The names of green teas are less numerous : Gunpowder, or ma cliu, i. e. hemp 
pearl, derives its name from the form into which the leaves are rolled ; tu chu, 
or ' great pearl,' and chu Ian, or ' pearl fluwer,' denote two kinds of Lnpcrial; 
Hyson, or yu tsien, i. e. before the rains, origmally denoted the tendcrest leaves 
of the plant, and is now applied to Young Hyson ; as is also another name, mei 
or ' plum petals;' v:hi\.e hi chun, 'flourishing spring,' describes Hyson; 
Tu ankay is the name of a stream in Chehkialig, where this sort is produced ; 
and Hyson skin, ox pi cha, i. e. skin tea, is the poorest land, the siftings of the 
other varieties ; Oolung, ' black dragon,' is a kind of black tea with green flavor. 
Ankoi teas are produced in the district of Xganki, not far from Tsiuenchau fu, 
possessing a peculiar taste, supposed to be owing to the ferruginous nature of 
the soil. De Guignes speaks of the Pu-'rh tea, from the place in Kiaugsu 
where it grows, and says it is ctu-ed fr'om wild plants found there ; the infusion 
is unpleasant, and is used for medical piu-poses. The ^Mongols and othei s in 
the west of China prepare tea by pressing it, when fiesh, into cakes like bricks, 
and thoroughly drying it in that shape to carry in their wanderings. 

" Considering the enormous labor of preparing tea, it is surprising that even 
the poorest kind can be afforded to the foreign purcha§er at Canton, moi e than 
a thousand miles from t':ie place of its growth, for 9d. and Ics; a pound ; and 
in their ability to furnish it at this rate, the Chinese have a seciu-ity of retain- 
ing the trade in their hands, notwithstanding the efforts to grow the plant 
elsewhere. Comparatively little adulteration is practised, if tlie amount used 
at home and abroad be considered, though the temptation is great, as the in- 
fusion of other plants is drunk instead of the true tea. The poorer natives 
substitute the leaves of a species of Ehamnus or Failopia, which they dry ; 
Camellia leaves are perhaps mixed up with it, but probacy to no great extent. 
The refuse of packing-houses is sold to the poor at a low rate, under the name 
of t(;a euilings and tea bonc-s ; and if a few of the rarest sorts do not go abroad, 
neither do tiie poorest. It is a necessary of life to all classes of Chinese, and 
that its use is not injurious is abundantly evident from its general acceptauce 
and extending adoption ; and the prejudice againsi it among some out of China 
may be attributed chiefly to the use of strong grc-en tea, which is no doubt pre- 
judicial. If those who have given it up on this account will adopt a weaker 
infusion of black tea, general experience is proof that it will do them no great 
hai-m, and they may be sure that they will not be deceived by a colored article. 
Is either the Chinese nor Japanese use milk or sugar in thefr tea, and the 
peculiar taste and aroma of th ■ ' v.i • h 'K ltLi r r rivr l vrithout those 
additions; nor can it be di v -ruui Lilt.r- 
ness, which tiie Tiulk partly 1. ... ■. . - ; .• . till.- Ica\e5 

to a powder, and pour boiling watt-i tiuougii thfiu m a cuiiLudcr, in the ouiue 
way that coliee is oiten made." 



106 



TEA. 



The following Taluabie details as to the ciiltivatiou and manu- 
fiicture of tea in British India, are from interesting reports by 
Dr, Jameson, Superintendent of the Company's Botanical Grardens 
in the J>^'orth West Prorinces, published in 1847 in the Journal 
of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Calcutta; — 
and from Mr. Bobert Bortune's report to the Hon. East India 
Compam' : — 

The quantity manufactured. — The quantity of tea raautifactured from j&ve 
plantations, of 89 acres in all, amonntedin 18^5 to eiOlb. 2oz., and in 1846, on 
115 acres, to 1,0231b. lloz. The small nurserj^ of Lutchmisser, consisting of 
three acres of land, gave a return in 1845 of 2161b., or 2 maunds and 56 pounds ; 
in 1846 the return was 272lbs., or 3 maunds and 32 pounds. 

The small plantation of Kuppeena, established in 1841-2, and then consisting 
of three acres (but increased in 1844 to four), yielded in 1845, 1 maund and 56 
pounds, and in 1846, 2 maunds and 56 pounds. Thus we have received fi'om a 
plantation of only five years' formation, and of four acres (one of these recently 
added), iipwards of 2| maunds of tea, and from another, Lutchmisser, of three 
acres, "which was established in 1835-6, 3 maunds and 30 pounds, equal to 272 
pounds. I have, in a former report, asserted that the minimum return of tea for 
an acre of land may be estimated at 1 pucka maund, or 801b. The only planta- 
tions that I can as yet bring forward in favoiir of my assertion, are the two 
above-mentioned : Kuppeena has not yielded the proportion mentioned, but it 
was only established in 1841-42, and the tea-plants do not come into full bear- 
ing until the eighth year ; on the other hand, Lutchmisser has given more than 
the average return. I think, therefore, that the returns already yielded are 
highly favorable, and that thoiigh the data are small, they are very satis- 
factory. 

Soil best adapted for the tea-plant. — The soil in which the tea-plant is now 
thriving in the Himalayas and in the valley of Deyrah Dhoon, varies exceed- 
ingly. At Bhurtpoor and Eussiah it is of a light silico- aluminous nature, and 
abounding with small pieces of clay slate, which is the subjacent rock, and trap 
(greenstone), which occurs in large dykes, cutting through and altering the strata 
of clay slate ; mixed with the stony soil, there is a small quantity of vegetable 
matter. The clay slate is metamorphic, being almost entirely composed of mica. 
In some places it is mixed with quartz, forming mica slate. From the decom- 
position of these rocks, mixed with a small quantity of vegetable matter, the soil 
is formed. At Kuppeena and Lutchmisser, the soil is also very stony, formed 
from the decomposition of clay slate, which, in many places, as at Eussiah and 
Ehurtpoor, passes into mica slate, or alternates with it, and a little vegetable 
matter. The same remark applies to the plantations of Guddowli, Kouth, and 
Eumaserai. At Huwalbaugh part of the soil consists of a stiff clay, of a reddish- 
yellow colour, owing to peroxide of iron. Here, too, the tea-plants, provided 
that the ground around them is occasionally opened up, thrive well. In Mr. 
Lushington's garden at Lobha, in Kumaon, and in Assistant Commissioner Cap- 
tain H. Eamsay's garden at Pooree, in Gurwahl, plants are thriving well in a 
rich, black, vegetable mould. The soil in the Deyrah Dhoon varies exceedingly 
from clayey and stiff soil to sand and gravelly soil, or light and free. The soil 
at Kaolagir is a compound of the two, neither clayey, nor free, nor light soil, 
but composed partly of clay and sand, mixed with vegetable mould, and 
in some places mixed with much gravel, consisting of limestone, marl, sandstone, 
clay slate, and quartz rock, or of such rocks as enter into the compositi' 'u of the 
surrounding ranges of mountains, viz., the Sevralick range to the south, and the 
Himalayas, properly so called, to the north, From the above statement, we find 
that the tea-plant thrives well both in stiff and free soils, and in many modifica- 
tions of these. But the soil wliich seems best adapted to its growth may be 
styled free soil, as at Eussiah, or a mixture cf both, as at Kaolagir, in the Dey- 
rah Dhoon. 

In limestone districts, where the te.' has been tried, if the super-imposed soil 
has been thin and untrausportcd, and th;s jioved fiom the decompos'licn of the 



TEA. 



107 



subjacent rock, the plant has generally failed ; and this has been particularly the 
case where the limestone, by plutonic action, has become metamorpliic. These 
districts, therefore, in forming plantations, are to be aroided. 

From the writings of various authors, it appears that the districts where the 
tea-plant thrives best in China, have a geological structure very similar to that 
met with in many parts of the Himalayas, being composed of pruuitive and tran- 
sition rocks. 

Altitude above the sea best suited to the tea ijlant. — To state what altitude is 
best adapted to the growth of the tea-plant, and for the production of the best 
kinds of tea, will require much more observation. At present the tea-plant thrives 
equally well at Kaolagir, in the Deyrah Dhoon ; at Eussiah, in the Chikata dis- 
trict ; at Huwalbaugh ; at Kuppeena and Lutchmisser ; and at Kumaserai, or at 
heights ranging from 2,200 feet above the level of the sea to 6,000 feet. 

Moreover, the tea manufactured from leaves procured fi-om Kaolagir, has been 
considered by the London brokers equal to that made from leaves procured from 
Lutchmisser and Kuppeena. 

On the method of preparing ground prior to forming a plantation. — In forming 
a plantation, the first object of attention, both in the hills and in the Deyrah 
Dhoon, is a/tvice. In the former, to prevent the depredations of wild animals, 
such as wild hog, deer, &c., which abound in the hills, and though they do not 
eat tea leaves, yet hogs, in search of tubers, in the space of a single night will 
do much damage by uprooting young shrubs — in the latter, to prevent the stray- 
ing of cattle. The first thing to be done, therefore, is to dig a trench three feet 
broad and two deep, and to plant a hedge, if in the hills, of black thoi'n ( Cra- 
tcegas J ; if in the plains, the different species of aloe are best adapted for the pur- 
pose. The fence being formed, all trees and shrubs are then to be uprooted ; 
this is very heavy Avork, both in the hills and plains, from the vast number of 
shrubs, allowed by natives (from indolence to remove them) to grow everywhere 
throughout their fields. Eoads are then to be marked off. 

After this has be^n accomplished, the land is to be drained, if necessary, by 
open di-ains — under drainage, for want of means and the expense, being imprac- 
ticable— and then ploughed three or four times over. The beds for young tea- 
plants are then to be formed; these ought to be three feet in breadth, alternating 
with a pathway of two feet in breadth. By arranging beds in this manner much 
time and labour is saved in transplanting ; in irrigation the water is economised, 
and in plucking tea leaves a road is given to the gatherer. In transplanting, each 
plant is allowed 4^ feet ; this is at once gained, the beds and pathways being 
formed by placing in one direction the plant in the centre of the bed. 

Trenrliiig. — On the tea beds being marked off, they are to be trenched to a 
depth of from two to three feet, in order to destroy all the roots of weeds, which 
are to be carefully removed. The trenching is to be performed by the fowrah, or 
Indian spade. 

In the hills, in many places the foicrah cannot be used, owing to the n-imber 
of stones. The work is then to be done by the Tcoatlah, a tlat-pointed piece of 
iron, of about eight inches in length, which is inserted into a wooden handle. It 
is in form like the pick, and is much used in hill cultivation for weeding and 
opening up the ground. It is, however, not much to be commended for trench- 
ing purposes, as natives, in using it, never penetrate the ground beyond a few 
inches. For weeding, however, it is particidai ly useful, and to such soil is 
much better adapted than most other implements. 

Formation of roads a)2d paths. — In addition to the pathvraj^s of two feet in 
breadth, recommended to be formed between each bed, theje ought, for general 
use, to be a four feet road carried round the plantation, and one of 10 feet through 
the centre. This applies to a limited plantation, that is, of from 200 to 400 
acres. If, on the other hand, it was on a more extensive scale, several hackery 
roads of 10 feet in breadth would be necessary, in order to cart away weeds, occ, 
or carry mt-nure to seedling beds. 

On seeds ichen ripe, and method to he adopted to asceitain it. — In all September 
and October the tea seeds ripen, but in the more elevated plantations, as at Eu- 
maserai, many do not ripen until Xovember. The seeds are contained in a cap- 
sule, and vary in number from one to seven ; to ascertain that they are ripe, 



108 



TEA. 



opan the ca psule, althougli groen, and if their color is a nut-brown, they are 
sure to be so. If they are not ripe, they are of a reddish-brown above, mixed 
with white. If the seeds are allowed to remain a short time on the bushes, after 
they are ripe, the capsules burst, and they fall out ; it is necessary, therefore, to 
remove them before this takes place. 

On the method of sowing seeds, and season, and on the treatment of the young tea 
plants after they have germinated. — The ground having been first well trenched ■ 
and manured, that is, from sixty to seventy maiinds of manure given to the acre, 
the seeds are, when ripe, to be removed from the capsules, and immediatL-ly sown 
to the depth of one inch, and very close, in drills 8 to 1 0 inches apart from each 
other. The sooner that they are sown after being removed from the capsules the 
better, as their germinating properties are apt to be destroyed if they are kept for 
any length of time. Some germinate in the space of a few weeks, others lie dor- 
mant until February and March, and others do not germinate until the rains. 

The method of sowing seeds in China is thus described, being similar to the 
native plan of sowing mangoes in [ndia. " Several seeds are dropped into holes 
four or five inches deep and three or four feet apart, shortly after they ripen, or 
in November and December ; the plants rise up in a cluster when the rains come 
on. They are seldom transplanted, but sometimes four to six are put quite close 
to form a fine bush."* By this method nothing is gained, and the expenditure 
of seeds great. 

If the plants germinate in November, which, as ah'eady stated, many do, they 
ought to be covered with a chupper made of bamboo and grass. 

In the hills, everywhere at an elevation of 6,000 and 7,000 feet, the ringal, a 
small kind of bamboo, of which there are several species, is found in great abun- 
dance, and well adapted for the purpose, and in the Deyrali Dhoon the bamboo 
occurs in vast quantity ; the market of the Upper Provinces being chiefly sup- 
plied from that valley and other forests at the base of the Himalayas. Bamboos 
are also met with to the height of six and seven thousand feet on the Himalayas 
in the neighbourhood of Almorah. During the day, in the cold weather, the 
chappers ought to be removed, and again replaced at night ; as the weather be- 
comes hot, it is necessary to protect the young plants from the heat of the sun, 
that is, in April and May, and until the rains commence ; the chuppers at this 
time ought to be put on about eight a.m., and removed again about four p.m. 

Method of rearing plantations by layers, and by cuttings, — The best season for 
laying down is when the sap is dormant, or in cold weather; or when in full ac- 
tion, as in the rains. " Lajang," as expressed by Dr. Lindley, " is notliingbut 
striking from cuttings, which are still allowed to maintain their connection with 
the mother plant by means of a portion of their stem." There are various me- 
thods of making layers, but the most simple and efficient is to bend down a 
branch, and sink it into the earth after having made a slit or notch in the centre 
of the embedded portion. By so doing, the descent of the sap is retarded, and 
thus the formation of radicles or young roots is promoted ; about five or six 
inches or more, of the branch, is to be allowed to remain above ground, and in a 
position as perpendicular to the point where the plant is notched as possible. In 
three or four months these layers are ready to be removed and transi^lanted ; 
the removal of the layers is to be gradual, that is, they ought first to be cut 
half through, then a little more, and finally altogether separated. 

The best season for propagating by cuttings is the cold weather, that is, from 
November to February ; they may also be propagated, though not with the same 
success, during the rains ; it is necessary to protect them against frost in the 
cold weather, and from the rays of the sun in the hot. Cuttings put in during 
the cold weather are ready to transplant in the rains, and if put in during the 
rains, they are generally fit for removal in February. 

On the method of transplanting and season. — In transplanting young tea-plants 
care should be taken to lift them with a good large ball of earth attached to 
their roots, as they throw out a long central or tap root, which, if cut through, 
invariably destroys the plant. On being placed in the ground, the earth around 
them is to be well pressed dovv^n and watered ; the watering is to be continued 

* See article Thea, by Tr. So3ie, in - Pcnuy C'v ' "'^'1 is^ir.. \;. 286 



TEA. 



109 



every third or fourth day, until the plants have taken hold of the ground. Du- 
ring the rains, grass springs up with great rapidity, so as to render it impossible 
for one man to keep three acres (the quantity assigned by us) clean. This, how - 
ever, is not necessary, if care be taken to make a golah round each plant, and 
keep it clear of weeds ; these golahs ought always, in hill plantations where the 
ground is iiTegular, to he connected by small Jchauls or channels, in order to make 
irrigation easy ; by so doing too, water, if the supply be scanty, v\'hich often 
happens in the hills in the hot weather, will be economised. 







a a 


a 


b 


Thus — 


b 


X X — 

c 


X 

c 


b 



a Tea plant. 
b Bed. 

c Watercourse, 



Wo have already stated that 4^ square feet ought to be assigned to each plant. 
In China, according to Professor Royle, three to four feet are given ; this, how- 
ever, is too small a space to allow the plant to grow freely. After the tea plants 
are transplanted, it is not necessary to protect them. 

The best seasons for transplanting are towards the end of February, or as soon 
as the frost has ceased, and throughout March, and during the rains, and until 
the end or middle of November, depending on the season. 

In transplanting, four parties ought to be employed ; viz., one person to dig 
holes, a second to remove plants, a third to carry them to the ground where they 
are required, and a fourth to plant. By this means, not only time is saved, but 
the plants have a much better chance, when thus treated, of doing v/ell. When' 
the seedling beds are extensive, so many of the plants ought not to be removed, 
tliat is, a plant left every 4f feet, and these beds added to the plantation. 

On pruning, best season and mode. — The plants do not require to be pruned 
until the fifth year, as the plucking of leaves generally tends to make the plants 
ar^sume the basket shape, the form most to be desii'ed to procure the greatest 
quantity of leaves ; if, however, the plants show a tendency to run into weed, 
from central branches being thrown out, this ought to be checked by removing 
the central stem. In the fourth year a quantity of the old and hard wood ought 
to be removed, to induce the plants to throw out more branches. The best 
season for pruning is from November to March, 

On irrigation. — To keep the tea-plants healthy, irrigation for two or three 
years is absolutely necessary, and no land ought to be selected for a tea planta- 
tion which cannot be irrigated. 

On the other hand, land liable to be flooded during the rains, and upon which 
water lies for any length of time, is equally detrimental to the growth of the 
plant. This applies to a small portion of the Kooasur plantation, which receives 
the drainage of the adjoining hills, and the soil being retentive, keeps the water. 
Deep trenches have been dug in order to drain it off — these, however, owing to 
the lowness of the surrounding country, act badly. Three successive seasons 
plants have been put into the ground, and as often have been destroyed on the 
setting in of the rains, showing the necessity of avoiding such kind of land for 
tea plantation. 

To facilitate irrigation, &c., as already stated, in the Deyrah Dhoon, I have 
limited the tea beds to three feet in breadth. This is particularly requisite in 
land so constituted as that of the Deyrah Dhoon, it being so porous, as men- 
tioned by Major Cautley in his " Notes and Memoranda of Watercourses." This 
is caused by the superincumbent soil not being more than from one to three feet 
thick, iti some places more, but varying exceedingly. Beneath this there is a 
bed of shingle of vast thickness, through which the water percolates ; it is this 
that renders the sinking of wells so difficult in the Deyrah Dhoon, and which has 
tended so much to retard individuals from becoming permanent residents ; at 
present there are many tracts of several thousand acres in that valley unoccu- 
pied from want of drinking water, as for instance, at Inncsphaeel, 



110 



TEA. 



Where the ground is very uneven, as is the case generally in the hills, the 
lihaul system, already recommended, ought to be adopted. 

On the tea-plant ; season of flowering^ its characters and species^ and on the 
advantages to he derived from importing seeds from China. — From the importance 
of tea, as an article of commerce, the plant has attracted much attention ; and 
from few qualified Europeans having travelled in the tea districts of China, 
there is much difference of opinion as to the number of species belonging to 
the genus Thea. 

In the government plantations in Kumaon and Grur-wahl, the plants begin to 
flower about the end of August and beginning of September, or, as the seeds 
of the former year begin to ripen. They do not all come into flower at once, 
but some are in full blossom in September, others in October, j^ovember, 
December and January. Some throw out a second set of blossoms in March, 
April, and May, and during the rains ; so that from the same plant unripe or 
ripe seeds and flowers may be collected at one and the same time. 

To the genus Thea, which belongs to the order Ternstrsemiaceae, the fol- 
lowing characters have been ascribed : calyx persistent, without bracts, five- 
leaved, leaflets imbricated and generally of the same size. Petals of the 
corolla vary in number from five to nine, imbricated, the inner ones much the 
largest. Stamens numerous, in several rows adhering to the bottom of the 
petals. Filaments filiform. Anthers incumbent, two-celled, oblong, with a 
thickish connectivum. Cells opening longitudinally. Ovary free, three-celled; 
ovules four in each cell, inserted internaUy into the central angle, the upper 
ones ascending, the lower pendulous. Stjde trifid, stigmas three, acute. 
Capsule spheroidal, 1-7-lobed with loculicidal dehiscence, or with dessepiments 
formed from the turned- in edges of the valves. Seeds solitary, or two in cells, 
shell-like testa, marked with the ventral umbilicus. Cotyledons thick, fleshy, 
oily, no albumen. Radicle very short, very near the umbilicus centripetal. 
In the plantations there are two species, and two well marked varieties. 

The first is characterised by the leaves being of a pale-green colour, thin, 
almost membraneous, broad lanceolate, sinatures or edge irregular and reversed, 
length from three to six inches. The color of the stem of newly-formed shoots 
is of a pale-reddish colour, and green towards the end. This species is also 
marked' by its strong growth, its erect stem, and the shoots being generally 
upright and stiff. The flowers are small, and its seeds but sparing. 

In its characters this plant, received from Assam, agrees in part with those 
assigned by Dr. Lettsom and Sir "W. Hooker to the Thea viridis^ but difiers in 
its branches being stifi^ and erect. The flowers small, or rather much about the 
same size as the species about to be described, and not conflned to the upper axils 
of the plant, and solitary, as stated by them.* By the Chinese manufacturers 
it is considered an inferior plant for making tea, it is not therefore grown to 
any extent. 

The second species is characterised by its leaves being much smaller, and 
not so broadly lanceolate ; slightly waved, of a dark-green color, thick and 
coriaceous, sinature or edge irregular, length from one to three inches and a 
half. In its growth it is much smaller than the former, and throws out nu- 
merous spreading branches, and seldom presents its marked leading stem. This 
species, therefore, in the above characters, agrees much with those that have 
been a>signed to Thea Bohea by authors. The characters have been mixed up 
in an extraordinary manner. Thiis it has been stated, that the Thea viridis has 
large, strong growing, and spreading branches, and that Thea Bohea is a smaller 
plant, with branches stiff and straight, and stem erect. ISTo doubt the Thea 
viridis is a much larger and stronger throwing plant than the Thea Bohea, or 
rather the plant now existing in the different plantations is so; but in the former 
the branches are stiff and erect, and in the latter inclined and branches. The 
marked distinguishing characters between the two species are the coriaceous 
dark-green leaves in the Thea Bohea, and the large pale-green monhaniBOus 
leaves of the Thea viridis. The manner, too, of growth is very striking, and 
on entering the plantation the distinction is at once marked to the most imob- 



* Hooker's " Bot. Mag.," 1. 31^3. It is the Assam tea plant. 



TEA. 



Ill 



servant eye. This species of Tkea Boliea forms nearly the \rhole of the 
plantations, and was brought from China by Dr. Grordon. 

In the plantations there is a third plant, which, however, can only be con- 
sidered a marked variety of Thea Bohea. Its leaves are thick, coriaceous, and 
of dark-green color, but invariably very small, and not exceeding two inches in 
length, and thinly lanceolate; the serratures, too, on the edge, which are 
straight, are not so deep. In other characters it is identical. This marked 
variety was received from Calcutta at the plantation in a separate despatch 
from the others. 

But in addition to these there are, no doubt, many more varieties, and though 
it may be a fact that, in certain districts, green tea is manufactured from a 
species differing from that from which black tea is manufactured, yet, in other 
districts, green and black teas are manufactured from one and the same plant. 
The Chinese manufacturers now in Kumaon state that the plant is one and the 
same, and that it can be proved by converting black tea into green. In manu- 
facturing teas now in the manufactory, if a large quantity of leaves are brought 
in from the plantations, one half are converted into green, and one half into 
black tea. This only shows that much of the green and black teas of commerce 
are manufactured from one and the same plant. The Assam plant is, from the 
characters given, quite a distinct plant, and agrees, as already stated, most 
nearly with the species described as Thea viridis. It would, therefore, be most 
desirable to procure seeds of this so-called species, and also of other varieties, 
of which, no doubt, there is a great variety. From the northern districts of 
China in particular, seeds ought to be imported, not, however, in large quantities, 
but in quantities of two or three seers, so that they might, on arri-\-al at Calcutta, 
be sent up the country as quickly as possible, for, it the seeds are kept long out 
of the ground, not one will germmate ; such was the fate of all the seeds con- 
tained in ten boxes imported by government in 1845, not one having germinated, 
which was much to be regretted. Had they been sent in small parcels, well 
packed in wax cloth, to prevent them from being injui-edby moisture, and 
placed in an airy part of the vessel in transmission from China to Calcutta, and, 
on arrival there, sent by dawk banghay direct to the plantation, they would, I 
am confident, have reached in good condition. It is well worthy of a trial ; 
and seeds ought, if possible, to be obtained from every district celebrated for 
its teas. It is in this manner, by obtaining seeds of the finest varieties of 
plants, that the finest teas will be procured. I do not mean to infer that the tea 
plants now under cultivation are not the produce of fine varieties, for that has 
been proved by the undoubted testimony of the London brokers, bat onh* that 
there are, no doubt, many others well worthy of introduction. In confirmation 
of what I have stated, I may quote the words of my late friend Dr. Griffith, who, 
in his report on the tea plant of Assam, says — "I now come to the consideration 
of the steps which, in my opinion, must be followed if any degree of success in 
the cultivation of tea is to be expected ; of these the most important is the im- 
portation of Chinese seeds of unexceptionable quality, and of small numbers of 
their sorts." * Dr. Royle, too, who was the first pers m to point out that the 
Himalayas were well adapted to tea cultivation, and to whom the credit of re- 
commending to government the introduction of the plant into Northern India 
is due, strongly urges the necessity of importing seeds fi'om difi'erent localities 
in China celebrated for their teas. 

Method and season for plucking and gathering leaves. — The season for picking 
leaves commences in April and continues until October. The number of 
gatherings varies, depending on the moisture f or dryness of the season. If 
the season be good, as many as seven gatherings may be obtained. If, however, 
the rains are partial, only four or five. These, however, may be reduced to 
their general periods for gathering — that is, from April to June, from July to 
loth August, and from September to the end of October. But few leaves are 

* Report ou Tea Cultivation submitted to House of Commons. See Blue Book, 1839, p. 1—3. 

t In a short time rain gauges will be established at Bheemtal, Huwalbaugh, Paoree, and 
Kaolagir, in order to measure the quantity of rain that falls annually, for the purpose of 
ascertaining how much the quantity and quality of the produce of tea is affected by the 
weather. 



112 



TEA. 



collected after the ISth of the latter month. As soon as the new and young 
leaves have appeared in April, the plucking takes place, this being done by the 
Chinese, assisted by the Mallees. The following is the method adopted: — A 
certain division of the plantation is marked off, and to each man a small basket 
is given, with instructions to proceed to a certain point, so that no plant may 
be passed over. On the small basket being filled, the leaves are emptied into 
another large one, which is put in some shady place, and in which, when filled, 
they are conveyed to the manufactory. The leaves are generally plucked with 
the thumb and forefinger. Sometimes the terminal part of a branch, having 
four or five young leaves attached, is plucked off. All old leaves are rejected, 
as they will not curl, and therefore are of no use. 

As the season advances, and manufactory and plantation works become 
necessary, the Mallees are assisted in gathering leaves by Coolies. The pro- 
cess is simple, and thus every man, woman, and child of villages could be 
profitably employed, on the plantations being greatly extended. Certain kinds 
of leaves are not selected in the plantation, in order to make certain kinds of 
tea, but all new and fresh leaves are indiscriminately collected together, and 
the different kinds separated on the leaves being fired. 

Method of manufacturing black tea. — The young and fresh leaves on being 
picked (they only being used, the old ones being too hard, and therefore unfit 
to curl), are carried to the manufactory, and spread out in a large airy room to 
cool, and are there kept during the night, being occasionally turned with the 
hand if brought in in the afternoon ; or, if brought in during the morning, 
they are allowed to lie until noon. Early in the morning the manufacturers 
visit the airing room, and pack up the leaves in baskets and remove them to the 
manufacturing room. Each manufacturer takes a basketful, and commences to 
beat them between the palms of his hands with a lateral motion, in order to 
soften and make them more pliable for working, and thus prevent them, when 
rolled, from breaking. This beating process continues for about an hour, and 
it may either consist of one or two processes ; the Chinese sometimes finish the 
beating process at once ; at others, they allow the leaves, after being beat for 
half an hour, to remain a time and then resume it. They now go to breakfast, 
and in one hour and a half the leaves are ready for the pan. The pans being 
heated by wood placed in the oven, so as to feel hot to the hands, are filled to about 
two-thirds, or about three seers of leaves are thrown in at a time — the quantity 
which a manufacturer is capable of lifting with both hands. With the hands 
the leaves are kept moving with a rotatory motion in the pan, and when they 
become very liot, the motion is kept up with a pair of forked sticks. This 
process is continued for three or four minutes, depending on the heat of the 
pan, or until the leaves feel hot and soft. They are then, with one sweep of a 
bamboo brush, swept into a basket, and thrown on to the rolling- table, which 
is covered with a coarse mat made of bamboo. Each manufacturer then takes 
as much as he can hold in both hands, and forms a ball and commences to roll 
it with all his might with a semicircular motion, ^^hich causes a greenish 
yellow juice to exude. This process is continued for three or four minutes, the 
balls being occasionally undone and made up again. The balls are then handed 
to another party at the extremity of the table, to undo them and spread the 
leaves out thinly on flat baskets and expose them to the sun, if there is any ; 
if not they are kept in the manufactory. After all the leaves have gone 
through this process, the first baskets are brought back, and the leaves again 
transferred to the pan, worked up in a similar manner for the same length of 
time, re-transferred to the table, and again rolled. This being done, the loaves 
are again spread out on large flat baskets to cool. On being cooled the leaves 
are collected together and thinly spread out on flat wicker- worked sieve-baskets, 
which are placed in others of a deep and of a double-coned shape. The 
choolahs being lighted for some time, and the charcoal burning clear, they are 
now ready to receive the coned baskets. The basket is placed over the choolah 
and kept there for about five minutes. The leaves are then removed, re-trans- 
ferred to tho flat baskets, and re-rolled for a few minutes. This being done, 
the leaves are again brought together, placed in the conical basket and kept 
over the charcoal fire for about two minutes. The contents of the conical 



TEA. 



113 



baskets are then all collected together in a heap, and as much is placed in a 
conical basket as it mil hold, and it is again placed oyer the charcoal choolah 
until the tea is perfectly dry. During this time the baskets are frequently 
removed and the tea turned, in order to allow the leaves to be completely and 
uniformly dried, and the basket too is generally struck, on removal, a violent 
side blow with the hand, to remove from the sieve any small particles that 
might otherwise fall into the fire. Before removing the basket from the choolah, 
a flat basket is always placed on the floor to receive it, and all the particles 
which pass through, on the coned basket being struck, are again replaced. 
On the conical basket being filled, before placing it over. the choolah, a funnel is 
made in the centre of the tea with the hand, to allow the heated air to pass 
through. Sometimes a funnel made of bamboo is made for this purpose. 
After the tea feels perfectly dry, it is packed in boxes, and sent to the godown. 

Next day the difforeat kinds of tea are picked, and on being separated they 
are again placed in the conical baskets and heated. During this process the 
baskets are frequently removed from the choolah in order to turn the tea, so 
that the heating may be general and uniform. In doing this a flat basket is 
always placed on the floor, as on the former day (and a flat basket, too, is placed 
on the top to confine the heat) , to receive the conical one, which receive one or 
two blows to open the pores of the sieve. What passes through is replaced 
amongst the tea. When it is perfectly dry it is ready for finally packing. 

The kinds of black tea at present manufactured are — Souchong, Pouchong, 
Flowery Pekoe, and Bohea. The Flowery Pekoe is manufactured m Sep- 
tember. 

Jietkod of manufacturing Green Tea. — On the young and fresh leaves being 
plucked they are spread out on the ground of the airing room and allowed to 
cool. After remaining for about two hours, or (if brought in late in the after- 
noon) during the night, they are removed to the green tea room. The pans 
being properly heated, the leaves, as in the case with the black tea, are thrown 
into the pans and kept either with the hand or two forked sticks in constant 
motion for three or four minutes, and are then removed to the rolling table, and 
then rolled in the same manner in balls as the black tea. They are then scat- 
tered most sparingly on large flat baskets and exposed to the heat of the sun. 
If there is no sun the baskets are arranged in frames, which are placed over 
the choolah, heated with charcoal. During the drying the leaves are frequently 
made into balls and rolled in the flat baskets, in order to extract the juice. The 
drying process continues for about two hours, and on the leaves becoming dry, 
those contained in two baskets are thrown together, and then four basketsful 
into one, and so on until they are all collected together. In this state the 
leaves still feel soft, damp, and pliant to the hand, and are now brought back 
to the-tea manufacturing-room. Opposite to each of the inclined pans, which 
have been properly heated so as to feel warm to the hand by wood supplied to 
the ovens underneath, one of the Chinese stations himself, and puts as many 
leaves into it as it will hold. He then moves them in a heap gently, from 
before backward, making these perform a cii-cle, and presses them strongly to 
the sides of the pan. As the leaves become hot he uses a flat piece of wood, 
in order that he may more effectually compress them. This process continues 
for about two hours, the leaves being compressed into at least half of their 
bulk, and become so dry that when pressed against the back part of the pan in 
mass, they again fall bacis: in pieces. The tea, as by this time it has assumed this 
appearance, is now placed in a bag made of American drill or jean (the size 
depending on the quantity of tea), which is damped, and one eird twisted with 
much force over a stick, and thus it is much reduced in size. After being thus 
powerfully compressed and beaten so as to reduce the mass as much as possible, 
the bag is exposed to the sun until it feels perfectly dry. If there is no sun it 
is placed in the heated pan, and there retained until it is so. This finishes the 
first day's process. 

On the second day it is placed in small quantities in the heated inclined pans, 
and moved up and down against the sides and bottom with the palm of the 
hand, which is made to perform a semi- circle. This is continued for aboiit six 
hours, and by so doing the colour of the tea is gradually brought out. 



I 



TEA, 



The third day it is passed through sieve baskets of different dimensions, then 
exposed to the winnowing machine, which separates the different kinds of green 
teas. The winnowing machine is divided into a series of divisions, which receive 
the different kinds according to their size and weight. 1st. Coarsest Souchoo. 
This tea, owing to its coarseness, is not marketable. 2nd. Chonnchoo. This 
is a large, round-grained tea. 3rd. Machoo. This is also a round-grained tea, 
but finer than the former. 4th. Hyson. 5th. Gunpowder Hyson. 6th. Chumat. 
This kind of tea consists of broken particles of other kinds of tea. 

On being separated, the different kinds are placed in baskets and picked 
by the hand, all the old or badly curled and also light-coloured leaves being 
removed, and others of different varieties, which by chance may have become 
mixed. To make the bad or light-colored leaves marketable, they undergo an 
artificial process of coloring, but this I have prohibited in compliance with 
the orders of the Court of Directors, and therefore do not consider this tea at 
present fit for the market *. On the different teas being properly picked, they 
are again placed in the heated inclined pans, and undergo separately the pro- 
cess of being moved violently up and down and along the bottom of the pan 
for three hours in the manner already described. The color is now fully 
developed. If the tea feels damp, it is is kept longer than three hours in the 
pan. The tea is now ready to be packed. 

Fcicldng .—'Ks> soon as the tea is prepared, boxes lined with sheet lead ought 
to be ready to receive it. On being packed it is to be firmly pressed down, and 
the lead is then to be soldered. Before the sheet lead box is placed in the 
wooden one it is covered with paper, which is pasted on to prevent any air 
acting on the tea through any holes which might exist in the lead. The box is 
then nailed, removed to the godown, papered, stamped, and numbered. It is 
then ready for sale. 

From what I have just stated, it will be perceived that box makers and sheet 
lead makers are essential to form a complete tea establishment. With reference 
to the box making it is unnecessary for me to make any remark, further than 
that care is to be taken in selecting wood for making boxes, as it ought to be 
free of all smell. All coniferous (pine) woods are therefore unfit for the pur- 
pose. In the hills the best woods are toon and walnut, and at Deyrah the saul 
{Sliorea Robusta). 

Manufacture of sheet lead. — Sheet lead making is a much more complicated 
process, and therefore requires more consideration. To make sheet lead, the 
manufacturer mixes 1| to 3 seers of block tin with a pucka maund of lead, 
and melts them together in a cast metal pan. On being melted, the flat stone 
slabs, under which it is his intention to run the lead, are first covered with ten 
or twelve sheets of smooth paper (the hill paper being well adapted to the piir- 
pose), which are pasted to the sides, and chalked over. He then pla'ces the 
under stone in a skeleton frame of wood, to keep it firm, and above it the other 
stone. On the upper stone the manufacturer sits, and gently raises it with his 
left hand, assisted by throwing the weight of his body backwards. With his 
right hand he fills an iron ladle with the molten matter, throws it under the 
raised slab, which he immediately compresses and brings forward (it having been 
placed back, and thus overlapping the under slab by about half an inch) with 
his own weight. On doing so, the superabundant lead issues in front and at 
both sides ; what remains attached to the slabs is removed by the iron ladle. 
The upper slab is now lifted, and the sheet of lead examined. If it is devoid 
of holes it is retained ; if, on the other hand, there are several, which is gene- 
rally the case with the first two or three sheets run, or until the slabs get warm, 
it is again thrown back to the melting pan. After having run off a series of 
sheets the slabs are to be examined, and, if the paper is in the least burnt, the 
first sheet is to be removed, and the one underneath taking its place, and thus 
securing an uniform smooth surface, is then to be chalked. According to the 
size of the stone slabs used, so is the size of the sheet lead. Those now in use 
are 16 inches square by 2 inches in thickness, and are a composition, being 
principally formed of lime. 

* In Cliina this process, according to the statement of tea manufacturers, is carried on to 
a great extent. 



TEA. 



115 



To make sheet lead boxes, a model one of wood (a little smaller than the box 
for which the lead is intended) is formed, which has a hole in the bottom, and a 
transverse bar of wood to assist in lifting it up, instead of a lid. The lead is 
then shaped on this model and soldered. This being done, the model is re^. 
moved by the transverse bar, and by pressing, if necessary, through the hole.- 
The lead box is then papered over, in case there should be any small holes in 
it, to prevent the action of air on the tea, and, when dry, transferred to the 
wooden box for Avhich it was intended. 

The manufactory. — The rooms of the manufactory ought to be larga and 
airy, and to consist of — 1st, a black tea manufactory; 2nd, a green tea manu- 
factory ; 3rd, winnowing room ; and 4th, airing room. At Almorah the black 
tea manufacturing room is 53 feet long by 20 broad, and the other three, 20 by 
24. The walls are 18 feet in height. 

Implemmts required in manufacturing . — In the body of this report I have 
noticed all the different kinds of implements required. I may however, again 
briefly notice them, and give a short account of each. Cast-iron Pans — In 
the manufactory there are two kinds in use, one received from China, the other 
from England. Both are considered equally good by the tea manufacturers, 
though in firing green tea they prefer the Chinese ones, as they are thinner, 
and are thus by them better able to regulate the heat. The Chinese pans are 
two feet two inches in diameter, and 10 inches in depth, by about one-eighth 
ot an inch in thickness. 

The English pans are two feet two inches in diameter, and eight inches in. 
depth, and rather thiclcer than the Chinese. 

The oven for making black tea is made of kueha brick. In height it is two 
feet nine inches, in length, three feet, and in breadth three feet one inch. Door 
one foot five inches in height, and 11 inches in breadth. The base of the oven 
is 10 inches elevated above the floor of the manufacturing room. 

The oven with double pans for manufacturing green tea, is also built of 
kueha bricks. It is three feet in height and three feet in breadth ; base of 
oven one foot in height. Door one foot six inches in height, and 10 inches in 
breadth. The pans are placed horizontally. 

A bi'ush made of split bamboo, used in sweeping the tea leaves out of 
the pniis. 

A basket for receiving tea from the pan when ready to be rolled. It is 2 
feet long, and 1| feet broad, and gradually increases in depth from before 
backwards to 6 inches. It is made of bamboo. 

The mat made of b'amboo for placing on the table "when the tea leaves are 
about to be roUed. It is 8 feet long and 4 feet broad. 

A flat basket made of bamboo for spreading out the tea leaves when they 
have been rolled on the mat. These flat baskets are of various sizes, varying 
from 3 to o feet in diameter. 

A flat sieve basket of 2 feet in diameter, made of bamboo, upon which the 
rolled tea leaves are placed, and which is deposited in the centre of the double- 
coned basket. 

Double-coned baskets. The height of these baskets varies from 2 feet 2 inches 
to 2 feet 6 inches, external diameter 2 feet 8 inches. In the centre there are 
some pegs of bamboo to support the flat sieve basket on which the tea rests. 

Forked sticks for turning leaves. 

Choolahs. These are formed of kueha bricks, and are 10 inches high, lOf 
inches deep, and generally about 2 feet in diameter. 

Funnel made of bamboo to allow the heated air from the choolahs to pass 
through the tea ; it is seldom used, the Chinese tea manufacturers preferring 
one made in the tea basket by the hand. 

Oven for firing green tea made of kueha bricks. The pans are inclined at an 
angle of 50. In front the oven is 3 feet 2 inches in height, behind 4 feet 
8 inches, length 5^ feet, breadth 3 feet. Door 10 inches from the base, 1 foot 
2 inches high, and 7 inches wide. 

Frames for placing baskets. The first being inclined. 

Baskets for collecting leaves. ^ 
Shovel, &c., used in regulating the fire. 

- I 2 i 



116 



TEA. 



"WinnnTrj-ng maeldiie. Ttis is a commoii -wiimowmg macliiQe, "w-itli a box 
2 feet 10 inches in lengtli, 1 foot 2 inclies in "breadtli, and 1 foot 3 inclies in 
depth, attached to the bottom of the hopper, and closely ntted into the middle 
of the eirculax apartment -vrhieh contaias the fanners. This bos is entirely 
closed above (unless at the small opening receiying the hopper) and at the sides. 
At the base there are t"w*o inclined boards "which project from the side of the 
machine 6 inches, and are partly separated from each other by angular pieces 
of -wood. The end towards the fanners is open, the other is partly closed by a 
semicircular box ■which is moTeable. 

I shall noTT give the dimensions of the different parts of this ma-chine, ■which 
may be useful to parties -wishing to make up similar ones to those employed in 
the manufactories. 

External frame 7 feet 2 inches in length, IS inches in breadth, and 5 feet 
8 inches in height. Hopper 2 feet 10 inches aboTe, and 1 foot S inches in depth. 
Frame of box for fanners 3 feet 9 inches in diameter. Hopper frame 2 feet 
7 inches. Semicircular box, in length 2 feet o inches and 7 inches in depth. 
Inclined plane at base, first 15 inches, second 13 inches. 

I may briefly state how this machine acts. With the right hand the fanners 
are propelled by the crank, and with the left hand the bottom of the hopper is 
opened by remoTing the wood. The fiat piece of wood (the regulator) is held 
in the hand to regulate the quantity of tea that passes down. An assistant 
then throws a quantity of tea into the hopper which escapes through the 
apartment, and there meets the air. The first kind of tea falls down the in- 
clined plane into one box which has been placed to receive them, the second 
are propelled further on, and fall into another box, and r particles are 

propelled on to the semicircular end, and fall into a thir . : 

J^'oU on tJw culture of the tea plant at Darjceling^ in 18^7. :^ Z Campbell^ 
Super intendant. — ^About six years ago I received a few tea seeds from Dr. Wal- 
lieh ; they were of China stock, grown in Xumaon. I planted them in my garden 
in Xovember, 1841, and had about a dozen seedlings in the month of May 
following, which were allowed to grow where they had come up, and rather 
close together. The plants were healthy from the commencement, and up to 
May, 1844. had gi'own very well ; at this period the ground passed into other 
hands {^b:. Samuel Smith's), and I lost sight of them until last A-jt"-:. ~::en 
Mr. Maefarlane, from Assam, who was acquainted with the tea : " :-.^t 
proTince, arrived here. Beirig desirous of ascertaining how far the i-l:!::^:-:- .-.ni 
soil of Daijeeling were suitable to the tea, I took bim to examine the plants, 
and begged of him to record his opinion on their growth and qualities, with 
reference to their age, and his experience ' of the phmt in Assam. The result 
was quite satisfactory. Eniouraged by this result, I determined to give an ex- 
tended trial to the plant, and through the kindness of Major .Jeriins and 
Captain Brodie, of Assam, I procured a supply of fresh seed in October and 
November last, which was planted in Xovember and the early part of December. 

The seed was of excellent quality. It com m enced germinating in March, a 
few plants appeared above ground' in the early part of May, and now I have 
upwards of 7,000 fine healthy see^ilings in the plantation. 

For the information of those who may desire to try the tea culture in this 
soil and climate, I have to state the mode of planting pursued by me, and other 
particulars. The ground is a gentle sloping bank, facing the north and west ; 
the soil is a reddish clay mixed with vegetable mould. After taking up a crop 
of potatoes, and carefully preparing the ground, I put in the seeds in rows six 
feet apart and six feet distance in the rows. The seeds were placed about three 
inches under the surface, five in number, at each place about four inches 
apart — thus : . : On an average, two out of five have come up. The seed- 
lings commenced appearing above ground early in May, and continued to show 
until the end of July. The earliest were, therefore, six months in the ground; 
the latest about eight months. 

The seed was of China stock, grown in Assam, and of the Assam plant 
mixed. I am anxious to have the China stock only, and purpose separating the 
plants of the Assam stock as soon as I can distinguish them, which Captain 
Brodie informs me can be readily done as they grow up ; the China plants be- 
gin of a darker color, and smalltT than the Assam ones. 



TEA. 



117 



I hope to have a supply of the seed of China stock from Kumaon next 
Xovemher, and ^rith it to cause the extension of the experiment at this place. 

I think that it is reasonable to expect quite as good tea to he produced here as 
in Kumaon.* I have not tasted the Kumaon tea, but, from the opinion expressed 
on it in England, I am satisfied that it is a very drinkable beverage, and that 
\nxh. similar success here, the tea will be a valuable addition to our products. 
I have recently tried t-^o kinds of the Assam tea presented by 3Ir. Stokes to a 
iriend. They are excellent teas, and I shall be vrell content to have an equally 
good article maniLfaetured here, 

^Ir. A. ^lacfarlane's report ou the tea plants in 3Ir. Smitli's 
ground is annexed : — 

" According to your request I have the pleasure of ti'ansniitting you my 
opinion of the tea plants in your garden in this place. The tvro larger plants 
have made very good progress, considering their closeness to each other, which 
prevents them from throwing their branches freely in every direction, btit as 
they have attained so great a size I -would not recommend their b-ing ti'ans- 
planted, because let it be done ever so carefully, the roots must leeeive more or 
less Lnjciry, and should the injury be great the death of the tree is certain. 

The smaller ones on the contrary are much stunted ; this is caused by their 
confined situation, being completely choked up by the rose trees, which prevents 
their receiving a proper supply of 1: . " ir. so necessary to vegetation. They 
are also planted too closely, and, a- . are still small, by availing your- 

self of the most favourable season, ai^a gi-eat care in the operation, they 

might be transplanted with safety, and should then be placed at a distance of 
not less than six feet apart. The dimculty of transplanting is occasioned by 
the depth to which the root penetrates, as it generally grows downwards, and 
in a large tree is principally in the subsoil. The larger plants should be pruned 
of their lower branches to allow a free current of air. This operation is gen- 
erally performed in Xovemher, but any time during the cold season or before 
the rains, while the plant is at rest, would answer : as I have no knowledge of 
this climate, I would leave it to more expeiienced persons to judge of the pro- 
per season. To conclude, the plants are in a very healthy condition, and had 
they been in the hands of a cultivator, would now have been giving a veiy fair 
supply of produce. 

The smaU sample I tried was of a very good flavor, but on account of the 
defective manner of manufactui-e, for want of proper materials, no proper 
judgment can be formed." (Simmonds's Col. Alag., vol. xvi. p. ii.) 

Eeport upon the Tea Plantations of De^Ta, Kumaon and Gfurb- 
wal, by Eobeii; Eortune, Esq., addressed to John Thornton, Esq., 
Secretary to the G-overnment, Xorth ^''estern Provinces, dated 
Calcutta, September 6th, 1851 : — 

Kaola&ir Tea Pla^statigx. 

1. Situation ayxd extent. — The Deyra Doon, or Valley of Deyra, is situated in 
latitude 3 deg. ISmin. north, and in longitude 78 deg. east. It is about 60 miles 
in length fi-om east to west, and 16 miles broad at its widest part. It is bounded 
on the south by the Sewalick range of hills, and on the north by the Himalayas 
proper, which are here nearly 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. On the west 
it is open to the river .lumna, and on the east to the Granges, the distance be- 
tween these rivers being about 60 miles. 

In the centre of this fiat valley, the Kaolagir tea plantation has been formed. 
Eight acres were under cultivation in 1847. There are now 300 acres planted, 
and about 90 more taken in and ready for many thousands of young plants raised 
lately from seeds in the plantation. 

2. Soil and culture. — The soil of this plantation is composed of clay, sand, and 
vegetable matter, rather stiff, and apt to get ''b-iked" in dry weather, but free 

• Dr. Ja.inesonj in a late commuuication, remarks — "From the accounts I have received 
of that place (DarjeeUng), I doubt not but that the plants there grown -n-ill yield tea of a 
superior description." 



118 



enough wien it is moist or during the raiBS. It rests upon a' gravelly subsoil, 
consisting of limestone, sandstone, clay-slate, and quartz rock, or of such rocks 
as enter into the composition of the surrounding mountain ranges. The surface is 
comparatively flat^ although it falls in certain directions towards the ravines and 
rivers. 

The plants are arranged neatly in rows 5 feet apart, and each plant is about 
4| feet from its neighbour in the row. A long^ rank-growing species of grass, in- 
digenous to the Doon, is most difficult to keep from over-topping the tea-plants, 
and is the cause of much extra labor. Besides the labor common to all tea 
countries in China, such as weeding, and occasionally loosening the soil, there is 
here an extensive system of irrigation carried on. To facilitate this, the plants 
are planted in trenches, from four to six inches below the level of the ground, 
and the soil thus dug out is thrown between the rows to form the paths. Hence 
the whole of the plantation consists of numerous trenches of this depth, and five 
feet from centre to centre. At right angles with these trenches a small stream 
is fed from the canal, and, by opening or shutting their ends, irrigation can be 
carried on at the pleasure of the overseer. 

. 3, Appearance and health of plants, — The plants generally did not appear to 
me to be in that fresh and vigorous condition which I had been accustomed to 
see in good Chinese plantations. This, in my opinion, is caused, 1st, by the 
plantation being formed on flat land ; 2nd, by the system of irrigation ; 3rd. by 
too early plucking ; and 4th, by hot drying winds, which are not unfrequent in 
this valley from April to the beginning of June. 

GuDDOWLi Plaktation (near Paoeie). 

1. Situation and extent. — This plantation is situated in the Province of Eastern 
Gurhwal, in latitude 30 deg. 8 min. north, and in longitude 78 deg. 45 min. east. 
It consists of a large tract of terraced land, extending from the bottom of a valley 
or ravine to more than 1,000 feet up the sides of the moimtain. Its lowest por- 
tion is about 4,300 feet, and its highest 5,300 feet above the level of the sea ; 
the surrounding mountains appear to be from 7,000 to 8,000. The plantation 
has not been measured, but there are, apparently, fully one hundred acres under 
Cultivation. 

There are about 500,000 plants already planted, besides a large number of 
seedlings in beds ready for transplanting. About 3,400 of the former were 
planted in 1844, and are now in full bearing ; the greater portion of the others 
are much younger, having been planted out only one, two, and three years. 

2. Soil and culture. — The soil consists of a mixture of loam, sand, and vege- 
table matter, is of a yellow colour, and is most suitable for the cultivation of 
the tea-plant. It resembles greatly the soil of the best tea districts in China. 
A considerable quantity of stones are mixed with it, chiefly small pieces of clay- 
slate, of which the mountains here are composed. Large tracts of equally good 
land, at present covered with jungle, are available in this district without inter- 
fering in any way with the rights of the settlers, 

I have stated that this plantation is formed on the hill side. It consists of a 
succession of terraces, from the bottom to the top, on which the tea bushes are 
planted. In its general features it is very like a Chinese tea plantation, al- 
though one rarely sees tea lands terraced in China. This, however, may be ne- 
cessary in the Himalayas, where the rains fall so heavily. Here, too, the sys- 
tem of irrigation is carried on, although to a small extent only, owing to the 
scarcity of water during the dry season. 

3. Appearance and health of p)lants. — This plantation is a most promising one, 
and I have no doubt will be very valuable in a few years. The plants are grow- 
ing admirably, and evidently like their situation. Some of them are suffering 
slightly from the effects of hard-plucking, like those at Kaolagir ; but this can 
easily be avoided in their future management. Altogether, it is in a most satis- 
factory condition, and shows how safe it is in matters of this kind to follow the 
example of the Chinese cultivator, who never makes his tea plantations on low 
7Hce land., and never irrigates. 

Hawulbaugh Plantation (near Almorah). 
\st. Situation and extent. — This tea farm is situated on the banks of the river 
Kosilla, about six miles north-west from Almorah, the capital of Kumaon. It is 



TEA. 



119 



about 4:,o00 feet above the level of the sea. The land is of an imckilating cha- 
racter, consisting of gentle slopes and terraces, and reminded me of some of the 
best tea districts in China. Indeed, the hills themselves, in this part of the 
Himalayas, ai-e very mnch like those of China, being barren near their summit 
and fertile on their lower sides. 

Thirty -foxu' acres of land are under tea cultivation here, including the adjoin- 
ing farm of ChuUar. Some of the plants appear to have been planted in 1844 ; 
but, as at Paorie, the gTcater number are only from one to three years old. 

2)-(d. Soil and culture. — The soil is what is usually called a sandy loam ; it is 
moderately rich, being well mixed with vegetable matter. It is well suited for 
tea cultivation. The greater part of the farm is terraced as at Guddowli, but 
some few patches are left in natural slopes in accordance with the Chinese me - 
thod. Irrigation is practised to a limited extent. 

Zrd. Appearance and health of the pilants. — All the young plants here are in 
robust health and are growing weU, particularly where they are growing on 
land where water cannot flood or injm-e them. As examples of this, I may 
point out a long belt between Dr. .Jameson's house and the flower garden, and 
also a piece of ground a little below the hoirse in which the Chinese manu- 
facturers live. Some few of the older bushes appear rather stunted ; but this 
is evidently the result of water remaining stagnant about the roots, and partly 
also of over plucking ; both defects, however, admit of being easily cured. 

LUTCHMISSER AND KuPPEEXA PlAXTATIOXS. 

\st. sanation and extent. — These plantations are on the hill side near Al- 
morah, and about 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. The situation is some- 
what steep, but well adapted to the growth of tea. The former contains three 
acres, and the latter four acres under cultivation. 

2nd. Soil and culture. — The soil is light and sandy, and much mixed with 
particles of clay-slate, which have crumbled down from the adjoining rocks. I 
believe these plantations are rarely irrigated, and the land is steep enough to 
prevent any stagnant water from remaining about the roots of the plants. 

Zrd. Appearance and health of plants. — ^lost of the bushes here are fully 
grown, and in fuU bearing, and generally in good health. On the whole, I 
consider these plantations in excellent order. 

Bheemtal Plaxtatioxs. 

The lake of Bheemtal is situate in latitude 29 deg. 20 min. north, and in 
longitude 79 deg. 30 min. east. It is 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, and 
some of the surrounding mountains are said to be 8,000 feet. These form the 
southern chain of the Himalayas, and bound the vast plain of India, of which a 
glimpse can be had through the mountain passes. Amongst these hills there 
are several tah or lakes, some flat meadow-looking land, and gentle undulating- 
slopes, while higher up we have steep and rugged morintains. It is amongst 
these hills, that the Bheemtal tea plantations have been formed. They may be 
classed under three heads, viz. — 

\st. Anoo and Kooasur pAantations. — These adjoin each other, are both 
formed on la v: f. y.t land, and together cover about forty acres. The plants do not 
seem healthy or vigorous ; many of them have died out, and few are in that state 
which tea plants ought to be in. Such situations never ought to be chosen for 
tea cultivation. The same objection applies to these as to those at Deyra, but 
in a greater degree. Xo doubt, with suflicient drainage, and great care in cul- 
tivation, and the tea plant might be made to exist in such a situation; but I am 
convinced it would never grow with that luxuriance which is necessary in order 
to render it a profitable crop. Besides, such lands are vcduaUe for other purposes. 
They are excellent rice lands, and as such of considerable value to the natives. 

2nd. Bliurtpoor pilantation. — This plantation covers about four and a half 
acres of terraced land on the hill side, a little to the eastward of those last 
noticed. The soil is composed of a light loam, much mixed with small pieces of 
clay-slate and trap or green-stone, of which the adjacent rocks are comj)osed. 
It contains a small portion of vegetable matter or huraus. Both the situation 
and soil of this plantation are well adapted to the requirements of the tea 
shrub, and consequently we find it !:ucteeding here as well as at Guddowli, 



120 



TEA. 



Hawulbaugh, Almorali, and otlier places wliere it is planted on tiie slopes of 
the hills. 

3rcl. Russia pIoMatioji. — This plantation extends over seventy-five acres, 
and is formed on sloping land. The elevation is somewhat less than Bhnrt- 
poor, and although terraced in the same way, the angle is much lower. In some 
parts of the farm the plants are doing well, but generally they seemed to be 
sufiering from too much water and hard plucking. I have no doubt, however, 
of the success of this farm, when the system of cultivation is improved. I 
observed some most vigorous and healthy bushes in the overseei''s garden, a 
spot adjoining the plantation, which could not be irrigated, and was informed 
they "never received any water, except that which fell from the skies." 

In the Bheemtal district, there are large tracts of excellent tea land. In cross- 
ing over the hills towards iSTainee Tal, with J. H. Batten, Esq., Commissioner of 
Kumaon, I pointed out many tracts admirably adapted for tea cultivation, and 
of no great value to the natives ; generally, those lands on which the mundooa 
is cultivated are the most suitable. 

I have thus described all the Government plantations in Gurhwal and Kumaon . 
Dr. Jameson, the superintendent, deserves the highest praise for the energy and 
perseverance with which he has conducted his operations. I shall now notice 
the plantations of the zemindars, under the superintendence of the commissioner 
and assistant-commissioner of Kumaon and Gui'hwal. 

Zemundaree Tea Plantations. 

\st, at Lohba. — This place is situated in eastern Gurhwal, about 50 miles to 
the westward of Almorah, and is at an elevation of 5,000 feet above the level of 
the sea. It is one of the most beautiful spots m this part of the Himalayas. The 
surrounding moimtains are high, and in some parts precipitous, while in others 
they are found consisting of gentle slopes and undulations. On these undulating 
slopes, there is a great deal of excellent land suitable for tea cultivation. A few 
tea bushes have been growing vigorously for seme years in the commissioner's 
garden, and they are now fully ten feet in height. These plants having suc- 
ceeded so well, naturally induced the authorities of the province to try this cul- 
tivation upon a more extensive scale. It appears that in 1844, about 4,000 
young plants were obtained from the Government plantations, and planted on a 
tract of excellent land, which the natives wished to abandon. Instead of allow- 
ing the people to throw up their land, they \<ere promised it rent-free upon the 
condition that they attended to the cultivation of the tea, which had been planted 
on a small portion of the ground attached to the village. 

This arrangement seems to have failed either from svant of knowledge, or from 
design, or perhaps partly from both of these causes. More lately, a larger num- 
ber of plants have been planted, but I regret to say with nearly the same re- 
sults. 

But results of this discouraging kind are what any one, acquainted with the 
nature of the tea plant, could have easily foretold, had the treatment, intended to 
be given it, been explained to him. Upon enquiry, I found the villagers had been 
managing the tea lands just as they had been doing their rice fields, that is, a 
regular system of irrigation was practised. As water was plentiful, a great num- 
ber, indeed nearly all, the plants seem to have perished from this cause. The 
last planting alluded to had been done late in the spring, and just at the com- 
mencement of the dry weather, and to these plants little or no water seems to 
have been gi^en ; so that, in fact, it was going from one extreme to another 
equally bad, and the result was of course nearly the same. 

I have no hesitation in saying that the district in question is well adapted foi 
the cultivation of tea. With judicious management, a most productive farm 
might be established here in four or five years. Land is plentiful, and of little 
value either to the natives or to the Government. 

2nd^ at Kutoor. — This is the name of a large district 30 or 40 miles northward 
from Almorah, in the centre of which the old town or village of Ej'znath stands. 
It is a fine undulating country, consisting of wide valleys, gentle slopes, and 
little hills, while the whole is intersected by numerous streams, and surrounded 
by high mountains. The soil of this extensive district is most fertile, and is 
capable of producing large crops of rice, on the low irrigable lands, and the dry 



THA. 



121 



grains and tea on the sides of the hills. From some cause, however, either the 
thinness of population or i/;^ ?tr//^r 0/ « remunerative f/'6i)j,* large tracts of this 
fertile district hare been allowed to go out of cultivation. Everywhere I ob- 
served ruinous and jungle-covered terraces, which told of the more extended 
cultivation of former years. 

Amongst some hills near the upper portion of this district, two small tea 
plantations have been formed under the patronage and superintendence of Cap- 
tain Eamsey, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Kumaon. Each of them cover 
three or four acres of land, and had been planted about a year before the time 
of my visit. In this short space of time the plants had grown into nice strong 
bushes, and were in the highest state of health. I never saw, even in the 
most favoured districts in China, any plantations looking better than these. 
This result. Captain Eamsay informed me, had been attained in the following 
simple manner : — All the land attached to the two villages with which the tea 
farms are connected, is exempted from the revenue tax, a sum amounting only 
to 525 Es. per annum. In lieu of this, the assamees (cultivators) of both vil- 
lages assist with manure, and at the transplanting season, as well as ploughing 
and preparing fresh land. In addition to this, one chowdree and four prisoners 
are constantly employed upon the plantations. The chief reason of the success 
of these plantations, next to that of the land being well suited for tea cultiva- 
tion, may, no doubt, be traced to a good system of management ; that is, the 
young plants have been carefully transplanted at the proper season of the year, 
when the air was charged with moisture, and they have not been destroyed by 
excessive irrigation afterwards. I'he other zemindaree plantation at Lohba 
might have been now in full bearing had the same system been followed. 

From the description thus given, it will be observed that I consider the 
Kutoor plantations in a most flourishing condition. And I have no doubt they 
will continue to flourish, and soon convince the zemindars of the value of tea 
cultivation, providing three things, intimately connected with the success of the 
crop are strongly impressed upon their minds ; viz., the unsuitableness of low 
wet lands for tea cultivation ; the folly of irrigating tea as they would do rice, 
and the impropriety of commencing the plucking before the plants are strong, 
and of considerable size. I am happy to add, that amongst these hills there are 
no foolish prejudices in the minds of the natives against the cultivation of tea. 
About the time of my visit, a zemindar came and begged two thousand plants, 
to enable him to commence tea growing on his own account. 

It is of great importance, that the authorities of a district, and persons of 
influenco, should show an interest in a subject of this kind. At present the 
natives do not know its value ; but they are as docile as children, and will enter 
willingly upon tea cultivation, providing the " Sahib " shows that he is in- 
terested in it. In a few years the profits received will be a sufficient induce- 
ment. 

In concluding this part of my Eeport, I beg to suggest the propriety of ob- 
taining some of the best varieties of the tea plant which have been introduced 
lately into the government plantations from China. Dr. Jameson could, no 
doubt, spare a few, but they ought to be given to those zemindars only who 
have succeeded with the original variety. 

Having described in detail the various government plantations, and also thosa 
of the zemindars which came under my notice in the Himalayas, I shall now 
make some general remarks upon the cultivation of tea in India, and offer some 
suggestions for its improvement. 

General Eemaeks. 
1. On land and cultivation, — From the observations already made upon the 
various tea farms which I have visited in the Himalayas, it will be seen that I 
do not approve of low flat lands being selected for the cultivation of the tea 
shrub. In China, which at present must be regarded as the model tea country, 
the plantations are never made in such situations, or they are so rare as not to 

* The crops of this district, such as rice, mnndooa, and other grains, are so plentiful and 
cheap as scarcely to pay the carriage to the nearest market town, much less to the plains. In 
Almorah a maund of rice or mundooa sells for something less than a rupee ; barley for eight 
annas ; and wheat for a rupee. 



122 



TEA. 



have come under my notice. In that country they are usually formed on the 
lovrex slopes of the hills, that is, in such situations as those at G-uddowli; 
Hawulbaugh, Almorah, Kutoor, kc, in the Himalayas. It is true that in the fine 
green tea country of Hwuy-chow, in China, near the town of Tunche, many 
hundred acres of flattish land are under tea cultivation. But this land is close 
to the hills, vvhich jut out into it in all directions, and it is intersected by a riyer 
whose bants are usually from 15 to 20 feet above the level of the stream itself, 
not unlike those of the Ganges below Benares. In fact, it has all the advantages 
of hUly land such as the tea plant delights in. In extending the Himalaya planta- 
tion this important fact ought to be kept in view. 

There is no scarcity of such land in these mountains, more particularly in 
Eastern G-iu'hwal and Kumaon. It abounds in the districts of Paorie, Kunour, 
Lohba, Almorah, Kutoor, and Bheemtal, and I was informed by Mr. Batten, 
that there are large tracts about Gungoli and various other places equally 
suitable. Much of this land is out of cultivation, as I have already stated, 
while the cultivated portions yield on an average only two or three annas per 
acre of revenue. 

Such lands are of less value to the zemindars than low rice land, where they 
can command a good supply of water for irrigation. But I must not be rmder- 
stood to recommend poor worn out hiU lands for tea cultivation, — land on which 
nothing else will grow. Nothing is further from my meaning. Tea in order 
to be profitable requires a good sound soil, — a light loam, well mixed with sand 
and vegetable matter, moderately moist, and yet not stagnant or sour. Such a 
soil, for example, as on these hill sides produces good crops of mundooa, wheat 
or millet, is well adapted for tea. It is such lands which I have alluded to as 
abounding in the Himalayas, and which are, at present, ot so little value either 
to the Government, or to the natives themselves. 

The system of Irrigation applied to tea in India is never practised in China. 
I did not observe it practised in any of the great tea countries which I visited. 
On asking the Chinese manufacturers whom I brought round, and who had 
been born and brought up in these districts, whether they had seen such a 
practice, they all replied, " no, tho.t is the ivay ice grow rice: i':e never irrigate 
tea." Indeed, I have no hesitation in saying that, in nine cases out of ten, the 
eifects of irrigation are most injurious. "When tea will not grow without 
irrigation, it is a sure sign that the land employed is not suitable for such a 
crop. It is no doubt an excellent thing to have a command of water in case of 
a long drought, when its agency might be useful in saving a crop which would 
otherwise fail, but irrigation ought to be used only in such emergent cases. 

I have already observed that good tea land is naturally moist, although not 
stagnant ; and we must bear in mind that the tea shrub is not a icater x->^ant, 
but is found in a wild state on the sides of hills. In confu-mation of these 
views, it is only necessary to observe fur-ther, that all the best JSirnaiayan j^io./da- 
tions are those to whieh irrigation has been most sparingly applieel. 

In cultivating the tea shi'ub, much injury is often done to a plantation, by 
plucJcing leaves from very young plants. In China ycung plants are never 
touched until the third or fourth year after they have been planted. If grow- 
ing under favorable circumstances, they will yield a good crop after that time, 
All that ought to be done, in the way of plucking or pruning before that time, 
should be done with a view to form the plants, and make them bushy if they do 
not grow so naturally. If plucking is commenced too early and continued, the 
energies of the plants are weakened, and they are long in attaining any size, and 
consequently there is a great loss of produce in a given number of years. To 
make this more plain, I will suppose a bush that has been properly treated to 
be eight years of age. It may then be yielding from two to three pounds of tea 
per annum, while another of the same age, but not a quarter of the size, from 
over- plucking, is not giving more than as many ounces. 

The same remarks apply also to plants which become unhealthy from any 
cause ; leaves ought never to be taken from such plants ; the gatherers should 
have strict orders to pass them over until they get again into a good state of 
health. 

2nd. On climate. — I have already stated that eastern Gurhwal and Kumaon 



TEA, 



123 



appear to me to be the most suitable for tbe cultivation of the tea plant in this 
part of the Himalayas. My remarks upon climate will therefore refer to this part 
of the country. 

From a table of temperature kept at Ha^nilbaugh fi'om Xorember 28th, 1850, 
to July 13th, 1851, obligingly furnished me by Dr. Jameson, I observed that 
the climate here is extremely mild. Dm-ing the winter months, the thermometer 
[Fahr.] at sunrise was never loAver than H deg., and only on two occasions 
so low, namely on the loth and 16th of February, 1851. Once it stood so high 
as 66 deg. on the morning of February 4th, but this is fall ten degrees higher 
than usual. The minimum in February must, however, be several degrees 
lower than is shown by this table, for ice and snow were not unfrequent ; 
indeed, opposite the 16th of February in the column of remarks, I find wiitten 
down a very f rosty morning. This discrepancy no doubt arises either from a 
bad thermometer being used, or from its being placed in a sheltered verandah. 
We may, therefore, safely mark the minimum as 32 deg. instead of 44 degrees. 

The month of June appears to be the hottest in the year. I observe the thenno- 
meter on the 5th, 6th and 7th of that month stood at 92 deg. at 3 p.m., and 
this was the highest degree marked during the year. The lowest, at this hour, 
during the month was 76 deg., but the general range in the 3 p.m. column of 
the table is from 80 deg. to 90 degrees. 

The ivet and dry seasons are not so decided in the hills as they are in the plains. 
In January, 1851, it rained on five days and ten nights, and the total quantity of 
rain which fell, as indicated by the rain gauge, during this month, was 5.25 
inches ; in February, 3.84 fell ; in March, 2.11 ; in April, 2.24 ; in May, none ; 
and in June 6.13. In June there are generally some days of heavy rain, called 
by the natives Chota Bursaut, or small rains, after this there is an interval of 
some days of dry weather before the regular " rainy season" commences. This 
season comes on in July and continues until September. October and November 
are said to be beautiful months with a clear atmosphere and cloudless sky. 
After this fogs are frequent in aU the valleys until spring. 

In comparing the climate of these provinces with that of China, although we 
find some important dilference, yet upon the whole there is a great similarity. 
My comparisons apply, of course, to the best tea districts only, for although 
the tea shrub is found cultivated from Canton in the south to Tan-chowpoo in 
Shan-tung, yet the provinces of Fokein, Kainsee and the southern parts of 
Kiangnan, yield nearly all the finest teas of commerce. 

The town of Tsong-gan, one of the great black tea towns near the far famed 
"Woo-e-shan, is situated in latitude 27 deg. 47 min, north. Here the thermome- 
ter in the hottest months, namely in July and August, rarely rises above 100 
deg. and ranges from 92 deg. to 100 deg., as maximum; while in the coldest 
months, December and January, it sinks to the freezing point and sometimes 
a few degrees lower. "W^e have thus a close resemblance in temperature 
between "Woo-e-shan and Almorah, The great green tea district being- 
situated two degrees further north, the extremes of temperature are somewhat 
greater. It will be observed, however, that while the hottest month in the 
Himalayas is June, in China the highest temperatui'e occurs in July and 
August : this is owing to the rainy season taking place earlier in China than it 
does in India. 

In China rain falls in heavy and copious showers in the end of April, and these 
lains continue at intervals in May and June. The first gathering of tea-leaves, 
those from which the Pekoe is made, is scarcely over before the air becomes 
charged with moisture, rain falls, and the bushes being thus placed in such 
favourable circumstances for vegetating are soon covered again with young 
leaves, from which the main crop of the season is obtained. 

No one, acquainted with vegetable physiology, can doubt the advantages of 
such weather in the cultivation of tea for mercantile purposes. And these ad- 
vantages, to a certain extent at least, seem to be extended to the Himalayas, 
although the regular rainy season is later than in China. I have already shown, 
from Dr Jameson's table, that spring showers are fi-equent in Kumaon, although 
rare in the plains of India ; still, however, I think it would be prudent to adopt 
the gathering of leaves to the climate, that is to take a moderate portion from 
the bushes before the rains, and the main crop after they have commenced. 



124 



TEA. 



3rd. On the vegetation of China and the JELimalayas. One of the surest guides 
from which to draw conclusions, on a subject of this nature, is found in the in- 
digenous vegetable productions of the countries, Dr, Royle, who was the first 
to recommend the cultivation of tea in the Himalayas, drew his conclusions, in 
the absence of that positive information from China which we possess now, not 
only from the great similarity in temperature between China and these hills, 
but also from the resemblance in vegetable productions. This resemblance is 
certainly very striking. In both countries, except in the low valleys of the 
Himalayas (and these we are not considering), tropical forms are rarely met with, 
If we take trees and shrubs, for example, we find such genera as pinus, cypress, 
berberis, quercus, viburnam, indigofera, and romeda, lonicera, deutzia, rubus, 
myrica, spiroe, ilex, and many others common to both countries. 

Amongst herbaceous plants we have gentiana, aquilegia, anemone, rumex, 
primula, lilium, loutodon, ranunculus, &c. equally distributed in the Himalayas 
and in China, and even in aquatics the same resemblance may be traced, as in 
nelumbium, caladium &c. And further than this, we do not find plants belong 
to the same genera only, but in many instances the identical species are found 
in both countries. The indigofera, common in the Himalaj as, abounds also on 
the tea hills of China, and so does Berberis nepaulencis^ Lonicera diversifolia, 
Myrica sapida., and many others. 

Were it necessary, I might now shov/ that there is a most striking 
resemblance between the geologj'' of the two countries as well as in their vege- 
table productions. In both the black and green tea countries which I have 
alluded to, clay-slate is most abimdant. But enough has been advanced to 
prove how well many parts of the Himalayas are adapted for the cultivation of 
tea; besides, the flourishing condition of many of the plantations is, after all, 
the best proof, and puts the matter beyond all doubt. 

\.th. Concluding Suggestions. — Having shown that tea can be grown in the 
Himalayas, and that it would produce a valuable and remunerative crop, the 
next great object appears to be the production of superior tea, by means of fine 
varieties and improved cultivation. It is well known that a variety of the tea 
plant existed in the southern parts of China from which inferior teas only were 
made. That, being more easily procured than the fine northern varieties, from 
which the great mass of the best teas are made, was the variety originally sent to 
India. From it all those in the Government plantations have sprung. 

It was to remedy this, and to obtain the best varieties from those districts 
which furnish the trees of commerce, that induced the Honourable Court of 
Directors to send me to China in 1848. Another object was to obtain some 
good manufacturers and implements from the same districts. As the result of this 
mission, nearly twenty thousand plants from the best black and green tea 
countries ot Central China, have been introduced to the Himalayas. Six first-rate 
manufacturers, two lead men, and a large supply of implements from the cele- 
brated Hwiiychow districts were also brought round and safely located on the 
Government plantations in the hills. 

A great step has thus been gained towards the objects in view. Much, how- 
ever, remains still to be done. The new China plants ought to be carefully 
propagated and distributed over all the plantations ; some of them ought also to 
be given to the zemindars, and more of these fine vaiieties might be yearly im- 
ported from China. 

The Chinese manufacturers, who were obtained some years since from Calcutta 
or Assam, are, in my opinion, far from being first-rate workmen ; indeed, I doubt 
much if any of them learned their trade in China. They ought to be gradually 
got rid of and their places supplied by better men, for it is a great pity to teach 
the natives an inferior method of manipulation. The men brought round by me 
are fixst-rate green tea makers, they can also make black tea, but they have not 
been in the habit of making so much black as green. They have none of the 
Canton lUiberality or prejudices about them, and are most willing to teach their 
art to the natives. I have no doubt some of the latter will soon be made 
excellent tea manufacturers. And the instruction of the natives is, no doubt, one 
of the chief objects which ought to be kept in view, for the importation of Chinese 
manipulators at high wages can only be regarded as a temporary measure ; 
ultimately the Himalayan tea must be made by the natives themselves ; each 



TEA. 



125 



native farmer must learn how to make tea as well as how to grow it ; he will then 
make it upon his own premisps, as the Chinese do, and the expenses of carriage 
will he much less than if the green leaves had to he taken to the market. 

But as the zemindars will be able to grow tea long before they are able to 
make it, it would be prudent, in the first instance, to oifer them a certain sum 
for green leaves brought to the government manufactory. 

I have pointed out the land most suitable for the cultivation of tea, and 
shown that such "land exists in the Himalayas to an almost unlimited extent. 
But if the object the government have in view be the establishment of a com- 
pany to develop the resources of these hills, as in Assam, I would strongly 
urge the propriety of concenti-ating, as much as possible, the various plantations. 
Sites ought to be chosen which are not too far apart, easy of access, and, if pos- 
sible, near rivers ; for, no doubt, a considerable portion of the produce would 
have to be conveyed to the plains or to a sea-port. 

In my tour amongst the hills, I have seen no place so well adapted for a cen- 
tral situation as Almorah, or Hawulbaugh. Here the government has already 
a large establishment, and tea lands are abundant in all directions. The climate 
is healthy, ar.d better suited to a European constitution than most other parts of 
India. Here plants from nearly all the temperate parts of the world are grow- 
ing as if they were at home. As examples, I may mention myrtles, pomegra- 
nates, and tuberoses from the south of Europe ; dahlias, potatoes, aloes, and 
yuccas from America ; Melianthus major and bulbs from the Cape ; the cypress 
and deodar of the Himalayas, and the lagerstrosmias, loquats, roses and lea of 
China. 

In these days, when tea has become almost a necessary of life to England and 
her wide-spreading colonies, its production upon a large and cheap scale is an 
object of no ordinary importance. But to the natives of India themselves, the 
production of this article would be of the greatest value. The \)Oor paharie, or 
hill farmer, at pr.;sent has scarcely the common necessaries of life, and certainly 
none of its luxuries. Tiie common sorts of grain which his lands produce will 
scarcely pay the carriage to the nearest market town, far less yield a profit of 
such a kind as will enable him to purchase some few of the necessary and sim- 
]Ae luxuries of life. A common blanket has to serve him for his covering by 
day and for his bed at night, while his dwelling-house is a mere mud-hut, 
capable of affording but little shelter from the inclemency of the weather, 
"Were part of these lands producing tea, he would then have a healthy beverage 
to drink, besides a commodity which would be of great value in the market. 
Being of small bulk compared with its value, the expense of carriage would be 
trifling, and he would return home with the means in his pocket of making 
himself and his family more comfortable and more happy. 

Were such results doubtful, we have only to look across the frontiers of India 
into China. Here we find tea one of the necessaries of life, in the strictest 
sense of the word. A Chinese never drinks cold water, which he abhors, and 
considers unhealthy. Tea is his favorite beverage from morning until night ; 
not what we call tea, mixed with milk and sugar, but the essence of the herb 
itself, drawn out in pure water. One acquainted with the habits of this people 
can scarcely conceive the idea of the Chinese empire existing were it deprived of 
the tea plant ; and I am sure that the extensive use of this beverage adds much 
to the health and comfort of the great body of the people. 

The people of India are not unlike the Chinese in many of their habits. The 
poor of both countries eat sparingly of animal food, and rice, with other grains 
and vegetables, form the staple articles on which they live ; this being the case, 
it is not at all unlikely the Indian will soon acquire a habit which is so univer- 
sal in the sister country. But in order to enable him to drink tea, it must be 
produced at a cheap rate ; he cannot aif'^rd to pay at the rate of four or six 
shillings a pound. It must be furnished to him at four pence or six pence in- 
stead; and this can be done easily, but only on his own hills. If this is accom- 
plished, and I see no reason why it should not be, a boon will have been con- 
ferred upon the people of India, of no common kind, and one which an en- 
lightened and liberal government may well be proud of conferring on its 
subjects." 



126 



TEA. 



I shall now add a description of the Chinese method of making 
black tea in Upper Assam, by Mr. C. A. Bruce, superintendent of 
tea culture : — 

" In the first place, the youngest and most tender leaves are gathered ; hut 
■when there are many hands and a great quantity of leaves to be collected, the 
people employed nip oif with the forefinger and thumh the fine end of the branch 
■with about four leaves on, and sometimes even more if they look tender. These are 
all brought to the place where they are to be converted into tea : they are then 
put into a large, circular, open worked bamboo basket, having a rim all round, 
two fingers broad. The leaves are thinly scattered in these baskets, and then 
placed in a framework of bamboo, in all appearance like the sides of an Indian 
hut, without grass, resting on posts, 2 feet from the ground, with an angle of 
about 25 deg. The baskets with leaves are put in this frame to dry in the sun, 
and are pushed up and brought do'wn by a long bamboo with a circular piece of 
wood at the end. The leaves are permitted to dry about two hoiu's, being occa- 
sionally turned ; hut the time required for this process depends on the heat of 
the sun. When they begin to have a slightly withered appearance, they are 
taken down and brought into the house, when they are placed on a frame to cool 
for half an hour ; they are then put into smaller baskets of the same kind as the 
former, and placed on a stand. People are now employed to soften the leaves 
still more, by gently clapiDing them between their hancls, with their fingers and 
thumbs extended, and tossing them up and letting them fall, for about five or ten 
minutes. They are then again put on the frame during half an hour, and brought 
down and clapped with the hands as before. This is done three successive times, 
until the leaves become to the touch like soft leather ; the beating and putting 
away being said to give the tea the black color and bitter flavor. After this the 
tea is put into hot cast-iron pans, which are fixed in a circular mud fireplace, so 
that the flame cannot ascend round the pan to incommode the operator. This 
pan is well heated by a straw or bamboo fire to a certain degree. About two 
pounds of the leaves are then put into each hot pan, and spread in such a man- 
ner that all the leaves may get the same degree of heat. They are every now 
and then briskly turned with the naked hand, to prevent a leaf from being burnt. 
When the leaves become inconveniently hot to the hand, they are quickly taken 
out and delivered to another man with a close-worked bamboo basket, ready to 
receive them. A few leaves that may have been left behind are smartly brushed 
out with a bamboo broom : all this time a brisk fire is kept up imder the pan. 
After the pan has been used in this manner three or four times, a bucket of cold 
water is thrown in, and a soft brick-bat and bamboo broom used, to give it a 
good scouring out ; the water is thrown out of the pan by the brush on one side, 
the pan itself being never taken off". The leaves, all hot cn the bamboo basket, 
are laid on a table that has a narrow rim on its back, to prevent these baskets 
from slipping off when pushed against it. The two poimds of hot leaves are now 
divided into two or three parcels, and distributed to as many men, who stand up 
to the table with the leaves right before them, and each placing his legs close 
together, the leaves are next collected into a ball, which he gently grasps in his 
left hand, with the thumb extended, the fingers close together, and the hand rest- 
ing on the little finger. The right hand must be extended in the same manner 
as the left, but with the palm turned downwards resting on the top of the ball of 
tea leaves. Both hands are now empkyed to roll and propsl the ball along ; the 
left hand pushing it on, and allowing it to revolve as it moves ; the right hand also 
pushes it forward, resting on it with some force, and keeping it down to express 
the juice which the leaves contain. The art lies here in giving the ball a circular 
motion, and permitting it to tiurn under and in the hand two or three whole revo- 
lutions, before the arms are extended to their full length, and drawing the ball of 
leaves quickly back without leaving a leaf behind, being rolled for about five 
minutes in this way. The ball of tea leaves is from time to time delicately and 
gently opened with the fingers lifted as high as the face, and then allowed to fall 
again. This is done two or three times to separate the leaves ; and afterwards 
the basket ■u'ith the leaves is lifted up as often, and receives a circiilar shake to 
bring these towards the centre. The loaves are now taken back to the hot pans and 



TEA. 



127 



spt'ead out in fhem as before, being again turned with the naked hand, and when 
hot taken out and rolled ; after which, they are put into a drying basket and 
spread on a sieve, which is in the centre of the basket, and the whole placed over 
a charcoal fire. The fire is very nicely regulated ; there must not be the least 
smoke, and the charcoal should be well picked. 

When the fire is lighted it is fanned until it gets a fine red glare, and the 
smoke is all gone oif ; being every now and then stirred, and the coals brought 
into the centre, so as to leave the outer edge low. When the leaves are put 
into the drying basket, they are gently separated by lifting them up with the 
fingers of both hands extended far apart, and aLowing them to fall down again ; 
they are placed three or four inches deep on the sieve, leaving a passage in the 
centre for the hot air to pass. Before it is put over the fire, the drying basket 
receives a smart slap with both hands in the act of lifting it up, which is done 
to shake down any leaves that might otherwise drop through the sieve, or to pre- 
vent them from falling into the fire and occasioning a smoke, which would affect 
and spoil the tea. This slap on the basket is invariably applied throughout the 
stages of tea manufactiu'e. There is always a large basket underneath to re- 
ceive the small leaves that fall, which are afterwards collected, dried, and added 
to the other tea ; in no case are the baskets or sieves allowed to touch or remain 
on the ground, but always laid on a receiver, with three legs. After the leaves 
have been half-dried in the drying-basket, and while they are still soft, they are 
taken off the fire and put into large open-worked baskets, and then put on the 
shelf, in order that the tea may improve in color. 

Next day the leaves are all sorted into large, middling, and small ; sometimes 
there are four soits. All these, the Chinese informed me, become so many dif- 
ferent kinds of teas ; the smallest leaves they call Pha-ho, the second Pow-chong, 
the third Souchong, and the fourth, or the largest leaves, Zoy-chong. After 
this assortment they are again put on the sieve in the drying-basket (taking care 
not to mix the sorts), and on the fire, as on the preceding day ; but now very 
little more than will cover the bottom of the sieve is put in at one time ; the 
same care of the fire is taken as before, and the same precaution of tapping the 
drying basket every now and then. The tea is taken off the fire with the nicest 
care, for fear of any particles of the tea falling into it. Whenever the drying- 
basket is taken off, it is put on the receiver, the sieve in the drying-basket taken 
out, the tea turned over, the sieve replaced, the tap given, and the basket placed 
again over the fire. As the tea becomes crisp, it is taken out and thrown into a 
large receiving-basket, until all the quantity on hand has become alike dried 
and crisp, from which basket it is again removed into the drying-basket, but now 
in much larger quantities. It is then piled up eight and ten inches high on the 
sieve in the drying-basket ; in the centre a small passage is left for the hot air 
to ascend ; the fire that was before bright and clear has now ashes thrown on it 
to deaden its effect, and the shakings that have been collected are put on the top 
of all ; the tap is given, and the basket, with the greatest care, is put over 
the fixe. Another basket is placed over the whole, to throw back any heat that 
may ascend. Now and then it is taken off, and put on the receiver ; the hands, 
with the fingers wide apart, are run down the sides of the basket to the sieve, 
and the tea gently turned over, the passage in the centre again made, &c., and 
the basket again placed on the fire. It is from time to time examined, and when 
the leaves have become so crisp that they break by the slightest pressure of 
the fingers, it is taken off, when the tea is ready. All the different kinds of 
leaves underwent the same operation. The tea is now, little by little, put into 
boxes, and first pressed down with the hands and then with the feet (clean 
stockings having b Jen previously put on) . 

There is a small room inside of the tea-house, seven cubits square, and five 
high, having bamboos laid across on the top fo support a network of bamboo, 
and the sides of the room smeared with mud to exclude the air. When there is 
wet weather, and the leaves cannot be dried in the sun, they are laid out on the 
top of this room, on the network, on an iron pan, the same as is used to heat the 
leaves ; some fire is put into it, either of grass or bamboo, so that the flame may 
ascend high ; the pan is put on a square wooden frame, that has wooden rollers 
on its legs, and pushed round and round this little room by one man, while 



128 



TEA. 



another feeds the fir?, the leaves on the top being occasionally turned ; vrhen 
they are a little withered, the fire is taken away, and the leaves brought do^vn 
and manufactui'ed into tea, in the same manner as if it had been dried in the 
sun. But this is not a good plan, and never had recourse to if it can possibly 
be avoided," 

In 1810, a number of tea plants were introduced into Brazil, 
witli a colony of Chinese to superintend their culture. The 
plantation was formed near E-io Janeiro and occupied several 
acres. It did not, however, answer the expectations formed of it, 
the shrubs became stunted, cankered and moss grown, and the 
Chinese finally abandoned them. The culture was again tried in 
1817. The plantations lie between the equator and 10 deg. south 
latitude, nearly parallel with Java, and of course are exposed to 
the same intemperate climate, and sufterin a similar manner. In 
addition to these physical disabilities, the enterprise has had to 
contend with the natural indolence of the natives, the universal 
repugnance to labor, the crushing effect of committing so im- 
portant a work to the superintendence of slaves and overseers, 
the amazing fertility of the soil, the extent of unappropriated land, 
the ease with which subsistence can be obtained and the low degree 
of personal enterprise. These are froAvning features, and would 
rather seem to indicate a failure, before the attempt at ciiltivation 
was made. But, nevertheless, the plant does flourish to some ex- 
tent, even in Brazil, under all the disparaging circumstances wliich 
surround it. Erom the Brazilian Consul Greneral, I learn that 
although the plant for some years after its introduction received 
but little attention and was almost abandoned, yet witliin the 
last few years the cultivation has revived and is now prosecuted 
with energy and with a corresponding success. Some of the 
large and wealthy land proprietors of Brazil have directed their 
attention to tea culture, and one gentleman has given up his 
coffee plantation and directed his attention exclusively to the 
cultivation of the tea plant. The market of Eio Janeiro is said 
to be largely and almost entirely supplied with tea of domestic 
growth, and the public mind is awakened to the prominent fact, 
that no plant cultivated in Brazil is more profitable and none is 
deserving more decided attention. 

Experimental cidtivatioii of the tea plant in Brazil. — I now 
proceed to notice the report of M. Guillemin, presented in 1839 to 
the French Minister of agriculture and commerce, on the culture 
and preparation of the tea plant in Brazil — in a climate of the south- 
ern hemisphere just equivalent to that of Cuba in the northern. The 
report enters very minutely into the incidents of temperature and 
cultivation, and cannot fiiil to strike the attention when disclosiug 
the important fact, that ihe tea plant grows luxuriantly with the 
coffee and other valuable plants of the equatorial regions, and 
even on low-lying lands, on a level with the sea, and exposed to 
the full rays of a burning sun. 

"^sthe tea shrub," says M. Guillemin, is gro^\-n in several plantations 
about two days' journey distant fi'om Eio, in difterent directions, 1 hired a 



TEA. 



129 



lodging at St. Theresa, siiSciently contiguous to all the establishments I meant ■ 
to visit, and further recommended hy having a small garden attached to the 
house, where I could dei^osit the gro-s^dng plants of tea, and sow seeds. During 
the month of Xovemher, except when hindered by slight indispositions inci- 
dental to the Brazilian climate, I pursued my researches, and principally in 
the charming valleys of the Tijuka and Gavia mountains, where, together with 
colfee, their principal product, the most valuable plants of the equatorial region 
are cultivated. 

In the middle of Xovember I had an opportunity of observing the method 
pursued when culling the tea, which is performed by black slaves, chiefly wo- 
men and children. They carefully selected the tenderest and pale-green leaves, 
nipping off with their nails the young leaf bud, just below where the fii'st or 
second leaf was unfolded. One whole field had akeady undergone this opera- 
tion ; nothing but tea shrubs stripped of theii' foliage remained. The inspector 
assured me that the plant received no injury from this process, and that the 
harvest of leaves was to become permanent by carefully regulating it, so that 
the foliage should have grown again on the first-stripped shi'ubs at the period 
when the l-^^aves of the last plant were pulled off. About 12,000 tea shrubs are 
grown in this garden : they are regularly planted in quincunxes, and stand 
about one metre distant from each other ; the greater number are stunted and 
shabby looking, probably owing to the aspect of the ground, which lies low, 
on the level of the sea, and exposed to the full rays of a burning sun ; perhaps 
the quality of the soil may have something to do with it, though this is appar- 
ently similar to what prevails in the province of Rio Janeiro. This soil, which 
is highly argillaceous, and strongly tinged with tritoxyde of iron, is formed by 
the decomposition of gneiss or granite rocks. The flat situation of this tea 
ground is unfavorable to the improvement of the soil, for the heavy rains 
which wash away the superfluous sand from slanting situations, of course only 
consolidate more strongly the remaining component parts, where the land lies 
perfectly level, and thus the tea plants suffer from this state of soil. 

The kindness of M. de Brandao, director of the Botanic Garden, induced him 
to invite me, shortly after I had seen the above described tea-ground, that I 
might inspect all the operations for the preparation of tea. I found that the 
picking of the leaves had been commenced very early in the morning, and two 
kilogrammes were pulled that were still wet with dew. These were deposited 
in a well-polished iron vase, the shape being that of a very broad flat pan, and 
set on a brick furnace, where a brisk wooden fire kept the temperature nearly 
up to that of boiling water. A negro, after carefully washing his hands, kept 
continually stirring the leaves in all directions, till their external dampness was 
quite evaporated, and the leaves acquired the softness of linen rag, and a small 
pinch of them, when rolled in the hollow of the hand, became a little ball that 
would not unroll. In this state the mass of tea was divided into two portions, 
and a negro took each and set them on a hurdle, formed of strips of bamboo, 
laid at right angles, where they shook and kneaded the leaves in all directions 
for a quarter of an hour, an operation which requires habit to be properly per- 
formed, and on which much of the beauty of the product depends. It is 
impossible to describe this process ; the motion of the hands is rapid and very 
irregular, and the degi'ee of pressui'e requisite varies according to circumstances ; 
generally speaking, the young negro women are considered more clever at this 
part of the work than older persons. As this process of rolling and twisting 
the leaves goes on, their green juice is drained off through the hurdle, and it is 
essential that the tea be perfectly divested of the moisture, w-hich is acrid, and 
even corrosive, the bruising and kneading being especially designed to break 
the parenchyma of the leaf, and permit the escape of the sap. 

When the leaves have been thus twisted and rolled, they are replaced in the 
great iron pan, and the temperature raised till the hand can no longer bear the 
heat at the bottom. For upwards of an hour the negroes are then constantly 
employed in separating, shaking, and throwing the foliage up and down, in order 
to facilitate the dessication, and much neatness and. quickness -o-f hand were re- 
quisite, that the manipulators might neither bum themselves nor allow the 
masses of leaves to adhere to the hot bottom of the pan. It is easy to see that, 



130 



TEA. 



if the pan was placed within another pan filled with boiling water, and the leaves 
were stirred with an iron spatula, much trouble might be obviated. Still, the 
rolling and drying of the leaves were successfully performed ; they became more 
and more crisp, and preserved their twisted shape, except some few which seemed 
too old and coriaceous to submit to be rolled up. The tea was then placed on a 
sieve, with wide apertures of regular sizes, and formed of flat strips of bamboo. 
The best rolled leaves, produced from the tips of the buds and the tenderest leaves, 
passed through this sieve, and were subsequently fanned, in order to separate any 
unrolled fragments which might have passed through them ; this produce was 
called Imperial, or Uchim Tea. It was again laid in the pan till it acquired the 
leaden grey tint, which proved its perfect dryness, and any defective leaf which 
had escaped the winnowing and sifting was picked out by hand. The residue, 
which was left from the first fanning, was submitted to all the operations of 
winnowing, sifting, and scorching, and it then afibrded the Fine Hyson Tea of 
commerce ; while the same operations performed on the residuum of it yielded the 
Common Hyson ; and the refuse of the third quality again afforded the Coarse 
Hyson. — Finally, the broken and unrolled foliage, which were rejected in the last 
siftings, furnish what is called Family Tea, and the better kind of which is called 
Chato, and the inferior Chuto. The latter sort is never sold, but kept for con- 
sumption in the families of the growers. 

Such is the mode of preparation pursued at Eio Janeiro, though I must add 
that the process employed at the Botanic Garden being most carefully performed 
in order to serve as a model for private cultivators of tea, the produce is superior 
to the generality, so that we dare not judge of all Brazilian tea by what is raised 
at the garden of Eio. I was also assured, that at Saint Paul each grower had his 
own peculiar method, influencing materially the quality of the tea, which de- 
cided me to visit that province, where I hoped to gain valuable information re- 
specting the culture and fabrication of tea, especially considered as an article of 
commerce. 

In the interim, the month of December proving excessively hot and rainy, so 
as to forbid any distant excursions, I turned my attention to the important ob- 
ject of procuring teaplants in number and state fit for exportation ; and, observ- 
ing that almost all the shrubs I saw were too large for this purpose, I applied to 
]Vi . de Brandao for his help and advice. This gentleman, in the most courteous 
manner, offered me either seeds or slips from his own tea shrubs. The striking of 
the latter was, he owned, a hazardous and uncertain affair, though it had the pro- 
bable advantage of securing a finer kind of plant than could with certainty be 
raised from seed. I, however, began by asking him for newly gathered seeds, in 
order to set them in my little nursery garden at Santa Theresa, and he obligingly 
gave me a thousand of the seeds, perfectly ripe and sound, which is easily known 
by the purplish-brown color of their integument. M. Houlet immediately set 
about preparing the soil in which to plant these seeds, and the earth being ex- 
cessively argillaceous and hard, much digging, manuring, and dressing were 
needful ; in a word, we neglected no precautions which could contribute to the 
growth of our seeds. In the interim I allowed not a single dry day to elapse 
without visiting the country house near Eio, in all of which I saw something 
more or less interesting, either in the culture of tea, or other vegetable produc- 
tions of commercial value. 

***** 

I detected, growing not unfrequently in the environs of Eio, the Ilex Para- 
(juayensis of M. Auguste de St. Hilaire, perfectly identical with the tree which 
the Jesuits planted in the missions of Paraguay, and whose foliage is an article 
of great importance throughout Spanish America, and vended under the name of 
Faraguay Tea. A living plant of this shrub was brought home by me, and placed 
in the Eoyal Garden at Paris, as well as a species of Vanilla, and many other 
rare and interesting plants. I also made a valuable collection of woods employed 
for dyeing, buUding, and cabinet work, with samples of their flowers, fruits, and 
leaves, to facilitate botanical determination. 

Early in January, 1839, M. Houlet began anew sowing tea, not only in the 
open ground in our little garden, but also in pans, in order to facilitate the 
lifting of the young plants, and putting them into the cases that I had 



TEA. 



131 



brought for the purpose. The heat being excessive, vre purchased mats, that we 
might shelter them from the sun, and we gave them water far more frequently. 
Many of the seeds that we had sown a month previously, were already appear- 
ing above the ground, but the soil being of too compact a nature, some did not 
come up, which warned us to make choice in future of a lighter kind of soil. 

The period now arrived when I was to visit the tea plantations in the pro- 
vince of St. Paul ; and hoping that the cultivators would give me some of the 
young shrubs, I took M. Houlet with me, leaving the charge of our collections 
and seedlings to M. Pissis, a French geologist and engineer, with whom I had 
formed an intimate acquaintance, and who most obligingly oifered to attend to 
them dm-ing my absence, Alany were the influential persons at Eio Janeiro, 
who gave me introductorv letters to the prox)rietar3 and tea growers of St, 
Paul. 

"We started on the 15th January, by steam-boat, and in two days reached Santos, 
the principal port in the province of St. Paul ; thence crossing the great chain 
of mountains, named the Serra do Mar, in cai-avans drawn by mules, we reached 
the City of St. Paul on the 20th January, where I experienced the warmest 
reception from the governor, two ex- governors, and some other gentlemen. 
******* 
Accompanied by M. J. Gomez and a M. Barandier, an historical painter, whom 
the desire to visit a new country, and to see its inhabitants, had induced to 
become my coinpagno)i de voyage^ we visited almost immediately a M. Feigo, 
ex-Eegent of the Empii-e, and now President of the Provincial Senate. We 
found this venerable ecclesiastic at his country-house, two leagues distant from 
the city, and here we saw aU the process pursued on the tea leaf, commencing 
by the bruising, drying, and scorching of a large quantity of foliage picked the 
preceding evening. Ttie chief difference that struck me in the mode here 
adopted, was, that the tender, flexible, and not brittle leaves, were gathered 
with the petiole and tip extremity of every bud, and that some water was put 
with them into the ii'on pan, in which the negresses twisted, squeezed, broke 
and shook the masses of foliage. The operation was, on the whole, more neatly 
performed than at Eio. AYhen the tea was perfectly diy and removed from the 
pan, it was placed aside in a box, shaded from the aii- and light, and was con- 
sidered ready for present use, on the spot ; but M. Feigo infoi-med me, that 
when sent to a distance, the cases were hermetically closed, and the tea under- 
went an extra dessication over the fire. 

The plantations belonging to M. Feigo, and surroxmding his chagara, are ex- 
tensive, containing about 20,000 tea shrubs, of fine growth and high vigor, 
most of them six or eight years old, set in regiilar lines, a metre asunder from 
each other, and the lines with a metre and a half between them. The soil is 
excellent, argillaceo-ferruginous, as is generally tbe case near St. Paul. 

In the Botanic Garden at St. Paul, some squares are devoted to the growth 
of tea ; but I am not aware that the leaves are ever subject to preparation. 

M. da Luz had invited us to inspect his tea-grounds near Xossa Senhora da 
Penha, and I went thither, accompanied by Messrs. Barandier and Houlet. 
The cultivation is admirable, the soil excellent, and the tea-plants peculiarly 
vigorous. Each shrub was so placed that a man can easily go all round it, and 
young plards, self-soicn, ic^re spriiigmg 'ap beloic evenj old one; of these offsets, I 
was made welcome to as many as I could take away, and should have had a great 
stock, but that the ground had been very recently cleared. M. da Luz showed 
me his magazines of prepared tea, which were extensive and well stocked. 

Hence I went to the property of a lady. Donna Gertrude Gedioze Larceda, 
situated at the foot of Jarigur, a mountain famed for its gold mines, and passed 
two days in exploring this celebrated locality, and then visited the Colonel 
Anastosio on my way back to St. Paul. These plantations are in the most 
prosperous condition, situated on a sloping and well-manured tract behind the 
habitations. The shrubs are generally kept low, and frequently cut, so as to 
make them branching, by Avhich the process of picking the leaves is rendered 
easier. There may be 60,000 or 70,000 plants, but a third of them were only 
set a year before. Every arrangement is excellently conducted here ; the pans 
kept veiy clean, though perhaps rather thin fr'om long use and the fierceness of 

K 2 



132 



TEA. 



the fires. But the general good order that prevails, speaks much in favor of 
the tea produced in this neighbourhood. The colonel showed me his ware- 
house, where the tea is stored in iron jars, narrow-necked and closed by a tight 
fitting stopper. I ventured to put some questions to Colonel Anastosio respect- 
ing the sale of the produce. He gave me to understand that he was by no 
means eager to sell ; but, confident of the good quality, he waited till application 
was made to him for it, as the tea is thought to improve by time, and the price 
is kept up by there being a small supply. "With respect to the cost of its pro- 
duction in Brazil, he said, this was so great that, to make it answer to the 
grower, a price of not less than 2,000 reis, about six francs (5s.), must be got 
for each pound. The whole labor in Brazil is done by slaves, who certainly 
do not cost much to keep, but who, on the other hand, work as little as they 
can help, having no interest in the occupation. The slaves, too, bear a high 
price, and the chances of mortality, with the exorbitant value of money in 
Brazil, augment their selling value. 

The Major da Luz kindly presented me with 300 young tea-plants, which he 
had caused his negroes to pull up for me ; and in an adjoining farm, where an 
immense tract planted with tea is now allowed to run to waste, being no object 
of value to the proprietor, I was permitted to take all I could carry away ; and 
in a single day's time, M. Houlet and I, aided by some slaves, succeeded in pos- 
sessing ourselves of 3,000 young plants, which we carefully arranged in bamboo 
baskets (here called cestos). To diminish the weight, M. Houlet removed as 
little soil as possible ; but carefully wetted the roots before closing the baskets, 
and covered them with banana leaves. In one garden, the largest I have seen 
devoted to the growth of tea, but which is not particularly well kept, I saw 
that the spaces between the shrubs were planted with maize, and the bordering 
of the squares which intersect this vast plantation, and the whole of which is 
inclosed with valleys of Araucaria JBrasiliensis, is formed of little dwarf tea- 
plants, which are kept low by cutting their main shoots down to the level of the 
soil. 

On the 8th of February I again embarked in the steam-boat to return to Eio 
Janeiro, and when we came in sight of St. Sebastian, I left M. Houlet to pro- 
ceed to the city alone, charging him to take the very greatest care of our package 
of tea-plants, as well as of the nursery-ground at St. Theresa, while I should visit 
the flourishing colony of Ubatuba, inhabited by French families, who cultivate 
most successfully co^'ee, and other useful vegetables. After a delightful sail 
through an archipelago of enchanting islands, I landed at Pontagrossa, where I 
was most kindly received, and spent a week, obtaining much and varied infor- 
mation, both respecting cultivated plants and the kinds of trees which grow 
spontaneously in the virgin forests of this lovely land, and aff'ord valuable woods 
for building, cabinet- work, and dyeing. Finally, I visited the tea lolantations 
of M. Vigneron, which are remarkably fine, though their owner finds a much 
more profitable employment in the growth of coffee, which is very lucrative. He 
kindly gave me a quantity of young tea-plants and chocolate trees. Reluctantly 
quitting these worthy colonists, I re-embarked in a Brazilian galliot, which took 
me back to Bio Janeiro in the close of February. There I found the tea-plants 
from St. Paul, set by M. Houlet, in our garden at St. Theresa, and I added to 
them the stock I had brought from Ubatuba. All the very young ones had 
perished on the way, from the excessive heat, and M. Houlet had much difficulty 
in saving the others. 

* «- 

M. Guillemin concludes his interesting narration with this partially discou- 
raging fact; — that though the culture of the tea-shrub succeeds perfectly well 
in Brazil ; though the gathering of the foliage proceeds with hardly any inter- 
ruption during the entire 3^ear ; though the quality (setting aside the aroma, which 
is believed to be artificially added) is not inferior to that of the finest tea from 
China — still the growers have not realised any large profits. They have manu- 
factured an immense quantity of tea, to judge by what he saw in the warehouses 
at St. Paul, but they cannot afford to sell it under six francs for the half kilo- 
gramme (a pound weighr) . v/hich is higher than Chinese tea of equally good 
quali i ) . This is, however, precisely one of those commodities in which free labour, 



TEA. 



133 



that is,' the labor of a free peasant's family, the wife and children, the young and. 
the old, can successfully compete with slave labor, and considerably undersell it. 
It is manifest, from the remarks of M. GuiQemin, that the cost for plantation 
slaves, under a system apparently so profitable as labor without wages, is a dead 
weight on the Brazilian planter." 

Paraguay Tea. — A species of liollj {Ilex Far aguensis), which 
grows spontaneously in the forest regions of Paraguay, and the in- 
terior of South America, furnishes the celebrated beverage called 
Yerha Hate, in South America. The evergreen leaf of this plant 
iij from four to five inches long ; when prepared for use as tea it is 
reduced to powder, and hence the decoction has to be quaffed by 
means of a tube with a bulb perforated with small holes. 

The leaves yield the same bitter principle called theine, which 
is found in the leaf of the Chinese tea-plant, the coffee berry, &c. 
Various other species of Ilex are sometimes employed in other 
parts of South America for a similar purpose. Although the leaves 
may not contain as much of the agreeable narcotic oil as those of 
the China shiub, in consequence of the rude way in which it is 
collected and prepared for use, yet it is much relished by European 
travellers in South America, and would doubtless enter largely 
into consumption if imported into this country at a moderate rate 
of duty. 

The consumption in the various South American E/cpublics is 
estimated at thirty or forty millions of pounds annually. It is 
generally drank without sugar or milk. 

There are no correct data for calculating the exports, but some 
authorities state the amount sent to Santa Ee and Buenos 
Ayres at eight millions of pounds. 

A great trade is carried on with it atSta. Ee, where it is brought 
from the Eio de la Plata. There are two sorts, one called " Terba 
de Palos," the other, which is finer, " Yerba de Carnini." Frezier 
tells us that, in the earlier part of the 17th century, above 50,000 
arrobas, or more than 12,000 cwt. of this herb were brought into 
Peru from Paraguay, exclusive of about 25,000 arrobas taken to 
Chile ; and Eather Charleroix, inhis " History of Paraguay," states 
the quantity shipped to Peru annually at 100,000 arrobas, or nearly 
2,500,000 lbs. 

My friend, Mr. W. P. Robertson, has favored me with some de- 
tails as to the production of Paraguay tea. His brother has 
graphically described a visit he paid to the wastes or woods of the 
Terba tree, Avith a colony of manufacturers from Assumption. 
These woods were situated chiefly in the country adjacent to a 
small miserable town called Villa Eeal, about 150 miles higher 
up the river Paraguay than Assumption. The master manufac- 
turer, with about forty or fifty hired peons or servants, mounted on 
mules, and a hundred bulls and surapter mules, set out on 
their expedition, and having discovered in the dense wood a suit- 
able locality, forthwith a settlement is established, and the neces- 
sary wigwams for dwellings, &c., run up. The next step is the 
construction of the " tatacua." This was a small space of ground, 



134 



TEA. 



alDout six feet square, of which the soil was beaten down with heavy 
mallets, till it became a hard and consistent foundation. At the 
four corners of this space, and at right angles, were driven in four 
very strong stakes, while upon the surface of it were laid large 
logs of wood. This was the place at which the leaves and small 
sprigs of the yerba tree, when brought from the woods, were lirst 
scorched — fire being set to the logs of wood wdthin it. By the 
side of the tatacua was spread an ample square net of hidework, of 
which, after the scorched leaves were laid upon it, a peon gathered 
up the four corners and proceeded with his burthen on his shoul- 
ders to the second place constructed, the barbacue. This was an 
arch of considerable span, and of which the support consisted of 
three strong trestles. The centre trestle formed the highest part 
of the arch. Over this superstructure were laid cross-bars strongly 
railed to stakes on either side of the central supports, and so formed 
the roof of the arch. The leaves being separated after the tatacua 
process, from the grosser boughs of the yerba tree, were laid on 
this roof, under which a large fire was kindled. Of this fire the 
flames ascended, and still further scorched the leaves of the yerba. 
The two peons beneath the arch, vdth long poles, took care, as far 
as they could, that no ignition should take place ; and in order to 
extinguish this, w^hen it did occur, another peon was stationed at 
the top of the arch. Along both sides of this there were two deal 
planks, and, with a long stick in his hand, the peon ran along these 
planks, and instantly extinguished any incipient sparks of fire that 
appeared. 

When the yerba was thoroughly scorched, the fire was sv/ept 
from the barbacue or arch ; the ground was then swept, and pounded 
with heavy mallets, into the hardest and smoothest substance. The 
scorched leaves and very small twigs were then thrown dow^n from 
the roof of the arch, and, by mciius of a rude wooden mill, ground 
to powder. 

The yerba or tea was now ready for use ; and being conve3^ed to 
a larger shed, previously erected for the purpose, was then received, 
weiglied, and stored by the overseer. The next and last process, 
and the most laborious of all, was that of packing the tea. This 
was done by first sewdug together, in a square form, the half of a 
bull's hide, which being still damp, w^as fastened by two of its 
corners to two strong trestles, driven far into the ground. The 
packer then, with an enormous stick, made of the heaviest wood, 
and having a huge block at one end, and a pyramidal piece to give 
it a greater impulse at the other, pressed, by repeated efi'orts, the 
yerba into the hide sack, till he got it full to the brim. It then 
contained from 200 to 250 pounds, and being sewed up, and left 
to tighten over the contents as the hide dried, it formed at the end 
of a couple of days, by exposure to the sun, a substance as hard as 
stone, and almost as weighty and impervious too. 

Having described the process of making ready the yerba for use, 
we will now accompany Mr. Eobertson to the woods, to see how 
it is collected. 



TEA. 



135 



After all the preparations which I have detailed were completed 
(and it required only three days to finish them), the peons sallied 
forth from the yerba colony by couples. I accompanied two of the 
stoutest and best of them. They had with them no other weapon 
than a small axe ; no other clothing than a girdle round their waist 
and a red cap on their head ; no other provision than a cigar, and 
a cow's horn filled with water ; and they were animated by no 
other hope or desire, that I could perceive, than those of soon 
discovering a part of the wood thickly studded with the yerba tree. 
They also desired to find it as near as possible to the colonial en- 
campment, in order that the labor of carrying the rough branches 
to the scene of operations might be as much as possible dhninished. 

We had scarcely skirted for a quarter of a mile the woods which 
shut in the valley where we were bivouacked, when we came upon 
numerous clumps of the yerba tree. It was of all sizes, from that 
of the shrub to that of the ftdl-grown orange tree ; the leaves of it 
were very like those of that beautiful production. The smaller the 
plant, the better is the tea which is taken from it considered 
to be. 

To work with their hatchets went the peons, and in less than a 
couple of hours they had gathered a mountain of branches, and 
piled them up in the form of a haystaclv. Both of them then filled 
their large ponchos with the coveted article of commerce in its raw 
state, and they marched off" with their respective loads. Having 
deposited this first load within the precincts of the colony, the 
peons returned for a second, and so on till they had cleared away 
the whole mass of branches and of leaves cut and collected during 
that day. When I returned to the colony I found the peons 
coming by two and two, from every part of the valley, all laden in 
the same way. There were twenty tatacuas, twenty barbacues, 
and twenty piles of the yerba cut and ready for manufacture. Two 
days after that the whole colony was in a blaze, tatacuas and bar- 
bacues were enveloped in smoke ; on the third day all was stowed 
away in the shed ; and on the fourth the peons again went out to 
procure more of the boughs and leaves." — (^Letters on JParaguay, 
vol. ii. p. 142—147). 

Each peon or laborer, going into the Vvoods for six months, 
can procure eight arrobas, or 200 lbs. of yerba a day. This, at the 
rate of two rials, or Is. for each arroba, would make his wages per 
day 8s. ; and this for six months' work, at six days in the Vv^eek, 
would produce to the laborer a sum of £57 12s. 

Wilcockes, in his " History of Buenos Ayres," published in 1807, 
states : — " Though the herb is principally bought by the merchants 
of Buenos Ayres, it is not to that place that it is carried, no more 
being sent thither than is wanted for the consumption of its in- 
habitants and those of the vicinity ; but the greatest part is dis- 
patched to Santa Fe and Cordova, thence to be forwarded to Potosi 
and Mendoza. The quantity exported to Peru is estimated at 
100,000 arrobas, and to Chile 40,000. The remainder is consumed 
ui Paraguay, Tucuman, and the other provinces. It is com^eyed 



136 



in parcels of six or seyen arrobas, by waggons, from Santa Fe to 
Jugui, and tlience by mules to Potosi, La Paz, and into Peru 
proper. About four piastres per arroba is the price in Paraguay, 
and at Potosi it fetches from eight to nine, and more in proportion 
as it is carried further," 



SUGAE. 

SiiGAE is obtained from-niany grasses ; and, indeed, is common in 
a large number of plants. It is procm-ed in Italy from SorgJium 
saccliaratim ; in China, from Saccliarum sinense ; in Brazil, from 
Gynerium saccharoides ; in the West Indies, from saccliarum 
molaceim ; and in many other parts of the world from & officinarum. 
The last two are commonly known as sugar canes, and they are 
generally considered as varieties of a single species, ^S'. officinarum. 
which is now widely spread over different parts of the world. 

Some curious specimens of palm sugars were exhibited at the 
Great Exhibition of 1851, among others, — gomuti palm sugar 
{Arenga saccJiarifera) from Java; date palm sugar, from the Deccan ; 
nipa sugar, from the stems of Nipa friiticavs. and sugar from the 
iSeshy flowers of IBassia latifolia, — -an East Indian tree. 

Among the other sugars shown were beet root sugar, maple 
sugar, date sugar, from Dacca, sugar from the butter tree {Bassia 
huti/racea), produced in the division of Eohekkund, in India; and 
sugar candy, crystallized by the natives of Calcutta and other 
parts of India. 

Sugar and molasses from the grape, were also shown from Spain, 
Timis and the Zollverein. 

Sugar, or sugar cand}'', has been made in China from very remote 
antiquity, and large quantities have been exported from India, in 
all ages, whence it is most probable that it found its way to Eome. 

The principal impurities to be sought for in cane sugar are in- 
organic matter, water, molasses, farina, and grape, or starch sugar. 
The latter substance is occasionally, for adulterating purposes, 
added in Europe to cane sugar; it may be detected by the 
action of concentrated sulphuric acid and of a solution of caustic 
potassa ; the former blackens cane sugar, but does not affect the 
starch sugar, while potassa darkens the color of starch sugar, but 
does not alter that of cane sugar. But the copper test is far more 
delicate. Add to the solution to be tested, a few drops of blue 
vitriol, and then a quantity of potassa solution, and apply heat ; if 
the cane sugar is pure, the liquor Avill remain blue, while, if it be 
adulterated with starch sugar, it will assume a reddish yellow color. 

Inorganic matter is determined by incineration, farina by the 
iodine test, water by drying at 210 deg., and molasses by getting 
rid of it by re-crystahzation from alcohol, as also by the color and 
moisture of the article. 

The natui^al impurities of sugar are gum and tannin ; gum is 
detected by giviug a white precipitate with diacetate of lead, and 



SUGAE. 



137 



tannin by giving a black coloration or precipitate with persulphate 
of iron. 

An experienced sugar dealer easily judges of the A^alue of sugar 
by the taste, smell, specific gravity, moisture and general 
appearance. 

The value of molasses may be determined by drying at 220 degs., 
and by the taste. 

The commercial demand for sugar is mainly supplied from the 
juice of the cane, which contains it in greater quantity and purity 
than any other plant, and oifers the greatest facilities for its 
extraction. 

Although sugar, identical in its character, exists in the maple, 
the coco-nut, maize, the beet root, and mango, and is economically 
obtained from these to a considerable extent, yet it is not 
sufficient^ pure to admit of ready separation from the foreign 
matter combined with it, at least by the simple mechanical means 
the ordinary producers usually have at command ; unless carried 
on to a large extent, and with suitable machinery and chemical 
knowledge and appliances. 

The different species of commercial sugar usually met with in 
this country, are four, viz : — brown, or muscovado sugar (com- 
monly called'moist sugar) ; clayed sugar, refined or loaf sugar, and 
sugar candy ; these varieties are altogether dependent on the dif- 
ference in the methods employed in their manufacture. 

The cultivation of the sugar cane, and the manufacture of sugar, 
were introduced into Europe from the East, by the Saracens, soon 
after their conquests, in the ninth century. It is stated by the 
A^enetian historians, that their countrymen imported sugar from 
Sicily, in the twelfth century, at a cheaper rate than they could 
obtain it from Egypt, where it was then extensively made. The 
first plantations in Spain were at Valencia; but they were ex- 
tended to Granada, Mercia, Portugal, Madeira, and the Canary 
Islands, as early as the beginning of the fifteenth century. Erom 
Gomera, one of these islands, the sugar cane was introduced into 
the West Indies, by Columbus, in his second voyage to America 
in 1493, It was cultivated to some extent in St. Domingo in 
1506, where it succeeded better than in any of the other islands. 
In 1518, there were twenty-eight plantations in that colony, 
established by the Spaniards, where an abundance of sugar was 
made, which, for a long period, formed the principal part of the 
European supplies. Barbados, the oldest English settlement in 
the "West Indies, began to export sugar in 1646, and as far back 
as the year 1676 the trade required four hundred vessels, averaging 
one hundred and fifty tons burden. 

The common sugar cane is a perennial plant, very sensitive to 
cold, and is, therefore, restricted in its cultivation to regions 
bordering on the tropics, where there is little or no frost. In the 
Eastern hemisphere its production is principally confined to situa- 
tions favorable to its growth, lying between the fortieth parallel 
of north latitude and a corresponding degree south. On the 



138 



Atlantic side of the "Western continent, it will not thriye beyond 
the thirty-third degree of north latitude and the thirty-fifth 
parallel south. On the Pacific side it mil perfect its growth some 
five degi^ees further north or south. From the fiexibility of this 
plant, it IS highly probable that it is gTadually. becoming more 
hardy, and will eventually endure an exposure and yield a 
profitable return much further north, along the borders of the 
Mississippi and some of its tributaries, than it has hitherto been 
produced. In most parts of Louisiana the canes yield three crops 
from one planting. The fir^st season is denominated plant cane," 
and each of the subsequent growths, ''ratoons." But, sometimes, 
a-s on the praii'ies of Attakapas and Opelousas, and the higher 
northern ran^-e of its cultivation, it requires to be re-planted every 
year. Within the tropics, as in the "West Indies and elsewhere, 
the ratoons frequently continue to yield abundantly for twelve or 
fifteen years from the same roots. 

The cultivation of this plant is principally confined to the West 
Indies, Yenezuela. Brazil. 3Iatu'itius. British India, China, Japan, 
the Sunda, Phillippine, and Sandwich Islands, and to the southern 
districts of the United States. The varieties most cultivated in 
the latter are the striped blue and yellow ribbon, or Java, the red 
ribbon, violet, from Java, the Creole, crystalline or Malabar, the 
Otaheite, the purple, the yellow, the purple-banded, and the grey 
canes. The quantity of sugar produced on an acre varies from 
five hundred to three thousand pounds, averaging, perhaps, from 
eight hundred to one thousand pounds. 

Six to eight pounds of the saccharine puce of the plant, yield one 
pound of raw sugar; from 16 to 20 cart-loads of canes, ought to 
make a hogshead of sugar, if thorouLrhly ripe. The weight 
necessary to manufacture 10,000 hhds of sugar, is usually estimated 
at 250,000 tons, or 25 tons per hhd. of 15 or 16 cwt. 

The quantity of sugar now produced in cm colonies is in excess 
of the demands of the consumers, that is. of their demands cramped 
as they are by the duties still levied on sugar consmned in Great 
Britain, imposed for the purposes of revenue : the higli duty on all 
other but indigenous sugar, consumed all over the continent, 
imposed to promote the manufacture of beet-root sugar, and 
the legal duty levied on all other than indigenous sugar used 
in the United States, for tlie purpose of protecting the sugai' 
production of that country; and so long as that excess exists — 
until a further reduction of duties shall mcrease consumption 
and cause sugar to be used for many purposes wliich the present 
high rates prohibit its being applied to — any improvement which 
may be eftected in the quality — any increase wliich may take place 
in the quantity- of colonial sugar — vdll only result infinitely more 
to the benefits of the consumers than the producers. In 1700 the 
quantity consumed in Great Britain and Ireland was only about 
200,000 cwt. In 1852, includmg molasses, etc., it was not less than 
S,000,000 cwt., a forty -fold increase in the century and a-half. 
Taking the whole population last yeai', it was nearly 2Slbs. per 



SUGAR. 



139 



head. In 1832 the consumption in G-reat Britain alone was put 
down by !Mr. ^M'Ciilloch at 231bs. ; and as my estimate includes 
Ireland, where the consumption is notoriously small, we may 
infer that it has increased in Great Britain since 1832 at least 
51b. per head. As the allowance to servants is from fib. to 
lib. per week, it may be assumed that 501b. a year, at least, is 
not too much for grown persons. In sugar-producing countries 
the quantity consumed is enormous ; the labourers liye on it 
in the manufacturing season ; and a Duke of Beaufort, who died 
about 1720, consumed one pound daily for forty years, and enjoyed 
excellent health till he was seventy years of age. The con- 
sumption of sugar has increased considerably since it has become 
cheap ; and we may expect, therefore, that the consumption will 
extend more rapidly than ever. The whole quantity consumed in 
Europe last year, including beet-root sugar, was not less than 
16,000,000 cwt. If peace be preserved and prosperity continue, the 
market for sugar will extend amazingly, and force the cultivation 
by free men in all tropical countries. 





British Plau- 


East India and 


Total of B. P 


Consumption, 
tons. 


Tears. 


tation 


Mauritius 


E. I. and • 




tons. 


tons. 


Mauritius. 


1838-39 


176,033 


54,017 


230,050 


195,483 


39-40 


141,219 


60,358 


201,577 . 


191,279 


40-41 


110,739 


52,232 . . 


162,971 


. 179,741 


41-42 


107,560 


97,792 . . 


205,352 


202,971 


42-43 


123,685 


80,429 


204,y4 . 


199,491 


43-44 


125,178 


78,943 . . 


204,121 


202,259 


44-45 


122,639 


81,959 


204,598 


206,999 


45-46 


.. 142,384 . 


. 102,690 


245,074 


244,030 


47-48 


164,646 


. 125,829 


290,475 


289,537 


48-49 


139,868 . 


107,844 


247,712 . 


.. 308,131 


49-50 


142,203 


121,850 


264,053 


296,119 


50-51 


129,471 


119,317 


248,788 


305,616 


51-52 


148,000 . 


. 110,000 .. 


. 258,000 


. 312,778 



■ — The above figures refer to raw sugar only. 

At these periods, calculating from 1838-39, the duty on British 
sugar ranged from 21s. down to 10s. per cwt., and foreign slave- 
grown sugar from 63s. down to 14s. The greatest impetus was 
given to foreign sugar when the duties were reduced, in 1846. 

The extension of sugar cultivation in various countries where the 
climate is suitable, has recently attracted considerable attention 
among planters and merchants. The Australian Society of Sydney 
offered its Isis Gold IMedal recently to the person who shoufd 
have planted, before May, 1851, the greatest number of sugar 
canes in the colony. I have not heard whether any claim was 
put in for the premium, but I fear that the gold fever has 
diverted attention from any new agricultural pursuit, and that ho- 
norary gold medals are therefore unappreciated. Moreton Bay and 
the northern parts of the colony of ^s'ew South Wales, are admi- 
rably suited to the growth of all descriptions of tropical products. 

The Xatal Agricultural Society is also making gTeat exertions 
to promote sugar culture in that settlement. Mr. E. Morewood, 



140 



STJGAE. 



one of the oldest colonists, has about 100 acres under cultivation 
with the cane, and I have seen some very excellent specimens of the 
produce, notwithstanding the want of suitable machinery to grind 
the cane and boil the juice. Many planters from the East Indies 
and Mauritius are settling there. His Eoyal Highness Prince Al- 
bert awarded, through the Society of Arts, a year or two ago, a 
gold medal, v^'orth 100 guineas, to Mr. J. A. Leon, for his beautiful 
work descriptive of new and improved machinery and processes em- 
ployed in the cultivation and preparation of sugar in the British 
colonies, designed to economise labor and increase prodnction. 

The centrifugal machines, recently brought into use, for separa- 
ting the molasses from the sugar, more quickly than the old-fash- 
ioned method of coolers, have tended to cheapen the production 
and simplify the processes of sugar making. The planters object, 
however, to the high prices which they are charged for these ma- 
chines, so simple in their construction ; and that they are not al- 
lowed, by the patent laws, to obtain them in the cheaper markets of 
Prance and Belgium. 

G-reat loss has hitherto taken place annually, in the sugar colo- 
nies, through the drainage of the molasses, resulting from the im- 
perfect processes in use ; but this can now be obviated, by the nse 
of the centrifugal machine. It is a modification of the " hydro- 
extractor," and is the invention of Mr. Finzel, of Bristol. 

The machine being filled with sugar, appropriately placed, is 
rapidly revolved, agd a powerfid centrifugal force generated ; the 
moisture is speedily removed to the circumference of the revolving 
vessel, and passes off through apertures adapted for the pur- 
pose. 

Various other improvements in the making of sugar have been 
carried into effect within the last few years, by Dr. Scofferu, 
Messrs. Oxland and M. Melsens, but the description of these 
would occupy too much of my space, and those who are desirous 
of growing sugar on an extensive scale, I must refer to Dr. Evans' 
" Sugar Planter's Manual," Mr. Wray's " Practical Sugar Planter." 
Agricola's "Letters on Sugar Farming," and other works which 
treat largely and exclusively of the subject. 

An annonncem.ent has recently been made, th.at a Mr. Eamos, 
of Porto Eico, has discovered some new dessicating agent, to be 
nsed in sngar makiug, which is to cost next to nothing, but improves 
most materially the quality of the sugar made, and also increases 
considerably the quantity obtained by the ordinary process. 

The average annual quantity of cane sugar produced and sent 
into the markets of the civilised world, at the present time, may 
be taken at 1,500,000 tons, exclusive of the amount grown and 
manufactured for local consumption in India, China, Cochin- 
China, and the Malay Archipelago, of which no certain statistics 
exist, but which has been estimated at about another million 
tons. 

So far back as 1844, the Calcutta " Star," in an article on sugar, 
estimated the domestic consumption in India, at 500,000 tons. 



SU&AR. 



141 



This is considerably below tbe mark, even if India is taken in its 
limited signification, as including only Britisli subjects. On this 
estimate the 94,000,000 of British subjects, men, women and 
children, v/ould not individually consume more than one pound 
avoirdupois by the month. A fat, hungry Brahmin, at any of the 
festivals given by the great, will digest for his own share four 
pounds, without at all embarrassing his stomach. 

Assuming the million and a half of tons that find their way 
into civilized markets, to represent an average value at the place 
of production of £15 per ton, we have here the representation 
of £22,500,300 sterling. But this value may fairly be increased 
by one-fourth. 

The whole exportable production of the sugar- growing coun- 
tries was found to be, in 1844, about 780,000 tons, of which Cuba 
furnished 200,000 tons. In 1845, notwithstanding Cuba only 
produced 80,000 tons, the increase from other sources was so con- 
siderable (namely : — the British. Colonial supply 40,000, United 
States 40,000, Porto Eico 15,000, Brazil 10,000 tons) that the 
total produce fell very little short of the previous year — having 
reached 764,000 tons. 

The present supply of sugar to the markets of Europe, is nearly 
as follows : — 

Cwts. 

England . . . . 8,000,000 



France 
German League . 
Prussia 

Austria, (ten Provinces) 
Belgium 
Other States not defined. 



2,550,000 
1,350,000 
220,000 
560,000 



The present demand, according to the estimated consumption 
per head (28 lbs.), found to exist in England, where taxation is 
favorable, and the price moderate, would be " 
tons, viz. : — 

Cwts 

England .... 8,000,000 

France 



about million 



Germany- 
Prussia 
Austria 
Belgium 
Eussia 

Eest of Europe 



8,875,000 
5,750,000 
4,100,000 
8,642,857 
1,250,000 
15,250,000 
12,500,000 



The whole annual peodtjctiok of the world is estimated by 
another party at 1,471,000,000 lbs., of which the United States 
produce 150,000,000 lbs., including 40,000,000 lbs. of maple 
sugar. Of the whole amount of sugar produced, Europe con- 
sumes about 648j700 tons, divided nearly as foUov/s : — 

lbs. 

Great Britain .... 803,360,096 
France . . . . 160,080,000 

Belgium . , . . 19,840,000 ^ 



142 



STJGAE. 



lbs. 

Netherlands .... 42,000,000 

Russia . . . . 70,000,000 

Denmark and Sweden . . . 22,000,000 

German Zollverein . . . 101,300,000 

Other parts of Germany . . . 160,000,000 

Austria .... i)0,000,000 

1,428,580,096 

The following figures show the quantities of raw sugar in 
general, in tons, imported into the British markets for the last five 
years, compared with consumption : — 

Entire British 
Years. Importations. Consumption. Surplus. 

1847 415,289 290,281 125,008 

1848 354,834 309,424 45,410 

1849 362,087 299,041 63,046 

1850 332,470 310,391 22,089 

1851 419,083 329,561 89,472 

1852 360,033 358,642 1,391 

Deduced from Parliamentary Paper, No. 461, Session 1853. 

The consumption of sugar then in the whole world may be roughly 
estimated at two and a half million tons, of which the United King- 
dom may now be put down for 350,000; the rest of Europe 
420,000, and the United States 300,000. 

The United States produce about 140,000 tons of cane and 
maple sugar, which are exclusively used for home consumption, 
the remainder of their requirements being made up by foreign 
importation. The American consumption, which in 1851 amounted 
to 133,000 tons of sugar cane reached last year a total of 321,000 
tons, almost as much as England consumed — 358,000 — and more 
than the consumption of 100,000,000 of persons on the continent. 

The whole production of tropical sugar, is about one million 
and a-half tons, while the consumption is probably two million 
tons ; but the manufacture of sugar from beet root, maple and 
other sources, supplies the deficiency. 

The total quantities of sugar, and molasses as sugar, consumed 
in the United Kingdom in the last six years, were, according to a 
Parliamentary paper, 'No. 292, of the last session, as follows : — 

Cwt. sugar. Cwt. molasses, 

1847 4,723,232 1,256,421 

1848 5,003,318 865,752 

1849 5,283,729 2,021,065 

1850 5,570,461 752,027 

1851 5,043,872 1,522,405 

1852 7,203,631 799,942 

The returns further specify that the annual average consump- 
tion of British colonial sugar, in the five years ending 1851, was 
5,124,922 cwt. ; and in the five years ending 1846, was 4,579,054 
cwt. ; the average consumption of British colonial sugar, has, 
therefore, exceeded in the five years since the duties were reduced, 
in 1846, the average consumption for the five previous years by 
545,868 cwt. per annum ; or in the aggregate in the five years, the 



SUGAR. 



148 



excess has been 3,239,338 cwfc. The quantity consumed in the 
year ending December, 1852, was 4,033,879 cwt. *. 

There can be no doubt whatever, that the consumption of sugar 
in G-reat Britain is capable of very large increase ; moderate cost, and 
the removal of restrictions to its general use, being the main ele- 
ments required to bring it about. The question of revenue must of 
course be a material consideration with Grovernment ; but recent 
experience certainly leads to the conclusion that it would not 
sulfer under a further reduction of duty. 

The revenue derived from sugar before the reduction of the 
duty, was five millions per annum; in the past two years it 
reached nearly four millions. 

The reduction in duties which took place in 1845, may be said to 
have answered the expectations formed of it, as regards the increase 
of consumption, which there is no doubt would have even gone be- 
yond the estimate, if the failure in the crop of sugar in Cuba — that 
most important island, which usually yields one-fifth of the cane 
crop of the whole world — had not driven up prices in the general 
market of the continent, and, in consequence, diverted the supply 
of free labor sugar from this country. As it was, however, the 
consumption of the United Kingdom, which in 1844 was 206,472 
tons, in 1845 was not less than 243,000 — Sir Eobert Peel's esti- 
mate was 250,000 tons — the average reduction in price to the 
consumer during the latter year having been 20 per cent. The 
large increase in subsequent years I have already shown. 

The consumption of sugar we find, then, has been steadily and 
rapidly increasing in this country, and if we add together to the 
refined and raw sugar and molasses used, it will be seen that the 
consumption of 1852 amounted to 400,178 tons ; which is at the 
rate of 29 lbs. per head of the population per annum. Whilst the 
quantity retained for home consumption in the United Kingdom, 
in 1844, was but 4,130,000 cwt., the amount had risen in 1852 to 
upwards of 8,000,000 cwt. 

Sugar unrefined, entered for home consumption. 



Colonial Eaw. Foreign Raw. Total. 

Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. 

1848 .. 5,936,355 .. 1,225,866 .. 6,162,221 

1849 . . 5,424,248 . . 498,038 . . 5,922,386 

1850 .. 5,201,206 .. 911,115 .. 6,112,321 

1851 .. 5,872,288 .. 1,383,286 .. 6,255,574 

1852 .. 6,241,581 .. 687,269 .. 6,928,850 



To the foregoing should be added the following quantities of 
refined sugar and molasses, entered for home consumption. 



Refined Sugar and Candy. Molasses, Total. 

Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. 

1848 .. 46,292 .. 637,050 .. 683,342 

1849 75,392 812,330 .. 887,722 

1850 116,744 917,588 .. 1,034,362 

1851 .. 338,734 .. 773,035 ., 1,111,769 

1852 , . 274,781 . 799,942 . . 1,074,723 



* There is frequently a discrepancy in the figures in the Parliamentary 
papers, which will account for a want of agreement in some of these returns. 



SUG-AE. 



The quantity of sugar refined by our bonded refiners, and ex- 
ported, is slioATn by the following figures. The increase in 1851, 
was one-fourth in excess of the previous year. 

Cwt. 

1848 ...... 248,702 



1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 



222,900 
209,148 
258,563 
214,299 



The following were the imports of sugar into Great Britaui, in 
1848 and 1851, respectively— and the quarters from whence sup- 
plies were derived : — 

1848— Tons. 

West Indies . . . 121,600 



Mauritius . 
East Indies 
Java and Manila 
Havana, Porto Eico, 



and Brazil 



43,600 
65,200 
11,000 
76,900 



1851— Tons. 
153,300 
50,000 
78,286 
20,850 
76,526 



318,300 378,962 

The production of sugar in the last four years, may be stated 
comparatively as follows : — 



1 

CAXE SUGAE. 


1849. 


1850. 


1851. 


1852. 


Cuba 

Porto Eico . . .... 

Brazil .... .... 

United States .... 


Tons. 
220,000 

43,600 
106 000 

98,200 


Tons. 
250,000 

48,200 
103,000 
120,400 


Tons. 
252,000 

49,500 
113,000 
103,200 


Tons. 
320,000 

50,000 
100,000 
110,000 


Tlie West Indies 










1. French. Colonies . . 

2. Danisli Do 

3. Dutcli Do 

4. Britisli Do. ... 

The East Indies .... 

Mauritius .... 

Java .... .... 

Manila ... .... 


56,300 
7,900 
13,800 
142,200 
. 70,403 
50,"82 
90,000 
20,000 


47,200 
5,000 
14,200 
129,200 
67,300 
57,800 
89,900 
20,000 


50,000 
6,000 
15,000 
148,000 
66,000 
55,500 
99,347 
20,000 


50,000 
5,000 
20,000 
140,000 
60,000 
. 65,000 
104,542 
20,000 




919,182 


952,200 


977,547 


1,044,542 



BEET EOOT SUGAE. 


18i9. 


1850. 


1851. 


1852. 


France .... .... 

Belgium ... .... 

Zollverein .... .... 

Eussia .... .... 

Austria .... .... 

Cane Sugar. ... .... 

Total.... 


Tons. 
38,000 

5,000 
33,000 
13,000 

6,500 


Tons. 
61,000 
6,000 
38,000 
14,000 
10,000 


Tons. 
75,000 
8,000 
49,000 
15,000 
15,000 


Estmd. Tons. 
60,000 
9,000 
50,000 
16,000 
18,000 


95,500 
919,182 


129,000 
952,200 


162,000 
977.547 


153,000 
1,044,542 


1,014,682 


1,081,200 


1,139,547 


1,197,542 



145 



The price of sugar has, however, fallen considerably, and like 
many other things — corn, and cotton, and tea — has been lower for 
a long period than ever was known before. 



Year ending July 5 

1842 . 

1843 . 
ISU . 

1845 , 

1846 . 

1847 . 

1848 . 

1849 . 

1850 . 

1851 . 
Half-year ending Jan 

1852 , 



Average price per London Gazette. 
British West India. 



37^ 



Od. 



34s. 7d. 
34s. 9d. 



31s. 

35s. 



3d. 
3d. 



323. lid. 



24s. 
24s. 
25s. 



3d. 
4d. 
3d. 



27s. 3d. 
27s. 3d. 



Mauritius. 

33s. lOd. 

34s. 7d. 

30s. 3d. 

34s. 2d. 

32s. Id, 

233. 3d. 

24s, Od. 

28s. 8d. 

26s. 9d. 

263. 9d. 



Thus, it is equally clear that the fall in the price has been very 
considerable since 1845, and that in 1849 and 1850 the price of 
sugar was about lOs. per cwt., or nearly one-third less than in 
1838. The planters complain of the fall of price ; and the only 
question in dispute is whether the fall has been occasioned by the 
reduction of the duties. jN'ow the reduction of duties subsequent 
to 1846 and to 1851, was, on brown Muscovado sugar, from 13s. to 
10s., or 33.; and on foreign, from 21s. 7d. to 16s. 4d., or 5s. 3d. At 
the same time there was a very large increase of consumption, and 
the price, as of almost all articles, would not have been reduced to 
the full extent of the reduction of the duties, and certainly not 
reduced in a much greater degree, had there not been other causes 
at work to reduce the price. Between 1846 and 1851 freight 
from the Mauritius fell from £4 Is. 8d. to £2 13s. 9d,, or 35 per 
cent. ; and that reduction of price was not made from the planter. 
In the interval, too, great improvements were made in the manu- 
facture of sugar ; and in proportion as the article was produced 
cheaper, it could be sold cheaper, without any loss to him. 

I shall now take a separate review of the capabilities and pro- 
gress of the leading sugar producing countries. 

Production in the United States. — Sugar cultivation, in the 
United States, is a subject of increasing interest. The demand is 
rapidly advancing. Its production in the State of Louisiana, to 
which it is there principally confined, is a source of much wealth. 
In 1840, the number of slaves employed in sugar culture was 
148,890, and the product, 119,947 hhds. of 1,000 lbs. each ; be- 
sides 600,000 gallons of molasses. Last year, the crop exceeded 
240,000 hhds., worth 12,000,000 of dollars. The capital now em- 
ployed, is 75,000,000 of dollars. The protection afforded by the 
American tariff, has greatly increased the production of sugar in 
the United States. From 1816 to 1850, this increase was from 
15,000 hhdf:. to 250,000 hhds. 

In 1843, the State of Louisiana had 700 plantations, 525 in 

L 



146 



SU&AE. 



operation, producing about 90,000 hhds. In 1844, the number of 
hogsheads was 191,324, and of pounds, 204,913,000 ; but this was 
exclusive of the molasses, rated at 9,000,000 gallons. In 1845 there 
were in Louisiana 2,077 sugar plantations, in 25 parishes ; 1,240 
sugar houses, 630 steam power, 610 working horse power ; and 
the yield of sugar was 186,650 hhds., or 207,337,000 lbs. 

The introduction of the sugar cane into Florida, Texas, Califor- 
nia, and Louisiana, probably dates back to their earliest settlement 
by the Spaniards or French. It was not cultivated in the latter, 
however, as a staple product before the year 1751, when it was 
introduced, mth several negroes, by the Jesuits, from St. Domingo. 
They commenced a small plantation on the banks of the Missis- 
sippi, just above the old city of New Orleans. The year following, 
others cultivated the plant and made some rude attempts at the 
manufacture of sugar. In 1758, M. Dubreuil established a sugar 
estate on a large scale, and erected the first sugar mill in Loui- 
siana, in what is now the lower part of New Orleans. His success 
was followed by other plantations, and in the year 1765 there 
was sugar enough manufactured for home consumption ; and in 
1770, sugar had become one of the staple products of the colony. 
Soon after the revolution a large number of enterprising adven- 
turers emigrated from the United States to Lower Louisiana, 
where, among other objects of industry, they engaged in the cul- 
tivation of cane, and by the year 1803 there were no less than 
eighty-one sugar estates on the Delta alone. Since that period, 
while the production of cane sugar has been annually increasing 
at the south, the manufacture of maple sugar has been extending 
in the nortii and west. 

Hitherto, the amount of sugar and molasses consumed in the 
United States has exceeded the quantities produced — consequently 
there has been no direct occasion for their exportation. In the 
year 1815 it was estimated that the sugar made on the banks of 
the Mississippi amounted to 10,000,000 lbs. 

According to the census of 1840, the amount of cane and 
maple sugar produced in the United States was 155,100,089 lbs., 
of which 119,947,720 lbs. were raised in Louisiana. By the cen- 
sus of 1850, the cane sugar made in the United States was 
247,581,000 lbs., besides 12,700,606 gallons of molasses ; maple 
sugar, 34,249,886 lbs., showing an increase, in ten j^ears, of 
126,730,077 lbs. 

The culture and manufacture of sugar from the cane, with the 
exception of a small quantity produced in Texas, centres in the 
State of Louisiana — where the cane is now cultivated and worked 
into sugar in twenty-four parishes. The extent of sugar lands 
available in those parishes is sufficient to supply the whole con- 
sumption of the United States. Sugar cultivation was carried on 
in Louisiana to a small extent before its cession to the United 
States. In 1818 the crop had reached 25,000 hogsheads. In 
1834-35 it was 110,000 hogsheads, and in 1844-45 204,913 hogs- 



SUGAB. 



147 



heads. Each hogshead averaging 1,000 lbs. net, and yielding 
from 45 to 50 gallons of molasses. 

The number of sugar estates in operation in 1830, was 600, 
The manual power employed on these plantations, was 36,091 
slaves, 282 steam-engines, and 406 horse power. The capital 
invested being estimated at 50 million dollars. In 1844 the 
estates had increased to 762, employing 50,670 slaves, 468 steam- 
engines, 354 horse power. 

The sugar-cane is now cultivated on both branches of the 
Mississippi from 57 miles below New Orleans to nearly 190 miles 
above. The whole number of sugar houses in the State is 1,536, 
of which 865 employ steam, and the rest horse power. 

The crop of 1849-50 was 247,923 hhds. of 1,000 lbs., which, at- 
an average of 3J cents., amounted to nearly 9|- million dollars. 
The quantity of molasses produced was more than 12 million 
gallons, worth, at 20 cents the gallon, about 2,400,000 dollars, 
giving a total value of close upon 12 million dollars, or an average 
to each of the 1,455 working sugar houses of 8,148 dollars. 

The overflow of the Mississippi and Eed Elvers in 1850, 
shortened the crop near 20,000 hhds., and was felt in subsequent 
years. Since 1846, not less than 355 sugar mills and engines have 
been erected in this State. The sugar crop of 1851-52 was 236,547 
hhds., produced by 1,474 sugar houses, 914 of which were worked 
by steam, and the rest by horse-power. Texas raises about 8,000 
to 10,000 hhds. of sugar, and Florida and Greorgia smaller quan- 
tities. 

In the year ending December, 1851, there were taken for con- 
sumption in the United States about 132,832 tons of cane sugar, 
of which 120,599 were foreign imported. The quantity consumed 
in 1850 was 104,071 tons, of which 65,089 was foreign. 

Production in Cuba. — The average yearly production of sugar in 
Cuba has been, in the five years from 1846 to 1850, 18,690,560 
arrobas, equal to 467,261,500 lbs., or 292,031 hhds. of 1,600 lbs. 
weight. The crop of 1851 was estimated at twenty-one and a-half 
million arrobas, equal to about 335,937 West India hhds. Thus, 
the increase from 1836 to 1841, has been as 29 per cent. ; from 
1841 to 1846, as 25 per cent. ; and from 1846 to 1851, as 45 per 
cent. A portion of sugar is also smuggled out, to evade the export 
duty, and by some this is set down as high as a fourth of the 
foregoing amounts. 

In the three years ending 1841, the exports of the whole island 
were 2,227,624 boxes; in the three years ending 1844, 2,716,319 
boxes ; in the three years ending with 1847, 2,805,530 boxes. 

Between 1839 and 1847, the exports had risen from 500,000 to 
1,000,000 boxes. The following table exhibits the quantity shipped 
from the leading port of Havana, to different countries : — 

Countries. Sugar boxes of about 400 lbs. each, 

1850. 1851. 
Spain . . . 81,267 . . 101,762 

United States . . 146,672 . . 199,204 

L 2 



148 



1850. 1851. 

England . . 25,697 . . 46,615 

Cowes and a market . 221,385 . . 270,010 

The Baltic . . 45,085 . . 81,866 

Hamburgh and Bremen . 29,271 . . 33,165 

Holland . . . 23,242 . . 26,828 

Belgium . . 62,849 . . 29,814 

France . . . 44,947 . . 46,517 

Trieste and Venice . 38,627 . . 14,832 

Italy . . . 2,856 . . 5,243 

Other places . . 13,888 . . 16,601 



Boxes . . 743,249 . 872,457 



Our West India possessions have, owing to the want of a good 
supply of labor and available capital to introduce various scien- 
tific improvements, somewhat retrograded in the production of 
sugar ; which, from the low price ruling the past year or two, has 
not been found a remunerative staple. 

The two large islands of Jamaica and Cuba, may be fairly com- 
pared as to their production of sugar. From 1804 to 1808, Jamaica 
exported, on the average, annually 135,331 hhds., and from 1844 
to 1848, it had decreased to 41,872 hhds. The exports from the 
single port of Havana, which in the first named period were 165,690 
boxes, rose during the latter period to 635,185 boxes ; so that the 
shipments of sugar from Jamaica, which were in 1804 to 1808 
double those of Havana — in the period from 1844 to 1848, were 
five times less ! 

Cuba will be able to withstand the crisis of the low price of 
sugars, better than the emancipated British Colonies, for the 
following reasons : — 

1. It will find, in its present prosperity, a power of resistance 
that no longer exists in the British sugar-growing colonies. 

2. Because it enjoys in the Spanish markets a protection for 
at least 16,955 tons of its sugar, or about eight-tenths of its total 
exportation. 

3. Because it has secured a very strong position in the markets 
of the United States ; and both from its proximity to, and its 
commercial relations with that country, as also from the better 
quality of its sugar, will command the sale of at least 33,500 
tons, or about 16 per cent, of its total production. 

4. Because in 1854, after the duties shall have been equalized, 
it will be enabled to undersell the British article in its own 
market. 

5. Because, not being an exclusively sugar-growing colony, as 
are almost aU. British "West India Islands, it may sufter from the 
present depressed condition of the sugar market, but cannot be 
entirely ruined, owing to its having commanding resources, and 
many other valuable staples, — coffee, copper, cotton, &c. 

6. Because, by improving its agriculture and introducing use- 
ful machinery, railroads, &c., for which it has large available 
capital, it can produce sugar at a diminished cost. 

7. And lastly, because the proprietors have continuous labour at 



149 



command, until slavery be abolished — of which there seems no 
present prospect. The slave population numbers about 350,000, 
and the free coloured population, about 90,000. 

The consumption of sugar, during 1847, very singularly tallied 
with the production of the British Colonies that year— being 
exactly 289,000 tons ; but as 50,000 tons of foreign sugar were 
consumed, an accumulation of British plantation sugar necessarily 
remained on hand. 

The production of the French colonies was 100,000 tons, of 
which France received nine-tenths. 

In 1836, Jamaica made 1,186,554 cwt. of sugar. In 1840, its 
produce had fallen off to 545,600 cwt. ; but in the same years, 
Porto Eico had increased its sugar crop, from 498,000 cwt., to 
1,000,000 cwt. In 1837, Cuba made 9,060,058 arrobas of sugar, 
equal to 132,765 hhds. ; in 1841, it had increased to 139,000 hhds. 
The largest crop grown in the AVest Indies, since 1838, was that 
of 1847, which amounted to 159,600 tons. 

The annexed returns of the sugar crops of Barbados and 
Jamaica, for a series of years may, be interesting : — 

SUGAR CROPS OF THE ISLAND OF BARBADOS, FROM 1827 TO 1846 AND I80I. 



1827 

1828 
1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 
1833 



. . 18,109 hhds. 

. . 28,533 „ 

23,486 „ 

.. 26,360 „ 

.. 28,174 „ 

.. 19,761 „ 

28,099 „ 



1834 
1835 
1836 
1837 
1838 
1839 
1840 



.. 28,710 hhds. 
.. 25,371 „ 
.. 26,358 „ 
.. 31,670 „ 
.. 33,058 „ 
... 28,213 „ 
.. 13,589 „ 



1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1815 
1846 
1851 



I7,801hhds. 

21,607 „ 

24,587 „ 

23,147 „ 

24,767 „ 

21,936 „ 

48,000 „ 



SUGAR CROPS OF THE ISLAND OF JAMAICA, FROM 1790 TO 1851. 



1790 


... 91,131 hhds. 


' 1809 , 


lid RSO liliflsi 


1828,,. 


101,575 hhds. 


1791 


. . 91 020 


1810., 


...112,208 




1829,., 


... 97,893 „ 


1792... 




j> 

53 


1811,. 


,..138,292 


33 
33 


1830, , 


,.100,205 „ 


1793 


82,136 




1812.. 


...113,173 




1831... 


.. 94,381 „ 


1794 


97,124 


3} 
33 


1813.. 




33 
33 


1832. 


.. 98,686 „ 


1795 


95,372 


33 


1814 


104,558 


33 


1833... 


.. 85,161 „ 


1796 


96,460 


33 


1815 


127,209 




1834 


84,756 „ 


1797 


85,109 


33 


1816 


100,382 


>' 


1835 


77,970 „ 


1798 


35,858 


33 


1817 


123,766 


33 


1836 


67,094 „ 


1799 


110,646 


35 


1818 


,121,758 


33 


1837 


61,505 „ 


1800 


105,584 


33 


1819 


...116,382 


35 


1838 


69,613 „ 


1801 


139,036 


53 


1820 


122,922 


33 


1839 


49,243 „ 


1802 


140,113 




1821 






1840... 


.. 33,066 „ 


1803 


...115,496 




1822 




38 


1841 


. 34,491 „ 


1804 


, ,112,163 


3' 


1823 


...101,271 




1842r 


.. 50,295 „ 


1805 


...150,352 


13 


1824... 


...106,009 


31 


1843,,. 


, 44,169 „ 


1806 . 






1825 , 


... 72,090 


33 


1844,,. 


, 34,444 „ 


1807 






1826 ,. 


...106,712 


" 


1845,,, 


.. 47,926 „ 


1808 ,. 


..132,333 


;; 


1827 .. 


... 87,399 


33 


1851,.. 


41,678 „ 



The average of the five years ending 1851, being the first five of 
Free trade, shows an annual export from Jamaica of 41,678 hhds. 

The quantity of unrefined sugar iDiported from the British West . 
Indies and Gruiana in a series of vears since the emancipation, is 
shown by the following abstract :— 



150 



SUGAR. 





Cwts. 


Cwts. 




Cwts. 


Cwts. 




Sugar. 


Molasses. 




Sugar. 


Molasses, 


1831 . 


. 4,103,800 . 


. 323,306 


1841 . 


. 2,148,218 . 


. 430,221 


1832 . 


, 3,773,456 . 


. 553,663 


1842 . 


, 2,508,725 . 


. 471,759 


1833 . 


. 3,646,205 . 


. 686,794 


1843 . 


. 2,509,701 . 


. 605,632 


1834 . 


. 3,843,976 . 


, 650,366 


1844 . 


. 2,451,063 . 


. 579,458 


1835 . 


. 3,524,209 , 


. 507,495 


1845 . 


. 2,853,995 . 
. 2,147,347 . 


. 491,083 


1836 . 


. 3,601,791 . 


. 526,535 


1846 . 


. 477,623 


1837 . 


. 3,306,775 . 


. 575,657 


1847 . 


. 3,199,814 . 


. 531,171 


1838 . 


. 3,520,676 . 


. 638,007 


1848 , 


. 2,794,987 . 


. 385,484 


1839 . 


. 2,824,372 . 


. 474,307 


1849 . 


. 2,839,888 . 


. 605,487 


1840 . 


, 2,214,764 . 


= 424,141 


1850 . 


, 2,586,429 . 


. 470,187 



Mauritius. — In the year 1813 the exports of sugar from this 
island were but 549,465 lbs., and increasing gradually to 128,476,547 
lbs. in 1849, or two-hundred fold in thirty-six years. 

The equalisation of the duties in 1825, and the admission 
of Mauritius sugars into England on the same footing as those 
from the West Indies, had the effect of stimulating the sugar 
trade of Mauritius, and advancing it to its present remarkable 
success. Notwithstanding its immense crops, scarcely more than 
three-fifths of the island is yet under cultivation ; but it has the 
advantage of a cheap and abundant supply of labor, and much 
improved machinery has been introduced. The planters first com- 
menced introducing Coolies in 1835, and were for some time 
restricted to the single port of Calcutta for their supply. 

The recent advices from Mauritius furnish some interesting in- 
formation regarding the progress making in the sugar production 
of that colony. In reference to the cultivation of the cane, it 
is stated that by the introduction of guano upon several estates 
in the interior, the production has been very largely increased ; 
but as the value and economy of manure has not been hitherto 
sufficiently estimated, its introduction has not been so general 
as could be desired. The importance of free labor to the cul- 
tivation of the estates, has now become fully appreciated by the 
planters ; it being found that an equal amount of work can be 
obtained by this means from a less number of hands, and that at 
lower rates of wages than were current in previous years, the 
average of which is shown in the following table : — 





Number of 


Aggregate 


Average 


Years. 


Coolies 


amount of wages 


wages per head 




employed. 


paid per week. 


per week. 






£ 


s. d. 


1846 


47,733 


33,484 


14 0 


1847 


48,314 


35,338 


14 9 


1848 


41,777 


26,627 


12 9 


1849 


45,384 


27,625 


12 2 


1850 


47.912 


31,664 


12 3 


1851 


42,275 


27,832 


12 2 



In 1826, to make from 25 to 30,000,000 lbs. of sugar, it required 
30,000 laborers (slaves) ; at the present time, with less than 
45,000 (from which number fully 5,000 must be deducted as 



SUGAB. 



151 



absent from work from various causes), 135,000,000 lbs. are pro- 
duced, or about five times the quantity under slavery. The coolies 
are found to be an intelligent race, who have become inured to 
the work required, and by whose labor this small island can pro- 
duce the fifth part of the consumption of the United Kingdom, 
and that with only about 7U,000 acres under cane cultivation. 
About 10,000 male immigrants, introduced since 1843, are not 
now working under engagement, but are following other occupa- 
tions, and thus become permanent consumers. Some cultivate land 
on a small scale, on their own account, but very few plant canes, 
as it requires from eighteen to twenty months before they obtain 
any return for their labor ; but the most important fact established 
by this and other official statements is, that only a small number 
of immigrants leave the colony at the expiration of their indus- 
trial residence. In the manufacture of sugar from the cane, con- 
siderable improvement has been eff'ected by the introduction of 
new methods of boiling and grinding. The vacuum pan and the 
system of Wetsell are all tending to economise the cost of pro- 
duction, and to save that loss which for years amounted, in grind- 
ing alone, to nearly one-third of the juice of the cane. The 
planters begin to find that they can increase the value of their 
sugar 30 to 40 per cent, by these improvements, and that their 
future prosperity depends upon carrying them out. Unfortu- 
nately, however, here, as in many other of our colonies, a very 
large number of planters do not yet appreciate the advantages to 
be obtained by the adoption of improved machinery and manu- 
facture, or by improved cultivation, and still struggle on under the 
old system of waste and negligence, which can only result in the 
ruin and destruction of their property. 

In 1827, the number of sugar estates in operation in Mauritius, 
were 49 worked by water power, 50 by cattle or horses, and 22 by 
steam — total 111 ; in 1836, this number had increased to 186, viz. 
— 64 moved by water power, 10 by horse, and 112 by steam. 
In 1839, the number was 211, of which 138 were worked by steam 
power — 70,292 acres were then under cultivation with sugar. 
There are now about 490 sugar estates, whereof ordy 231 have 
mills — 42 are worked by water power, the rest by steam. 

The annual Maiu-itius crops, as exported, for the last ten years, 
have been as foUows. The shipments frequently extend beyond 
a year, hence a discrepancy sometimes between the year's crop and 
the year's export : — 

Tons, 

1842— 43 .. .. .. .. 24,400 

1843— 44 .. .. .. .. .. 28,600 

1844— 45 . . . . . . . . . . 37,600 

1845— 46 .. .. .. .. .. 49,100 

1846— 47 .. .. .. .. .. 64,100 

1847— 48 .. .. .. .. .. 59,021 

1848— 49 .. .. .. .. 50,782 

1849— 50 .. .. .. .. 51,811 

1850— 51 .. .. .. .. .. 65,000 

1851— 52 ., .. .. .. .. 65,080 



152 



Besides its exports to Glreat Britain, Mauritius ships large 
quantities of sugar to the Cape of Grood Hope and Australia. 
Its local consumption is moreover set down at about 2,500 tons. 
The progressive increase in its exports is marked by the follow- 





Cwt. 




Cwt. 


1826 . „ 


93,723 


3839 


604,671 


1827 . . 


. . 186,782 


1840 . , 


. , 690,294 


1828 . . 


, . 204,344 


1841 


. . 545,356 


1829 . . 


361,325 


1842 


. . 716,009 


1830 . . 


. . 297,958 


1843 


. , 696,652 


1831 .. 


. . 485,710 


1844 


. . 545,415 


1832 . . 


. . 517,553 


1845 ■ ' 


716,173 


1833 . . 


. . 521,904 


1846 ' ' 


.. 845,197 


1834 . . 


. . 516,077 


1847 ' ' 


1,193,571 


1835 . , 


. . 553,891 


1848 ' * 


. . 886,184 


1836 . . 


. , 558,237 


1849 ■ ' 


893,524 


1837 . . 


. . 497,302 


1850 ' ■ 


1,003,296 


1838 


. . 537,455 


1851 • ' 


. . 999,337 



^a&t Indies. — Sugar is a very old and extensive cultivation in 
India. It would probably be within the mark, to estimate the 
annual produce of the country at a million of tons. An official 
return shows that the quantity of sugar carried on one road of 
the interior, for provincial consumption, is about equal to the 
whole quantity shipped from Calcutta — some 50,000 or 60,000 
tons. 

India is fast becoming a great sugar producing country, al- 
though its produce and processes of manufacture are rude and 
imperfect. The Coolies who return from time to time to the 
Indian ports, bring with them much acquired knowledge and ex- 
perience from the Mauritius. 

In 1825, the import of sugar from the East Indies was but 
146,000 cwt., and it fluctuated greatly in succeeding years, being 
occasionally as low as 7 6,600 cwt. In 1837 the quantity imported 
was just double what it was in 1827. In 1841, it had reached as 
high as 1,239,738 cwt., and subsequently kept steady for a few 
years at 1,100,000 cwt, — and for the last four years has averaged 
1,400,000 cwt. 

Java. — Attention has been withdrawn, in a great measure, from 
sugar cultivation in Java, owing to colFee being found a more 
remunerative staple. The following figures serve to show the ex- 
tent of its exports of sugar ; — 

Cwt, 

873,056 
999,895 
1,231,135 
1,252,041 
1,105,856 
1,162,211 
1,260,790 
1,812,500 
1,798,612 
1,797,874 
1,987,957 
2,090,845 



1826 . . 


Cwt. 
23,565 


1838 


1827 . . 


38,357 


1839 


1828 . . 


31,301 


1840 


1829 . . 


91,227 


1841 


1830 . . 


. . 129,300 


1842 


1831 . . 


. . 144,077 


1843 


1832 . . 


. . 292,705 


1844 


1833 . . 


.. 151,128 


1845 


1834 . . 


. . 443,911 


1848 


1835 . . 


.. 523,162 


1850 


1836 . . 


. . 607,336 


1851 


1837 . . 


. . 820,063 


1852 



SUGAE. 153 

In 1840, we imported from Java 75,583 cwt. ; in 1841, 
87,342 cwfc. ; in 1842, 24,922 cwt. ; in 1843, 35,161 cwt. ; and in 
1844, about 72,000 cwt. ; but most of this was only sent to Cowes, 
for orders, to be transhipped to the Continent. 

JBhilippines. — The exports from Manila into this country in 
1841, were 133,482 cwt. ; in 1842, 63,464 cwt. ; and in 1843, 
48,977 cwt. In the fifteen years between 1835 and 1850, the ex- 
port of sugar from the Philippine Islands more than doubled : — 





Tons. 




Tons. 


1835 . . 


.. 11,542 


1841 . . 


.. 15,321 


1836 . . 


. . 14,875 


1842 . . 


.. 18,540 


1837 . . 


. . 12,293 


1843 . . 


. . 22,239 


1838 . . 


.. 12,375 


1844 . . 


.. 21,528 


1839 . . 


. . 15,631 


1845 .. 


. . 24,500 


]840 .. 


. . 16,563 


1850 . . 


. . 28,745 



About a third of this is raw sugar, the rest is clayed or refined. 
It is singular, that though these islands belong to Spain, the 
export of this staple product to that country should be limited to 
about 600 tons ; America taking about one-sixth, and England 
and her colonies the remainder. There is now an increased demand 
for the Australian colonies, consequent upon the large influx of 
population to that quarter. 

Export of sugar from Manila in 1850. 

Piculs, 
.. 146,926 
50,830 
. 142,359 
,. 12,749 
.. 29,144 
77,919 

459,927 

The sugar cane occurs in a wild state on many of the islands of 
the Pacific, but in no part - of the American continent, notwith- 
standing a contrary opinion has been expressed. 

The following are the chief varieties cultivated in the West 
Indies, Louisiana, the East Indies, and Mauritius : — 

1. Common or Creole cane, so called from being introduced from the New 
World. 

2. Yellow Bourbon, 

3. Yellow Otabeite. 

4. Otabeite witb purple bands. 

5. Purple Otabeite. 

6. Ribbon cane. 

^ My friend, Mr. L. Wray, in his " Practical Sugar Planter," con- 
siders the Bourbon, and yellow, or straw-coloured Otabeite cane, as 
identical, but merely altered by change of soil and climate. 
The yield from these cane-plants seems to be about tlie same in 
either Indies, viz., in good land about two-and-a-half tons of dry 
sugar per acre — sometimes three tons. 

A very large species of red cane, grown at Gowhatty, in Assam, 



To Great Britain 
„ Continent of Europe 
„ Australian Colonies 
„ Singapore, Batavia, and Bombay 

California and the Pacific 
„ The United States 



154 



STJGA-E. 



k made favorable mention of for its strength of growth, early 
maturity, and juiciness ; and Mr. Wray strongly recommends the 
introduction into the "West Indies of another fine variety, generally 
grown in the Straits' settlements, where it is known by the name 
of the Salangore cane. He considers they would ratoon better 
than any other cane, and the return from it is on the average 
3,600 lbs. of dry sugar to the acre. 

" For my own part, I have always reckoned as an average, 3,6C0 lbs. of dry 
sugar to tlie acre as the return this cane will give, on anythuig like good land, 
in the Sti-aits, according to the iDresent imperfect mode of expressing and manu- 
factui-e ; but, considering the surpassing richness of land in the West India 
Islands, Demerara, and Mauritius, I should not he in any way surprised to find 
that it would there give even thi-ee tons an acre. 

The Salangore cane grows firm and strong ; stands upright much better than 
the Otaheite ; gives juice most abundantly, which is sweet and easy of clarifica- 
tion, boils well, and produces a very fine, fair sugar, of a bold and sparkling 
grain." 

Much discussion has arisen on the subject of raising the sugar 
cane from seed, and the possibility has been universally denied 
among the planters and agricultural societies of the "West India 
colonies. Mr. Pritchard, a sugar planter of Louisiana, in the 
" United States Patent Eeport for 1850," however, states : — 

It is an error to suppose that the cane cannot be propagated from the seed. 
This may be the case when the seed is obtained from plants that have been pro- 
duced for a number of years from buds, or eyes. All plants that have been 
produced in this way for a series of years, lose the faculty of fonning prolific 
seeds ; and the sugar cane is governed by the same laws which govern the whole 
vegetable kingdom. It cannot, therefore, be expected to produce seeds after it 
has been cultivated for a great length of time." 

The sugar cane is composed of water, woody fibre, and soluble 
matter, or sugar. In round numbers it may be stated that the 
proportions are 72 per cent, of water, 10 per cent of woody fibre, 
and 18 per cent, of sugar. 

The fluid contents of a cane, according to Dr. Evaiis, contain 
90 per cent, of the entire structure of the stem. 

1,000 grains of sugar cane, being bui'nt, gave 7J grains of ash, 
which, on analysis, furnished the following components : — 



SiHca ....... 1.78 

Phosphate of lime . . . . . 3.41 

Eed oxide of iron and clay . . . . .17 

Carbonate of potash . . . . .1.46 

Sulphate of potash . . . . . .15 

Carbonate of magnesia . . . . .43 

Sulphate of lime . . . . . 6 



7.46 

The following is the quantative analysis of a portion of soil 
taken from the surface of a cane field, on the Diamond estate, in 



St. Yincent, West Indies : — 

Alumina soluble in acids .... 12.87 

Organic matter ..... 11.26 

Gypsum ...... .23 



155 



Carbonate of lime . . . . .12.52 

of magnesia . . . . .71 

Oxide of iron ...... 8.51 

Oxide of manganese . . . . . .33 

Insoluble silicious and aluminous matter . . 53.57 

100.00 

The sugar of the cane and grape sugar are distinguished by the 
following difference in their elements, as proved by analysis : — 

Cane sugar. Grape sugar. 

Carbon 12 12 

Hydrogen 10 12 

Oxygen 10 12 

Water 1 2 

There is a remarkable difference, howerer, between their 
fermentable properties. "When a solution is made of the 
same quantities of these two sugars, in equal proportions of 
distilled water, it will be necessary to add eight times as much of 
the same ferment to induce alcoholic fermentation in the solution 
of cane sugar, as in that of grape sugar. Under the action of a 
larger quantity of lerment, cane sugar is transformed into grape 
sugar. 

If you cut a sugar cane in two, and examine the interior part of 
it with a magnifying glass, you perceive the crystals of sugar as 
distinct and as white as those of double-refined sugar. The object 
ot the operator should be then either to extract those crystals 
without altering their color, or, if that be found impracticable , to 
separate them from the impurities mixed with them, while the 
juice is in its natural state, and yet contains but little coloring 
matter. Instead of this, the juice is limed while all the impurities 
are in it. In separating the feculencies from the juice and uniting 
them in large flakes, lime dissolves a portion of them and forms 
with them coloring matter, which we all know at once discolors 
the juice, when lime is used in excess. Afterwards heat is applied, 
either in clarifiers or in the grand copper, but most of the impuri- 
ties found in the juice will decompose, and burn at a degree of heat 
far below the boiling point, say at 120 deg. of Pahrenheit. This 
is shown by the thick scales continually forming in the grande. 
From that degree of heat the decomposition goes on in the clarifier 
till the juice is drawn, and continues in the grande so long as there 
are feculencies left. This decomposition greatly increases the 
quantity of coloring matter, so that, as the juice is being clarified, 
it loses in color what it gains in purity. And here let me show the 
relative value of the "grande" and of clarifiers as agents of clarifica- 
tion. In the grande, if it is well attended to, the scummings are 
taken up as soon as they rise. A portion of them is removed be- 
fore they begin to decompose, and the process goes on, so that 
before the juice reaches the boiling point nearly all the feculencies 
are removed, and the source of coloring matter is removed with 
them. Clarifiers reach the boiling point much quicker, and cannot 
easily be scummed. The general practice is to bring them to that 
point without scumming, to let the fecidencies separate from the 



156 



juice by cooling and by rest, and to wash out the clarifiers every 
second or third time they are filled. Heat and alkalies acting in 
them upon the accumulated feculencies of one, two, or three 
charges, dissolve a much larger portion of those feculencies than 
they can possibly do in the grande. The formation of coloring 
matter continues during the time of rest, and accordingly planters, 
after repeated trials, generally agree that juice well clarified in the 
grande, has a lighter and brighter color, and makes better sugar 
than that obtained from clarifiers. 

The first object of research should be to find means of clarifying 
the juice wdthout creating coloring matter. It is said that presses 
something like those used to press cotton, have lately been suc- 
cessfully employed in the West Indies, instead of rollers ; that 
the juice obtained is much purer, and that a much larger quantity 
of it is extracted from the cane. If so, this will be a great im- 
provement, aud the first step of the process I should recommend. 
-Prom juice thus obtained, I have no doubt that all impurities less 
soluble than itself may be separated by mechanical means before 
heat and alkalies are applied, or at least witli a very small quantity 
of alkalies. All other liquids, all fatty substances and oils, except 
cotton seed oil, are clarified by a very rapid process. Cane juice 
can no doubt be clarified by similar means, and if this were accom- 
plished the process of sugar making would be very much sim- 
plified. 

The clarified juice might then be placed in an evaporator, heated 
by the waste steam of the engine ; then be limed and scummed if 
necessary, and concentrated to fifteen or sixteen of the prese sirop ; 
then purified by filtration through animal charcoal, if white sugar 
was wanted, or by rest for other qualities ; and finally concentrated 
in vacuum pans of great power, such pans as Mr. Thomas A. 
Morgan, of Louisiana, now uses, and which, I am informed, are 
only made in America. 

The superiority of the vacuum pan is not universally admitted, 
and we are told that in France it is superseded by open pans, 
similar to those called in America " Mape' s Evaporators.' ' ELowever 
this may be, I cannot help believing that the vacuum, pan lias 
many decided advantages over all others. One is manifest ; the 
sugar may be grained in the pan, and the granulation is completely 
under the control of the operator. He may accelerate or retard 
it at pleasure ; he may carry it so far tliat sugar will not run from 
the pan, and will have to be taken out of it ; he may so conduct 
the operation as to increase, almost at will, the size and hardness 
of the crystals. This last is an indispensable requisite if the prac- 
tice of draining sugar in pneumatic pans should be adopted. 

The atmospheric pressure is made too powerful for sugars boiled 
in any other manner ; it breaks and destroys the crystals, and in a 
very few days sets the sugar to fermenting. 

The pneumatic draining of sugar has many things to recommend 
it — the usual loss by drainage is avoided, sugar is got ready for 
market day b}' day, as it is made, and it may be bleached by pour- 



STJGAR. 



157 



iug white sjrup over it and forcing it through the mass. It is 
said that the process is attended with, considerable loss in weight, 
but as all that drains from the pan may be boiled over once or 
twice, it is not easy to conceive how the loss can occur. 

Cane juice contains many ingredients besides sugar, the prin- 
cipal of which are albumen, gluten, gum, starch, resin, wax, color- 
ing matter, and certain salts, all of which, either collectively or 
individually, have the power of preventing granulation, as may be 
proved by their addition to a syrup of pure sugar, which will then 
defy all attempts to make it crystallise. If, therefore, we want to 
make good sugar, we must endeavour to free our cane juice as much 
as possible from those substances. 

Now, cane juice is no more the sap of the cane, than apple juice 
is that of the apple tree ; it is the natural product of the cane, and, 
in all probability, would contain but a small proportion of these 
foreign matters if it could be expressed without being accompanied 
by the sap, they being the natural constituents of the last-named 
fluid. A patent has, I believe, been lately taken out for separating 
the cane juice without the sap. However, in the absence of such 
an improvement, much may be done by care and attention at the 
mill ; the green bands and trash which usually accompany the canes 
from the field, should, therefore, be carefully removed before they 
are passed through, as they contain no saccharine matter, abound 
in the deleterious substances already mentioned, and communicate 
a bad color to the juice ; therefore, the ripe cane only should pass 
through the mill. There are but few planters who have not had to 
contend with sour juice, and they attribute the difficulty they ex- 
perience in making sugar therefrom, to the presence of acetic acid, 
or vinegar ; but this is quite an erroneous idea, as the acetic acid 
is very volatile, and evaporates quickly on the application of 
heat, which may be proved by throwing a gallon of strong vinegar 
into a pan of liquor ; it will do no harm, provided it be boiled 
before tempering ; on the contrary, the effect, if it be properly 
done, Tvill be beneficial, as it will promote the coagulation of the 
albumen ; it is the gum which is always formed during the acetous 
fermentation of sugar that prevents granulation; hence, then, 
acidity is strictly to be guarded against, as fermentation once com- 
menced, it will be impossible to make good sugar, it will continue 
throughout the process, and even in the hogshead ; so that canes 
should be ground as soon as possible after they are cut, and all 
rat-eaten and broken ones carefully excluded. Canes may, how- 
ever, be kept some days without fermenting, provided they be not 
broken or damaged, it being, as we said before, the mixture of the 
sap and the cane juice that makes the liquid so prone to fermenta- 
tion ; and the mill, gutters, and everything with which the juice 
is likely to come in contact, should Ido kept carefully clean, and 
whitewashed immediately after, and the whitewash removed before 
use, as acetate of lime being an exceedingly soluble and deliquescent 
salt, will not improve the quality of the sugar ; whilst the gutter 



158 



should be short, and sheltered from the suu's rays, they having the 
effect of greatly expediting chemical action. 

I shall say no more on this subject, but will proceed to consider 
the mode of tempering and clarifying cane juice, and the action of 
lime on the various substances contained therein. The expression 
"tempering" has, I presume, been adopted in consequence of the 
use of tempered lime for the purpose of precipitating the feculen- 
cies, held in solution in the cane juice, into a state of suspension ; 
and clarification is the process by which we afterwards clear the 
liquor of these and other foreign matter. Now, as I before ob- 
served, " fermentation should be most strictly guarded against 
our first eff'orts should be directed to free the cane juice from those 
substances most conducive to that process ; and on inquiry we find 
these to be albumen and gluten ; so far, however, from getting rid 
of them in cold tempering, we adopt a course which retains them 
permanently in solution, as lime has the power of rendering them 
permanently soluble, and of forming soapy compounds with resin, 
wax, and chlorophyle, or the green coloring matter of leaves, form- 
ing an insoluble compound with and precipitating only the starch, 
and converting at the same time the green color of the chlorophyle 
(which is, in all probabiHty, attached to the resin), into a dark 
brown, of a greater or less intensity, according to the composition 
of the cane juice, and, consequently, the quantity of lime required ; 
it follows, therefore, as a matter of course, that if juice be tempered 
before these substances have been removed, they must be perma- 
nently retained, and they have all the power of preventing granu- 
lation. 

Albumen and gluten are both coagulable by heat ; if, therefore, 
we raise the liquor to the boiling point prior to applying the lime, 
taking care to remove the scum as soon as it shows signs of break- 
ing, and continuing the boiling imtil the scum thrown to the 
surface becomes inconsiderable, we shall find that the albumen and 
gluten, in coagulating and rising, have carried with them the small 
particles of woody fibre, the wax, and a large proportion of the 
coloring matter, and that the lime will now throw down the starch, 
and any other little impurities remaining in suspension in the 
liquor, leaving it perfectly clear and bright. Tempering is an 
exceedingly delicate chemical operation, and I have no hesitation in 
saying, that on its proper performance depends the quality of the 
produce. The following simple experiments, which all have it in 
their power to try, will, if they give themselves the trouble, fully 
satisfy them of two important points — the superiority of the hot 
over the cold mode, and the necessity for great attention to the 
operation of tempering. Let them take a tumbler of cane-juice and 
a bottle containing lime water, add the latter to the former by 
drops, pausing and stirring between each, and they will find that, 
after the addition of a certain quantity, the opaque gummy 
appearance of the liquor undergoes a change, and the impurities 
contained in it separate into flakes, which increase in size with 



STJGAR, 



159 



each drop of lime added, until they become extinct, and the super- 
natant liquor perfectly transparent ; this is the precise point at 
which the liquor is tempered, and each drop of lime added after 
this, causes the flakes to diminish rapidly in size, at last entirely 
to disappear (being re-dissolved), and the liquor to resume its former 
gummy appearance ; it is, therefore, evident that there should be 
no such expressions as tempering high or low. 

The reason why some liquor is so difficult to clean is, that it is 
either tempered high or low ; if it be exactly tempered, the im- 
purities contained in it being entirely separated and thrown out 
of solution, rise to the surface immediately on the application of 
heat, and are easily removed ; but if there be too little Kme, a great 
portion remains in solution, and if too much, a proportional 
quantity is re-dissolved ; and in either case cannot be removed by 
any mechanical means. It is, therefore, necessary to have some 
precise test for the application of lime. 

As regards the superiority of the hot over the cold tempering, let 
any one take, in separate vessels, two gallons of cane-juice, and 
temper one, adding the lime in small quantities — say, of three 
grams at a time — and keeping an account of the quantity used ; 
he will find that the first portions produce no efi"ect whatever, and 
that it is only after the addition of a considerable quantity that the 
desired precipitation of the impurities manifest itself Why is 
this ? Because albumen, gluten, resin, and chlorophyle, being 
soluble in lime, lime is equally so in them, and they must first be 
saturated before it will produce any other effect. Let the liquor 
thus tempered, be then placed on one side. Put the other gallon 
over a fire, and boil it, removing the scum just before, and during 
ebullition ; let it then be taken off" the fire, and tempered in the 
same way as the other. The very first quantity of lime added 
causes the appearance of the floccy precipitate ; and if the addition 
of the lime be continued until it be precisely tempered, it will be 
found that the hot possesses the following advantages over the 
cold-tempered liquor : — In a quarter of an hour its impurities will 
have subsided to a sixteenth of its bulk, leaving the supernatant 
liquor as bright and clear as pale brandy ; while those in the other 
have only sunk to one-quarter of its bulk. The color of the 
former clear liquor will not be less than one-half the intensity of 
that of the latter. The lime used in the hot has been less by one- 
third than the quantity used in the cold tempering. 

Of course, on level estates there is little difficulty in tempering 
liquor, but on hilly properties scarcely two pans will require the 
same quantity. 

It is generally believed that the object of adding lime to cane- 
juice is for the purpose of neutralising an acid, and it is to the 
reception of this fallacious idea that it is indebted for its 
long and continued use, and the present backward state of sugar 
manufacture is attributable : I unhesitatingly assert that, if there 
be an acid present in the cane-juice, the addition of lime to it will 
be injurious instead of beneficial. There are only four acids that 



160 



we could expect to find in cane juice — mucous, saccholactic or 
saclactic, oxalic, and acetic acids. The three first named of these, 
however, have never been traced, even in the most minute quan- 
tities ; and if the latter be present, which, unfortunately, is but 
too often the case, the addition of lime would only result in the 
formation of acetate of lime, which is, as I have already observed, 
an exceedingly difiicult crystallisable, very soluble, and deliquescent 
salt. It has a bitter, saline taste ; 100 parts consist of 6i.5 acid, 
35.5 lime, and it is easily recognisable by its taste in the molasses 
made from sour cane-juice : so that, supposing the cane-juice sour, 
every pint of acid present would require nearly half a pound of 
lime for its neutralisation, independent of the quantity required 
for the tempering or precipitation of the feculencies contained in 
it, and would result in the formation of one-and-a-half pound of the 
above mentioned highly deleterious salt. 

Suppose we boil the cane-juice prior to tempering it, we then 
drive off a great portion of acetic acid, much less lime will be 
required, and if we could, by filtration or subsidence, get rid of 
the precipitated feculencies, we should make a tolerably good sugar ; 
but as, under the present plan, we have no means of so doing, 
the acetic acid, which is forming during the whole process of 
evaporation (as fermentation still goes on), unites with the lime 
before it can be dissipated by the heat, and thus not only forms 
acetate of lime, but causes the re-solution of the precipitated 
feculencies, thus rendering it necessary to add a fresh portion of 
lime in the tache, a proceeding always to be avoided, if possible, 
but generally necessary in boiling down sour liquor. Take a small 
portion of cane-juice (hot or cold) in a tumbler, and temper it with 
lime until the feculencies are precipitated and the flakes perfectly 
visible, then add vinegar by drops, and it will be found that the 
flakes will speedily disappear and be re-dissolved, showing that lime 
has a greater affinity for acetic acid than starch, and that, although 
when added to sour cane-juice, it neutralises the acidity, still that 
result is a consequence, not the cause, of the application, and is 
highly injurious. Lime is one of the greatest knovvTi solvents of 
vegetable matter ; it dissolv^es albumen, gluten, gum and lignin, or 
woody fibre, forming soapy compounds with wax, resin, and 
chlorophyle. Ordinary cane-juice contains about three parts of 
resin to every 100 of sugar, and the projection of a small piece of 
soap into a tache full of granulating syrup will soon convince any 
one of the effect likely to result from the presence of that material. 
Although, by tempering hot, we get rid of a very great quantity of 
the substances on which lime acts injuriously, a considerable portion 
of them remain in suspension, the quantity of albumen contained in 
the cane-juice not being sufficient to carry them all ofi'by coagula- 
tion; on the addition of the lime, however, they are entirely dissolved 
and as the impurities left behind consist chiefly of gluten, the 
liability of the liquor to ferment is greatly increased by its re- 
tention, that being the fermenting principle contained in wheat 
and other vegetable productions prone to that process. 



IGl 



One liundred parts of Albumen consist of Carbon, 52'88 ; Oxygen, 23'88 ; 
Hydrogen, 7'o4; J^itrogen, 15"70. Gluten, nearly same as Albumen, 



100 parts con- 
sist of 


Uarbon 


Oxy- 
gen. 


Hydro- 
gen. 


1 

1 

t UarDon, 




Excess of 
Oxygen. 


Hydro- 
gen. 


Lignin, or "Woody 








i 








Fibre 


ol'45 


42-73 


5-82 


or51-45 


48-55 






Starch . 


43-55 


49-68 


6-77 


j 43-55 


56-45 






Sugar . 


42-47 


50-63 


6-90 


42-47 


57-53 






Gum . 


42-23 


50-84 


6-93 


42-23 


57'77 






Alcohol 


51-98 


34-32 


13-70 


■ 51-98 


38-99 




9.03 


Acetic Acid . 


50-22 


44-15 


5-63 


50-22 


46-91 


2 87 




Resin . 


75-94 


13-34 


10-72 


75-94 


15-16 




8-90 


Wax . 


81-79 


5-54 


12-76 


81-79 


6-30 




11-01 



By a reference to the foregoing table it will be easily understood 
how slight a change in the proportion of the ingredients of any 
one of the substances contained therein will convert it into an 
entirely different one. In chemistry we are able, to a certain 
extent, to imitate the operations of nature ; but we must follow 
in the same course laid down by her ; thus.^ we can convert woody 
fibre, or sawdust and starch, into sugar, gum, alcohol, and acetic 
acid ; but we cannot convert alcohol, acetic acid, or gum into 
sugar, starch or woody fibre ; and of such importance is a slight 
alteration of the proportions of these elements — carbon, oxygen, 
and hydrogen — that the abstraction of carbon from sugar, and the 
addition of a portion of the prime support of life, vegetation and 
combustion, oxygen, changes the harmless sugar into the most 
violent of poisons, oxalic acid, which consists of 26.57 carbon, 
70.69 oxygen, and 2.74 h3^drogen. 

Let us now examine the action of lime on sugar, and we shall 
find it equally, if not more, injurious than on the other substances. 
Sugar is capable of dissolving half its weight of lime, by which its 
sweet taste is destroyed, and it becomes converted into gum ; the 
lime abstracting carbonic acid from it to form a carbonate of lime 
or chalk. It will be seen by the above table that — 

100 parts of sugar contain . . 42.47 carbon. 
100 parts of gum contain . . 42.23 ditto. 

Difference , . . . 24 
So that, if we extract 24j-100ths of a grain of carbon from 100 
grains of sugar, we convert them into gum. Let us suppose that 
about two ounces of lime, or say 1,000 grains, remain in solution 
in a pan, (say 200 gallons of liquor,) those 1,000 grains of lime 
will require 761 of carbonic acid to convert them into carbonate of 
lime or chalk, 100 grains of which consist of 56.2 lime and 43.8 
carbonic acid. So that 1,761 grains of chalk consist of 1,000 lime 
and 761 carbonic acid. Now 100 grains of crrbonic acid consist 
of 27.53 carbon and 72.47 oxygen ; therefore 731 grains will con- 
sist of 209.50 carbon and 551*53 oxygen. 

M 



162 



SUGAR. 



Consequently, 1,000 grains of lime will require 209.50 grains 
of carbon to convert them into carbonate of lime ; and as we have 
seen that tlie abstraction of 24 from 100 grains of sugar convert 
tbem into gum, it follows, that the abstraction of 209.50 grains 
would have a similar efiect on 87,000 grains, or about 15 lbs. of 
sugar, which, being converted into gum, would prevent the crystal- 
lisation of several times its weight of sugar ; and this is the cause 
of the formation of molasses. The loss of sugar is not the only 
bad consequence of the use of lime, as the greater the quantity of 
gum in the liquor, the more it must be boiled — the more it is boiled 
the darker it gets — and the higher the temperature at which the 
skip is struck, the smaller the grain. The following is a good 
proof that lime dissolves albumen, and becomes converted into 
chalk : — Take a spoonful of syrup out of the tache of any estate on 
which the liquor is tempered cold ; it will be found filled with 
small flakes ; these are albumen set free from its solution in the 
lime by the conversion of the latter into carbonate of lime, and 
coagulated by heat. It is perfectly possible to temper liquor, so 
that scarcely any uncrystallisable sugar will remain ; but planters 
do not like this ; they must have molasses for the still-house ; they 
could, however, boil low, by which the grain and color would be 
improved, and plenty of uncrystallised, although not uncrystalli- 
sable, sj^rup would be left to take the place of molasses. 

I think I have now fully proved the following facts, viz. : — That 
the use of lime in sugar-making is not to neutralise an acid ; that 
if acidity be present, the application of lime is injurious ; that its 
action on gluten, albumen, wax, resin, and chloropliyle is equally 
so ; that by decomposing the sugar and forming gum, the quantity 
of molasses or uncrystallisable sugar is much increased, whereby 
high boiling is rendered necessary, with its consequent heighten- 
ing of color and injury to the grain of the produce, and that 
therefore it is perfectly unfit for the purpose of tempering cane- 
juice. 

Messsrs, Thomas Begg and Co., of London, have procured from 
E. P. Telchemacher and J. Denham Smith, an analysis of one gal- 
lon of ordinary plantain juice, and one gallon of Eamos' prepared 
plantain juice "for the purpose of ascertaining whether any sub- 
stance can be used which, in conjunction with water, will answer 
as a substitute for the plantain juice in the receipt which accom- 
panied the samples." The chemists say they find that one gallon 
of ordinary plantain juice holds in solution : — 



Extract similar to tannin . . . 25-60 grains 

Vegetable extract and fatty matter . .5770 ,, 

Carbonate of potash . . . 1 50*40 

Muriate of potash .... 33-60 „ 
Muriate of eo.la .... 2-00 
Silica ..... 1-20 ,, 



Contents of one imperial gallon . , 270 '50 grains 

— whilst one gallon of ''Kamos' prepared plantain juice" con- 



STJ6AE. 



1G3 



tains, besides vegetable extract, 226 grains of solid matter, con- 
sisting of sulpliurefc and potash, in the following proportions : — = 

Sulphur . . .40 grains 

Lime . . . 156 

Potash . , . 30 „ 

226 grains 

They do not think it likely that the potash exists in fresh plan- 
tain juice as carbonate, but rather that tliis salt is the product of 
decomposition, arising from a compound of potash and a vegetable 
acid, such as tartaric or oxalic acid present in the fresh juice ; be 
this as it may, any utility derivable from the plantain juice is 
evidently owing to the potash it contains. 

They then give as a substitute for Eamos' liquid, and to be 
used in a similar way, the following — 

Take of subcarbonate of potash 2 ounces, avoirdupois ; sul- 
phur, 2j ounces ; best British lime slaked, 1| lb. ; mix them into 
a paste in an earthen pan or Avooden tub, with one quart of water 
(warm) and when thoroughly mixed, pour in ten gallons of boiling 
water — rain water is the best to use — and stir from time to time 
until it has cooled, when it may be drawn off from the sediment 
and kept for use. If rain water cannot be obtained, the purest 
water obtainable may be used. 

One of the causes most fatal to West Indian prosperity, is that 
exuberance of advantages which they enjoy from serenity of cli- 
mate and fertility of soil — causes which, in the absence of proper 
stimulus to industry and improvement, have led to an improvident 
system of cultivation, and to a blind and ignorant adherence to 
wasteful methods of manufacture. 

The cane is believed to contain from 90 to 95 per cent, of its 
own weight of saccharine juice ; and yet (as Mr. Fownes, a Pro- 
fessor of Practical Chemistry in University College, London, in- 
forms us, in an excellent paper " On the Manufacture of Sugar in 
Barbados,"* from which much of what follows has been borrowed) 
owing to the defective construction of the mills, hardly so much as 
50 per cent, is obtained, although he believes it practicable, by an 
improvement in the mills, to obtain from 70 to 75 per cent, ; and 
of the remaining 10 or 15 per cent, which he regards it as impos- 
sible to extract, much, if not the whole, might, I conceive, be ob- 
tained, by macerating the pressed canes or megass, as it issues from 
the mill, and repassing it through the rollers ; and, be it remem- 
bered, that from 40 to 45 per cent, of saccharine juice is nearly, if 
not altogether, equivalent to a similar per centage of sugar ; so 
that by these initiatory improvements alone, and with little addi- 
tional trouble, the prodnce of sugar might be nearly doubled from 
any given quantity of canes. 

Erom the action of lime-water when added in a slight excess to 
the cane jaice or ravr liquor, as it is vernacularly termed, immedi- 
ately on issuing from the mill, as well as from tlie effect produced 

* See the " Pharmaceutical Journal" for June, 1849, p. 15, et seq. 

:>i 2 



164 



by ammonia or potash, this liquid appears to contain a consider- 
able quantity of cane sugar, mixed with much glucose, or that sac- 
charine matter ^Yhich is found. in fruits; gTim or dexti-ine, phos- 
phates, and probably malates of lime and magnesia. Trith sulphates 
and chlorides, potash and soda, and a peculiar azotised matter, al- 
lied to albumen, vrhich forms an insoluble compound with lime, is 
not coagulable by heat or acids, and runs readily into putrefactive 
fermentation. 

To fi'ee it from these constituents, and enable it to yield pure 
and crystallisable sugar, the liquor, on enteiing the boiling-house, 
is received into the first of thi^ee clariliers. of the capacity of from 
three himdred to a thousand gallons each. Here it is subjected 
to the action of lime-water, which checks the tendency to fermen- 
tation, and neutralises any free .acid which it may contain. The 
common defection process," says Mr. Pownes, ''in carefud hands, 
seems susceptible of little improvement. Many other substances 
than lime have been proposed and tried with more or less success, 
some of which, in particular states of the cane juice, may prove 
very useful ; but, for general purposes, nothing seems to answer so 
well as neutralisation by lime, either in the form of lime-water or 
milk of lime, added until the slightest possibletendency to alkalinity, 
as ascertained by dehcate reddened litmus paper, is perceived. 
The juice should be somewhat heated before the lime is added, and 
afterwards raised quite to the boiling point. The fire is then to be 
withdrawn, and the whole allowed to rest a short time." Such is 
Mr. Fownes' description of the process of clarification : to which 
I will venture to add, upon the authority of those who have ex- 
perienced its good eflects, the joint use of the mucilage of tlie 
Guazuma ulmifolia, or gun-stock tree, as it is popularly termed in 
]!Sevis from the use to v>-hich its timber has been applied. This is 
the bastard cedar of Jamaica, or Orme d'Amerique, and Eois 
d'Orme of the French, which may be found described by Lunan, 
in the first volume of his •'"Hortus Jamaicensis," page 59, inider 
the name of Bulroma Guaxunia. 

This tree presents in the interval between its outer bai-k of sap- 
'wood, a mass of fibrous matter about half an inch in thickness, 
richly impregnated with mucilage, which is obtained by macerating 
the fibrous mass, conveniently divided into small shreds, for about 
twelve hours, in warm ^^■ater. in the proportion of about two hauds- 
ful to eight gallon? of water. Oithis solution, which is of a lighj:, 
straw Color, and somewhat thickened, one gallon is to be added for 
every hundred gallons of cane juice, after the clarifier has been 
charged with the proper quantity of lime-water, and has become 
lukewarm. The mixture should then be stii'red, and afterw'ards 
allowed to settle till the scum has risen to the surface. The fii'e 
must next be cautiously and gradually raised to the point of boil- 
ing, when it must again be slackened, and the whole left to stand 
for about forty minutes, by which time the mass of feculen- 
cies will have risen to the surface, when the clear liquor under- 
neath may either be drawn off by a siphon or cock ; the whole may 



sraAE. 



165 



be filtered as Mr, Fownes recommends, by wliicli means the 
liquor would be more efiectiially clarified, and much, if not all, the 
subsequent labour of skimming dispensed -vritli. The matter re- 
maining on the filter may be employed, either as a ferment in the 
still-house, or added to the manure heap. Much of the beneficial 
eftect of the mucilage of the guazuma arises probably from an 
admixture of tannin, or some otlier astringent ; for I have often 
been struck with the peculiar whiteness of the potted sugar in 
the curing-house, in the immediate ricinity of the Banana stalks, 
resulting, no doubt, from their poAverful astringency ; and tannin 
has already been foimd useful in the manufacture of sugar from 
beet-root in France, and is no doubt equally applicable to cane- 
sugar. 

The Hquor, when clarified in the manner described, must be con- 
centrated, by regulated evaporation, to the degree requisite for 
crystallisation. This ^Ir. Fownes advises to be done by steam of 
a moderate pressure circulating in a spnal of copper-pipe laid at 
the bottom of the evaporating vessels, which should be large and 
shallow, and wholly unlike those in present use. Here it may 
be rapidly boiled down till the heat rises to about 225 deg., vdth- 
out risk of burning. When cold, it should have a density of about 
1'38, and mark the 38th degree of Baume's hydrometer ; beyond 
which point of inspissation it would be dangerous to go. The re- 
maining concentration will be most safely conducted in the vacuum 
pan, where a scarcity of water does not, as in Barbados, militate 
against its use. 

Mr. Fo^vnes exposes the absurdity' of using shallow coolers, ex- 
posing a large surface, and producing a rapid evaporation, for the 
process of crystallisation. By the use of the shallow coolers for- 
merly, and, I believe, yet to be foimd on most estates, from the 
rapidity of the evaporation, the sugar is obtained in a mass of con- 
fused and imperfectly-formed crystals, entangling in their inter- 
stices a considerable quantity of molasses, which impairs the color 
of the product, and escaping slowly, and with diilicaltr, is, to a con- 
siderable extent, lost on the homeward voyage by drainage into the 
hold, occasioning much positive loss to the owner, and giving the 
bilge-water a most offensive odor. He therefore recommends the 
use of deep vessels, and avoidance of all agitation in this part of 
the process, so as to enable the crystallisable portion of the syrup 
to effect a more complete separation from the uncrvstalli -aljle por- 
tion or the molasses. By this simple method, not only sugar of 
a finer and whiter quality wouJd be obtained, but a large per cent- 
age of loss both of crystalHsable and imcrystallisable sugar at pre- 
sent caused by the leakage of the hogshead into the hold, would be 
prevented, not only to the great advantage of the planter, but to 
the great comfort of the captain, passengers, and crevr of the ves- 
sel freighted with it. 

It is not improbable that, by reboiling the molasses in the va- 
cuum-pan, and employing tannin in the manner ado|)ted iji tlie 
process for_ making sugar Irom beet-root, from one to hve per 



166 



SUGAR. 



cent, of crystallisable sugar could be recovered from it, and this 
per centage miglit possibly even be found to admit of increase by 
the further treatment with lime-water and the gunstock tree 
as already suggested, for the first clarification of the liquor re- 
ceived from the mill. With this view, Mr. Fo^Ties recommends 
the substitution of puncheons, or casks, for the molasses cisterns 
ordinarily employed in the curing-house, to receive the molasses 
as it drains from the new sugar, and thus retaining it until after 
the busy period of crop time has closed. 

Should sugar of a whiter quality than the ordinary muscovado of 
commerce be desired, this advantage may be readily obtained, as 
Mr. Fownes judiciously observes, by filtering the thin syrup, ready 
for the vacuum-pan, through a bed of fine charcoal, as is done by 
the sugar refiners, and afterwards washing the crystals of sugar 
with white syrup, when the molasses has thoroughly drained from 
them. By this process, which, however, is attended with some in- 
crease of expense, and may not, in consequence, be always advi- 
sable, muscovado sugar may be obtained, of a quality hardly in- 
ferior to that of refined sugar. Mr. Townes thus sums up the 
principal points to which he is desirous of calling the attention of 
the intelligent and enterprising planter. 

1. "To obtain, by the use of a properly-constructed mill, the 
greatest possible amount of juice from the cane." 

By this, according to Mr. Eownes, a gain of from 20 to 30 per 
cent., equivalent to as much marketable sugar, may be obtained 
without any additional expense ; but as, from Mr. Eownes' own 
showing, there is a residuum of 10 to 15 per cent, of liquor obsti- 
nately retained by the megass, or cane trash, after the most 
powerful pressure to which it can be subjected ; much, if not all, 
even of this loss might be prevented by subjecting the megass, on 
issuing from between the rollers, to the action of water for a brief 
time, passing it once more through the mill, and adding the sac- 
charine solution so obtained, or that obtained directly from the 
cane on its first crushing. The water thus employed would serve 
for many successive portions of megass, until at length it became 
so richly loaded with saccharine matter as to be worth attention 
in the boiling-house ; or, at all events, it would be serviceable for 
the cattle, who would fatten rapidly upon it. By this addi- 
tional process a further gain of at least five per cent, might be ex- 
pected, raising the total gain from improvements in this^r^^ stage 
of the process, to from 25 to 35 per cent. 

2. "To clarify and filter this juice with expedition, and to 
evaporate it rapidly, either over the open fire or by steam heat, 
as far as it can be done with safety." 

By the use of steam, not only is a vast economy of fuel 
efi'ected, but the temperature is maintained at a uniform and sufli- 
cient standard, and the liquor efiectuall}^ guarded against the risks 
of carelessness or ignorance. Coal may be obtained on far cheaper 
terms, in exchange for produce, from the United States or from 
Cape Breton J than from England ; and as colliers from those quar- 



SUGAR. 



167 



ters would fiad it their interest to bring cargoes at their own 
risk, and take return cargoes of sugar, rum, or molasses, at the 
market price, the planter will be doubly a gainer by the system, 
obtaining his fuel at a reduced rate, and having his trash and me- 
gass left free as manure for the use of his cane fields. 

3. "To complete the concentration in a vacuum pan, or by 
other means, at a moderate temperature, not hurtful to the sugar, 
and facilitate the natural process of crystallisation, so as to obtain 
sugar of a large and distinct grain." 

4. " To drain and dry the sugar perfectly, and to save all the 
molasses." 

The advantages to be anticipated from these improvements, 
superadded to an improvement in cultivation, cannot be esti- 
mated at less, upon a moderate calculation, than from 150 to 200 
per cent, of increase in the production of sugar, with hardly an 
appreciable increase of labor or expense ; for we have, in the 
first place, a gain by improved culture of, at least, two hogsheads 
an acre in sugar, equivalent to 100 per cent. ; in the next, by em- 
ploying improved mills and extracting the residuum, 30 per cent. ; 
by conducting the process of manufacture more judiciously, 10 per 
cent. ; and by the prevention of waste during the transit to mar- 
ket, 10 per cent., making a total of at least 150 per cent. 

The common sugar-mill consists of three cylinders, tightened 
either by wedges, if in a wooden frame, or by screws in a cast" 
iron frame. If in an iron frame, the above-mentioned noise is 
obviated, but the friction and loss of power is the same, which is 
ascertainable by subsequent investigation. The cylinders or 
rollers, which are moving either horizontally or vertically, are 
from eighteen to twenty-four inches in diameter, with bearings or 
^^hafts of one fourth of their diameter. If the bearings or shafts 
of the cylinders were of less substance, they could not resist the 
great strain to which they are subjected when in operation. The 
whole of the prime mover (steam-engine, water-wheel, or animals), 
minus the friction of intermediate machinery, is transmitted to 
the plains of these rollers and resisted by their bearings ; hence 
the action is equal to a weight moving on low wheels of eighteen 
or twenty-four inches in diameter, on axles of from four to six 
inches thickness, which weight is equal to the force applied ; con- 
sequently, if the strain is greater than the resistance of the rollers 
or the bearings, they must be wrenched ofi", or if greater than the 
force applied, the mill will be stopped. The power necessary to 
move weights upon wheels, on a smooth and level surface, is in 
proportion to the respective diameters of wheels and axles. The 
same pull which moves one ton at a given velocity upon a wheel 
of two feet, with an axle of six inches, will move four tons, if on 
a wheel of four feet diameter, with an axle of six inches. Con- 
sequently, cylinders of small diameter, with strong and substan- 
tial bearings, are only admissible as working machines, if no other 
mechanical means are applicable, as, for instance, in rolling out 
metals, compressing the surface of various bodies for a glossy 



168 



appearance, or, generally speaking, to produce a certain and equal 
form of tlie substance which is pressed and passed between them. 
They compress the atoms of bodies, and for this reason alone are 
illsuited to ^separate the fibres of the sugar canes, and to express 
effectively the saccharine matter between them. A practical proof of 
this demonstration is furnished by every sugar cane which has 
gone through the mill. Presh megass is at present better suited 
for fattening animals than for fuel under the sugar pans. 

The loss of material thus sustained, which is, on an average^ 
equal in every mill, whether driven by steam, water, or animal 
power, is entirely chargeable to the construction of the mill, and 
amounts to about ten per cent, of the saccharine matter contained 
in the sugar canes. 

M. Duprez, an agent of the French Grovernment, havmg ex= 
perimented on the canes in Guadaloupe, found the quantity of 



juice in every 100 lbs. crushed — 

lbs. 

1 By mills having horizontal rollers ; the motive power not stated . 61*2 

2 By niills, motive power, steam . . . . . 60*9 

3 By mills, motive power, wind and steam . . . . 69"3 
• 4 By mills, having vertical rollers . . . . , 69"2 

5 By mills, motive power, cattle ..... 58*5 

6 By mills, motive power, wind * . . . . . 58'4 



The average of all these experiments being 56 per cent. only. 
The result of M. Avequin, on Louisiana cane, was 50 per cent. 
Mr. Thompson, of Jamaica, states 50 per cent, as the average 
throughout the island of Martinique. Dr. Evans ventures 47 per 
cent. the lowest, and 61 per cent, as the highest in the West 
Indies. A mill in Madeira gave 47'5 and 70*2 of juice — the 
larger yield being obtained by bracing the horizontal rollers more 
than usually tight, and introducing only a few canes at a time, 
the motive power being cattle. 

The three roller mill has the disadvantage of re-absorbing a part 
of the cane juice in the spongy megass, (or trash as it is termed 
in the "West Indies), and a loss of power. 

Those vvitli five rollers have been used in Cuba, Bourbon and 
the Mauritius, which gave 70 per cent., but a great increase of 
motive power is necessary. Eour roller mills, two below and two 
above, requiring little more motive power than three rollers, have 
given 70 to 75 per cent of juice. 

Some years since, the East India Company instituted inquiries 
relative to the cultivation of the sugar cane in Hindostan, and the 
information obtained was published in a large folio volume. The 
E-eports furnished by their oflicers, from almost every district, 
concur in stating that there were three kinds cultivated: — 1. The 
purple. 2. The white. 3. A variety of the white, requiring a 
large supply of water. The epitome of the Eeports afl'ords this 
information : — 

1, The purple colored cane yields a sweeter, richer juice, than 
Dr. Evans' Treatise on Sugar," p. 7<5c 



BUGAB. 169 

the yellow or light colored, but in less quantity, and is harder to 
press. G-rows on dry lands. Scarce any other sort in Beerbhoom, 
mucb in Eadnagore, some about Santipore, mixed with light colored 
cane. Grows also near Calcutta ; in some fields separate, in others 
mixed with pooree or light colored cane. When eaten raw, is 
more dry and pithy in the mouth, but esteemed better sugar than 
the pooree, and appears to be the superior sort of cane. Persons 
who have been "West Indian planters do not know it as a West 
Indian cane. 

2. The liglit colored cane, yellow, inclining to white ; deeper 
yellow when ripe, and on rich ground, it is the same sort as that 
which grows in the West India Islands ; softer, more juicy than 
the Cadjoolee, but juice less ricb, and produces sugar less strong ; 
requires seven maunds of pooree juice to make as much goor or 
inspissated juice as is produced from six of the Cadjoolee. Much 
of this kind is brought to the Calcutta markets, and eaten raw. 

3. The white variety, which grows in swampy lands, is light 
colored, and grows to a great height. Its juice is more watery, 
and yields a weaker sugar than the Cadjoolee, However, as much 
of Bengal consists of low grounds, and as the upland canes are 
liable to suffer from drought, it may be advisable to encourage the 
cultivation of it, should the sugar it produces be approved, though 
in a less degree than other sugars, in order to guard against the 
effects of dry seasons. Experience alone can determine how far 
the idea of encouraging this sort may answer. 

Besides the foregoing, several kinds are now known to the Indian 
planter. One of them, the China sugar cane, was considered by 
Dr. Roxburgh to be a distinct species, and distinguished by him 
as Saccliarim sinensis. It was introduced into India in 1796, by 
Earl Cornwallis, as being superior to the native kinds. It is charac- 
terised by a hardness which effectually resists most of the country 
rude mills ; but this hardness is importantly beneficial, inasmuch 
as that it withstands the attack of the white ants, hogs, and 
jackals, which destroy annually a large portion of the common 
cane.* 

Dr. Buchanan found that four kinds are known in Mysore. Two 
of these are evidently the purple and white generally known ; but 
as this is not distinctly stated, I have retained the form in which 
he notices them. Bestali, the native sugar of the Mysore, can 
only be planted in the last two weeks of March and two first of 
April. It completes its growth in twelve months, and does not 
survive for a second crop. Its cultivation has been superseded by 
the other. 

JButtaputti. — This was introduced from Arcot, during the reign 
of Hyder Ali. It is the only one from which the natives can 
extract sugar ; it also produces the best Bella or Jaggery. It can 
be planted at the same season as the other, as well as at the end 
of July and beginning of August. It is fourteen months in com- 

* Reports of Dr, Roxburgh, Mr. Toucliet of Radanagore, and Mr. Cardin of 
Mirzapore, C'utna. Papers on East India Sugar, page 258, 



170 



siraAE.- 



pleting its growth ; but tlie stools produce a second crop, like the 
ratoons of the West Indies, which ripen in twelve months. 

Maracabo, Ciittaijcoho. — These two are very small, seldom ex- 
ceeding half an inch in diameter ; yet in some districts of Mj^sore, 
as about Colar, the last-named is the variety usually cultivated ; 
but this arises from its requiring less water than the larger 
varieties. 

The best varieties are those introduced from the Islands of Ota- 
heite and Bourbon. Hindostaii is indebted for their introduction 
to Captain Sleeman, who brought them hither from the Mauritius 
in 1827. He committed them to Dr. Wallich, under whose care, 
at the Botanic Garden, they have flourished, and been the source 
from whence the benefit has been generally diffused. Their supe- 
riority over those which have been usually cultivated by the natives 
has been completely established. The largest of the Hindostan 
canes, ripe and trimmed ready for the mill, has never been found 
to exceed five pounds ; but it is not uncommon for an Otaheite 
cane,* under similar circumstances, to weigh seven pounds. The 
extra weight arises proportionately from an increased secretion of 
superior sap. The sugar is more abundant, granulates more readily, 
and has less scum. Other superior qualities are, that the canes 
ripen earlier, and are less injured by the occurrence of protracted 
dry w^eather. 

Of the history of the sugar cane a popular tradition obtains 
amongst the nati ves, that, in very ancient times, a vessel belonging 
to their country chanced by accident to leave one of her crew, 
under a desperate fit of sickness, at a desert island, at a conside- 
rable distance in the Eastern Seas, and that, returning by the same 
route, curiosity prompted them to inquire after the fate of their 
companion, when, to their utter astonishment, the man pre- 
sented himself to their view, completely recovered from his sick- 
ness, and even in a state of more than comm^on health. With 
anxiety they inquired for the physic he had so successfully applied, 
and were conducted by him to the sugar cane, on which he ac- 
quainted them he had solely subsisted from the time of their 
departure. Attracted by such powerful recommendation, every 
care and attention was bestowed, we may suppose, to convey such 
an invaluable acquisition to their own lands, where the soil and 
clunate have mutually since contributed to its present prosperity. 

Boil. — The soil best suiting the sugar cane is aluminous rather 
than the contrary, tenacious without being heavy, readily allowing 
excessive moisture to drain away, yet not light. One gentleman, 
Mr. Ballard, has endeavoured to make this point clear by describ- 

* Many are of opinion, fnat althongh the juice of this cane is larger in quan- 
tity, yet that it contains less sugar. There is some sense in the reason they 
assign, which is, that in the Mauritius and elsewhere it has the full time of 
twelve or fourteen months allowed for its coming to maturity — whereas the 
agriculture of India, and especially in Bengal, only allows it eight or nine 
months, which, though ample to mature the smaller country canes, ia not suffi- 
cient for the Otaheite. 



STJaAE 



171 



ing the most fayorable soils about G-azepore as " light clays,'^ 
called there Jfbo^i?i!!ree, ovdoansa, according as there is more or less 
sand in their composition. — Trails. Agri-Hort. Sgc. i. 121. 

Mr. Peddington seems to think that calcareous matter, andiron 
in the state of peroxide, are essential to be present in a soil for the 
production of the superior sugar cane. There can be no doubt 
that the calcareous matter is necessary, but experience is opposed 
to his opinion relative to the peroxide. 

The soil preferred at Eadnagore is there distinguished as the 
soil of "two quahties," being a mixture of rich clay and sand, 
and which Mr. Touchet believed to be known in England as a 
light brick mould. 

About Eungpore, Dinajpoor, and other places where the ground 
is low, they raise the beds where the cane is to be planted four 
or five feet above the level of the land adjacent. 

The experience of Dr. Eoxburgh agrees with the preceding 
statements. He says, " The soil that suits the cane best in this 
cHmate is a rich vegetable earth, which on exposure to the air 
readily crumbles down into very fine mould. It is also necessary 
for it to be of such a level as allows of its being watered from the 
river by simply damming it up (which almost the whole of the 
land adjoining to this river, the Grodavery, admits of), and yet so 
high as to be easily drained during hea^y rains. Such a soil, and 
in such a situation, having been well meliorated by various crops 
of leguminous plants, or fallowing, for tAvo or three years, is 
slightly manured, or has had for some tune cattle pent upon it. 
A favourite manure for the cane with the Hindoo farmer is the 
rotten straw of green and black pessaloo (Phaseohcs Mungo 
max)''* 

Many accordant opinions might be added to the preceding, but 
it seems only necessary to observe further, that " the sugar cane 
requires a soil sufiiciently elevated to be entirely free from inun- 
dation, but not so high as to be deprived of moisture, or as to 
encourage the production of white ants (termes).'" 

The sugar cane is an exhausting crop, and it is seldom culti- 
vated by the ryot more frequently than once in three or four 
years on the same land. During the intermediate period, such 
plants are grown as are found to improve the soil, of which, says 
Dr. Tennant, the Indian farmer is a perfect judge. They find the 
leguminous tribe the best for the purpose. Such long intervals of 
repose from the cane would not be requisite if a better system of 
manuring were adopted. 

Mr. J. Prinsep has recorded the following analysis of three 
soils distiiaguished for producing sugar. They were all a soft, 
fine-grained aUuvium, without pebbles. JSTo. 1 was from a village 
called Mothe, on the Sarjee, about ten miles north of the Granges, 
at Buxar, and the others from the south bank of the Granges, near 

* RoxljurgL. on the Culture of Sugar and Jaggaiy in tlie Eajahmundry Cir- 
car ; Thkd Ap. to Report on East India Sugar, p. 2. 



172 



the same place. There is a substratTam of hwaJzar rlirovi^I: :Mr the 
whole of that part of the coimtry, and to some . „is 

earth with the surface soil the fertiiity of the latter is ascribed : — 

1 2 3 

Hvgroiaetric moistm-e, OIL dry:::.- 212 icg. , 2'o 2 1 3-6 
Cart onaceous and Tegetatle n:-.::.r. ::: calcinatioii I'S 21 -± 0 
CaxlDoiiate of lime (No. 3 e:aervesce r , . . I'o 0,6 3-9 
Alk a li n e salt, soluble . . . ' . . .1-0 I'l O'S 
Silex and alumina ...... &4:'l P-i'l §S-2 

lOj-0 100-0 100 '0 

The earths unfortimately were not separated. Piinsep 
says the two first were chiefly of sand, and the third sriinewhat 
argLilaceoxis. The former required irrigation, but : _rr was 
sufficiently retentive of moisture to render it r^mieocssary. — 
( Journ. Asiatic Soc. ii, -iSo.j 



Manures. — The sugar cane being one of the most valued crops 
of the ryot, he always devotes to it a poition of the fertiKsiiig 
matters he has at command, though in every instance this is too 
small. 

In the Sajahmun'rry Ldlsrrict. previously t^? planthig:. the soil is 
slightly manured. ei"d::cr by having cattle folded upon it. or 
by a light covering of the rotten stra— f rlie green and black 
pessalloo, which is here a favourite i.vi:_l:-vr, Li some paits of 
Mysore the mud from the bottom of tanks is employed, and this 
practice is more generally adopted in other places. Thus the 
fields being divided by deep ditches in Dina'pc-jr. the mud from 
which is enriched by the remains of decayed aquatic plants and 
animalsj forms an excellent manure for the sugar cane, and of this 
the ryots make use, spreading it over the surface before the 
ploughing is commenced : and when that operation is completed, 
the soil v~ fv.:-her fertilised by a dressing of oilcake and ashes. 

CiT.d vj3s would unquestionably be of the greatest benefit 
if applied to the sugar cane crop. Xot only would theii^ aiiiin:il 
matter serve as food for tl_e ;[:lants, but the phosphate of lime of 
the bones is one of the chief saline constituents of the sugar 
cane. 

Salt is another valuable manure f jr this crop. Dr. IN'v.Z'inr. in 
a E^eport made to the Agricultiiral S ^ciery of Antigua. c';?:ives 
that salt has been found a valuable auxiliary in cultiva r:_e 
sugarcane. Many trials of it. he says, have been madi l..,i::.h- 
successive seasons, applied generally to the extent of ab; : :_b>? 
or ten bushels per acre. It destroys grubs and other ins: , :;. a_: 1 
gives the canes an increased vigor and ability to resist di'ought. 
It is a singular remark of the intelligent traveller. M. de Hum- 
boldt, while speaking of the practice adopted in the ]Missions of 
the OriQOCO, when a coco-nut plantation is made, of throwing a 
certain quantity of salt into the hole which receives the nut ; that 
of all the plants cultivated by man there ai'e only the sugar cane, 
the plantain, the mammee, and the Avocada pear, which endure 
equally iiTigation with fi'esh and salt water. 



STJGAE. 



173 



In the TVest Indies, when tlie cane is affected hj what is called 
there the blast, which is a withering or drying up of the plants, 
an unfailing remedy is found to be watering them with an infu- 
sion of dung in salt water.* 

Preparation of soil. — In the E-ajahmundry district, during the 
months of April and May, the ground is frequently ploughed, 
until brought into a very fine tilth. About the end of jMay, or 
beginning of June, the rains usually commence, and the canes are 
then to be planted. If the rains do not set in so early, the land 
is flooded artificially, and when converted into a soft mud, whether 
by the rain or by flooding, the canes are planted. 

In Mysore the ground is watered for thi'ee days, and then, after 
drying for the same period, ploughing commences, this operation 
being repeated five times during the following eight days. The 
clods during this time are broken small by an instrument called 
colJcudali. The field is then manured and ploughed a sixth time. 
After fifteen days it is ploughed again, twice in the course of one 
or two days. After a lapse of eight days it is ploughed a ninth 
time. Altogether these operations occupy about fort^y-four days. 

For planting, which is done six days, an implement called 7/ella 
kuclali is employed. 

In Dinajpoor, "the field, from about the middle of October 
until about the 10th of January, receives ten or twelve double 
ploughing^, and after each is smoothed with the moi/i. During the 
last three months of this time it is manured with cow-dung and 
mud from ponds and ditches. On this account, the land fit for 
sugar cane is generally divided into fields by wide ditches, into 
which much mud is washed by the rain, and is again thrown on 
the fields when the country dries, and leaves it enriched by iiniu- 
merable aquatic vegetables and animals that have died as the water 
left them. AYhen the ploughing has been completed, the field is 
manured with ashes and oilcake." 

About Malda, " the land is first ploughed in the month of Car- 
tick, length and breadth ways, and harrowed in like manner ; four 
or five days after it is again ploughed and harrowed, as before, 
twice. In the month of Aghun, the whole land is covered with 
fresh earth, again t^ice ploughed, and harrowed in different di- 
rections, and then manured with dung. Fifteen or twenty days 
afterwards it is to be twice ploughed, as before ; eight or ten days 
after which, it is to be slightly manured with dung, and the refuse 
of oil, mixed together ; then twice ploughed and harrowed in dif- 
ferent directions, so that the clods of earth brought be well mixed 
together with the land. This preparation continues until the 20th 
or 25th of the month Pows." 

In the vicinity of Dacca, during " Cautic or Augun (October, 
November) the Eyots begin to prepare their ground. They first 
dig a trench round their fields, and raise a mound of about three 
feet in height. If the ground to be cultivated is waste, about nine 

* L' Exploitation do Sucreries. Porter on the Sugar Cane, 53, 321. 



174 



inches of the surface are taken off, and thrown without the enclo- 
sure. The ground is ploughed to the depth of nine inches more. The 
clods are broken, and the eartli made hue. In ^lEaug or Eaugun 
(January, February) the sugar cane is planted; a month after- 
wards earth is raised about the plants ; after another month this 
is repeated. _ The crop is cat in Poous and jiaug (December, 
January). If the ground be not waste, but cultivated, the sur- 
face is not taken oli'. After cutting the crop, it is not usual again 
to groY\' sugar cane on the same ground for eighteen months, on 
account of the indifferent produce afibrded by a more early 
planting. 

In the Zillah, Xorth jlooradabad, the land is broken up at the 
end of June. After the rains have ceased it is manured, and has 
eight or ten ploughings. This clears it of weeds. In February 
it is again manured and ploughed four or live times, and just 
before the sets are planted, some dung, four cart-loads to each 
cutcha beegah of low land, and five cart-loads to high land, are 
added. The land is well rolled after the four last ploughings, and 
again after the cuttings are set. 

About Eenares and the neighbotiring districts, Mr. Haines says, 
that owing to the hot winds which prevail from March until the 
setting in of the annual rains in June or July, the lands remain fal- 
low till that period. In the mean time, those fields that are selected 
for sugar cane are partiallymanured by throwing upon them aU man- 
ner of rubbish they can collect, and by herding their bufialoes 
and cattle upon them at night, though most of the manure from 
the latter source is again collected and dried for fuel. 

"When the annual rains have faudy set in, and the Assarree crops 
sown (in some instances I have seen an Assarree crop taken from 
the lands intended for sugar cane), they commence ploughing the 
cane lands, and continue to do so fotir or five times monthly (as 
they consider the greater number of times the fields are turned up 
at this period of the season, the better the crop of cane will be), 
till the end of October, continuing to throw on the little manure 
they can collect. 

Towards the end of October, and in INTovember, theii' ploughs 
are much engaged m sowing their T,vinter (or rubbee) crops of 
wheat, barley, gram, &c, ; and at this period they make arrange- 
ments with the shepherds who have large flocks of sheep, to fold 
them upon the fielcls at night, for which they pay so much per 
beegah m £Tain. 

Duidng the latter part of Is ovember, and early in December, the 
fields are agahi ploughed well, and all grass, vreeds, &c., removed 
with the hoe ; then the surface of the field is made as smooth as 
possible by putting the hengah (a piece of wood eight to ten feet 
in leng-th, and five to six inches in breadth, and three or four inches 
in thickness, drawn by two pairs of btdlocks, and the man standing 
upon the wood to give it weight), over several times for three or 
four days in succession. This makes the surface of the field very 
even and somewhat hard; which preyents the sun and dry west 



175 



wind from abstracting the moisture, ^ hich is of great importance 
at this period of the season, ftr, should there be no rain, there 
would not be sufficient moisture at the time of planting the cane 
to cause vegetation. 

In this state the land remains till the time of planting the 
cane cuttings, which is generally the 1st to the 15th of Eebruarv ; 
but should there have been a fall of rain in the mean time, or 
excess of moistiu*e appear, the field is again ploughed, and the 
hengah put over as before 

A day or two previous to planting the cane, the field is ploughed 
and the hengah lightly put over." — (Trans. Agri-Hort. Soc.vi. 4, 5.) 

Sets. — ^"hen the canes are cut at harvest time, twelve or 
eighteen inches of their tops are usually taken ofi', and stored, to 
be employed for sets. Each top has several joints, from tfach of 
which a shoot rises, but seldom more than one or two arrive at a 
proper growth. 

"Wlien first cut from the stem, the tops intended for plants are 
tied in bundles of forty or fifty each, and are carefjiHy kept moist. 
In a few days they put forth new leaves : they are then cleared 
of the old leaves, and separately dipped into a mixture of cow- 
dimg, pressed mustard seed, and water. A diy spot is prepared, 
and rich loose mould and a small quantity of pressed mustard- 
seed ; the plants are separately placed therein, a small quantity of 
earth strewed amongst them, and then covered with leaves and 
grass to preserve them from heat. Ten or twelve days afterwards 
they are planted in the fields. 

In Burdwan, the tops, before they are planted, are cut into 
pieces from four to six inches long, so that there are not more 
than four knots in each. Two or three of these plant tops are put 
together in the orroimd. and a beegah requires from 7,500 to 
10,210 plants. 

In Eimgpore and Dinajpoor, about 9,000 plants are required 
for a beegah, each being about a foot in length. 

In Beerbhoom, 3,000 plants are said to be requisite for a beegah, 
each cane top being about fifteen inches long. 

]Sear Calcutta, from 3,000 to 8,000 plants are required for a 
beegah, according to the goodness of the soil, the worst soil 
needing most plants. In ^Mysore an acre contains 2,420 stools, 
and yields about 11,000 ripe canes. 

Xear Eajahmimdry, about 400 cuttings are planted on a cutcha 
beegah (one-eighth of a:n acre) . In ZiUa, Xorth ^Irioradabad, 4,200 
sets, each eight inches long, are inserted upon each catcha beegah 
of low land, and 5.250 upon high land. 

In the district of G-oHagore the Eyots cut a ripe cane into 
several pieces, preserving two or three joints to each, and put 
them into a small bed of rich moidd, dung, and mustard-seed 
from which the oil has been expressed. At Eadnagore, when the 
time of cutting the canes arrives, their tops are taken ofi", and 
these are placed upright in a bed of miid for thirty or forty days, 
and covered with leaves or straw. The leaves are then stripped 



176 



SUGAR. 



from fhem, and they are cat into pieces, not liaynig less than two 
nor more than four joints each* These sets are kept for ten or 
fifteen days in a bed prepared for them, from whence thev are 
ta-ken and planted in rows two or three together, eighteen inches 
-Or two feet intervening between each stooL 

■ Planting. — The time and mode of planting vary. In theEajah-- 
mnndry Circar, Dr. Eoxbui^gh says, that " during the months of 
April and May the land is repeatedly ploughed with the common 
Hindoo plongh, which soon brings the loose rich soil (speakino- of 
the Delta of the Grodavery) into very excellent order. About the 
end of May and beginning of June, the rains generally set in, in 
frequent heavy showers. Xow is the time to plant the cane ; but 
should the rains hold back, the prepared field is watered or flooded 
from the river, and, while perfectly wet, like soft mud, the cane 
is planted. 

" The method is most simple. Laborers with baskets of the 
cuttings, of one or two joints each, arrange themselves along one 
side of the field. They walk side by side, in as straight a line as 
their eye and judgment enable them, dropping the sets at the 
distance of about eighteen inches asunder in rows, and about four 
feet from row to row. Other laborers follow, and Avith the foot 
press the set about two inches into the soft, mud-like soil, which, 
with a sweep or two with the sole of the foot, they most easily 
and readily cover." — (Soxburgh on the Culture of Sugar.) 

About Malda, in the month of Maug (January, February), the 
land is to be twice ploughed, and harrowed repeatedly, length and 
breadth ways : after which it is furrowed, the foiTows half a cubit 
apart, in which the plants are to be set at about four fingers' dis- 
tance from each other, when the furrows are filled up with the 
land that lay upon its ridges. The plants being thus set, the land 
is harrowed twice in difterent directions ; fifteen or twenty 
days afterwards the cane begins to grow, when the weeds vdiich 
appear vrith it must be taken up ; ten or twelve days after this 
the weeds will again appear. They must again be taken up, and 
the earth at the roots of the canes be removed, when all the 
plants which have grown will appear. 

At Ghazepore the rains set in at the beo:iuniu2: of March, and 
planting then commences. Near Calcutta the planting takes place 
in May and June. In Dinajpoor and Eungpore tlie planting time 
is February. 

About Commercolly it is performed in January. The field is 
divided into beds six cubits broad, separated from each other by 
small trenches fourteen inches wide and eight inches deep. In 
every second trench are small wells, about two feet deep. The 
ii-rigating water flowing along the trenches fills the weUs, and is 
taken thence and applied to the canes by hand. 

Each bed has five rows of canes. The sets are planted in holes 
about six inches in diameter, and three deep ; two sets, each 
having three joints, are laid horizontally in every hole, covered 
slightlv with earth, and over this is a little dung. 



SUGAS. 



177 



When the canes are planted in the spring, the trenches must 
be filled Tvith water, and some poured into every hole. At the 
other season of planting the trenches are full, it being rainy 
weather ; but even then the sets must be watered for the first 
month. 

Mr. Haines says that in Mirzapore and the neighbouring dis- 
tricts, " in planting the cane they commence a fiu^row round the 
field, in which they drop the cuttings. The second furrow is left 
empty ; cuttings again in the third ; so they continue dropping 
cuttings in every second furrow till the whole field is completed, 
finishing in the centre of the field. The field remains in this 
state tni the second or third day, when for two or three days in 
succession it is made even and hard upon the surface with the 
heugah, as before stated." — (Trans. Agri-Hort. Soc. vi. 5.) 

Mr. Vaupell, in describing the most successful mode of culti- 
vating the Mauritius sugar cane in Bombay, says, that " after the 
ground is levelled with the small plough, called ' paur,' in the 
manner of the cultivators, pits of two feet in diameter, and two 
feet in depth, should be dug throughout the field at the distance 
of five feet apart, and filled with manure and soil to about three 
inches of the surface. Set in these pits your canes, cut in pieces 
about a foot and a half long, laying them down in a triangular 
form, thus ^. Keep as much of the eyes or shoots of the cane 
uppermost as you can ; then cover them with manure and soil ; 
beds should next be formed to retain water, having four pits in 
each bed, leaving passages for watering them. The cutting should 
be watered every third day during hot weather, and the field 
should always be kept in a moist state." — (Ibid. iii. 43.) 

About Benares, the sets require, after planting, from four to 
six waterings, until the rains commence, and as many hoeings to 
loosen the surface, which becomes caked after every watering. 
The moister nature of the soil renders these operations generally 
unnecessary in Bengal. 

After-culture. — In Mysore, the surface of the earth in the 
hollows in which the sets are planted is stirred with a stick as 
soon as the shoots appear, and a little dung is added. Next month 
the daily watering is continued, and then the whole field dug over 
with the hoe, a cavity being made round each stool, and a little 
dung added. In the third month water is given every second 
day : at its close, if the canes are luxuriant, the ground is again 
dug ; but if weakly, the watering is continued during the fourth 
month, before the digging is given. At this time the earth is 
drawn up about the canes, so as to leave the hollows between the 
rows at right angles with the trenches. No more water is given 
to the plants, but the trenches between the beds are kept full for 
three days. It is then left ofi" for a week, and if rain occurs, no 
further water is requisite ; but if the weather is dry, water is 
admitted once a week during the next month. The digging is 
then repeated, and the earth levelled with the hand about the 
stools. 



178 



The stems of each stool are ten or twelve in mimber, which are 
reduced to five or six bv the most weakly of them being now re- 
moved. The healthy canes are to be tied with one of their own 
leaves, two or three together, to check their spreading ; and this 
binding is repeated as required by their increased growth. 

In the absence of rain, the trenches are filled with water once 
a fortnight. 

"Vi'hen the Pufta-jjiitfi is to be kept for a second crop, the dry 
leaves cut ofi" in the crop season are bttrnt upon the field, and this 
is dug over, and trenches filled with water, and diuing six weeks 
the plants watered once in every six or eight days (unless rain 
faEs), and the digging repeated three times, dimg being added at 
each digging. The after-culture is the same as for the fii'st crop. 

Tn the Upper Provinces, Dr. Tennant says, if moderate showers 
occtir after planting, nothing more is done until the shoots from 
the sets have attained a height of two or three inches. The soil 
immediately around them is then loosened with a small weeding 
iron, something like a chisel ; but if the season shotild prove dry, 
the field is occasionally watered : the weeding is also contintied» 
and the soil occasionally loosened about the plants. 

In August, small ti'enches are cut through the field, with small 
intervals between them, for the ptu^pose of draining off the water, 
if the season is too wet. This is very rec^uisite, for if the canes 
are now supplied with too much moistiu-e, the juice is rendered 
watery and unprofitable. If the season happens to be dry, the 
same dikes serre to conduct the irrigating water through the 
field, and to caiTy ofi" what does not soak iato the earth in a few 
hours. Stagnant water they eonsi'ler very injurious to the cane, 
and on the di-ains being well contrived depends iii a great 
measture the fat Lire hope of profit. Immediately after the field 
is trenched, the canes are propped. They are now about three 
feet high, and each set has produced from three to six canes. The 
lower leaves of each are first carefully wrapt up around it, so as 
to cover it completely in every part : a small strong bamboo, 
eight or ten feet long, is then inserted firmly in the middle of each 
stool, and the canes tied to it. This secures them in an erect 
position, and facditates the cu-ctdation of the air. 

Hoehig cannot be repeated too frequently. This is demonstratd 
by the practice of the most successful cidtivators. In Zdla, IS". 
INIooradabad, in April, about six weeks after planting, the earth 
on each side of the cane-rows is loosened by a sharp-pointed hoe, 
shaped somewhat like a bricklayer's trowel. This is repeated six 
times before the field is laid out iu beds and channels for irriga- 
tion. There, likewise, if the season is imusually dry, the fields 
in the low grotmd are watered in May and June. This sup- 
poses there are either nullahs, or ancient pucka wells, otherwise 
the canes are allowed to take their chance, for the cost of 
making a well on the uplands is from ten to twenty rupees — 
an expense too heavy for an individual cidtivator, and not many 
would dig in partnership, for they woidd fight for the water. 



179 



III the vieiuitf of Benares, as tlie caues ad^auce in growth, they 
continiie to wrap the leaves as they begin to wither up round the 
advancing stem, and to tie this to the bamboo higher up. If the 
weather continue wet, the trenches are carefally kept open ; and, 
on the other hand, if dry weather occurs, water is occasionally sup- 
plied. Hoeing is also performed every five or six weeks. Wrapping 
the leaves around the cane is found to prevent tliem cracking by 
the heat of the sun, and hinders their throwing out lateral 
branches. 

In January and February the canes are ready for cutting. The 
average height of the cane is about nine feet, foliage included, 
and the naked cane from one inch to one inch and a quarter in 
diameter. 

. Xear "Maduna, the hand- watering is facilitated by cutting a small 
trench down the centre of each bed. The beds are there a cubit 
wide, but only four rows of canes are planted in each. 

It is deserving of notice, that the eastern and north-eastern parts 
of Bengal are more subject to rain at every season of the year, but 
especially in the hot months, than the western ; which acconnts for 
the land being prepared and the plants set so much earlier in 
E-ungpore than in Beerbhoom. This latter country has also a 
dryer soil generally ; for this reason, so much is said in the report 
from thence of the necessity of watering. 

The Benares country is also dryer than Bengal, therefore more 
waterings are requisite. 

At Malda, ten or fifteen days after the earth has been removed 
from the roots of the canes and the plants have appeared, the land 
is to be slightly manured, well cleared of weeds, and the earth that 
was removed again laid about the canes ; after which, ten or fifteen 
days, it must be well weeded, and a-^ain twenty or twenty-five 
days afterwards. This mode of cultivation it is necessary to follow 
until the month of Joystee. The land must be ploughed and ma- 
nured between the rows of canes in the m.onth of Assaar ; after 
which, fifteen or twenty days, the canes are to be tied two or three 
together with the leaves, the earth about them well cleaned, and 
the earth that was ploughed up laid about the roots of the canes 
something raised. In the month of Saubun, twenty or twenty-five 
days from the preceding operation, the canes are tied as before, 
and again ten or fifteen days afterwards ; which done, nine or 
ten clumps are then to be tied together. 

In the Sojahmutidry Circar, on the Delta of the Grodavery, Dr. 
Roxburgh states, "that nothing more is done after the cane is 
planted, if the vreather be moderately showery, till the young shoots 
are some two or three inches high ; the earth is then loosened for 
a few inches round them v.'ith. the weeding iron. Should 
the season prove dry, the field is occasionally watered from 
the river, continuing to weed and to keep the ground loose 
round the stools. In August, two or three months from 
the time of planting, small trenches are cut through the field 
at short distances^ and so contrived as to serve to drain off 

?r 2 



180 



SrGAH. 



tlie Avater, should the season prove too wet for the canes, whicli 
is often the case, and would render their juices weak and unprofit- 
ahle. The farmer, therefore, never fails to ha^-e his field plentifidlv 
and judiciously intersected vrith drains while the cane is small, and 
before the usual time for the violent rains. Immediately afuerthe 
field is trenched, the cpjies are all propped ; this is an operation 
which seems peculiar to these parts. 

In Dinajpoor, in about a month after planting, " the young plants 
are two or three inches high ; the earth is then raised from the 
cuttings by means of a spade, and the diw leaves by which they are 
surrounded are removed. For a day or two they remain exposed 
to the air, and are then manured with ashes and oilcake, and 
covered with earth. Weeds must be removed as they spring ; ajid 
when the plants are about a cubit high, the field must be ploughed. 
When they have grown a cubit higher, which is between the L3th 
of June and 1-ith of July, they are tied together in bundles of three 
or four, by wrapping them round with their own leaves. This is 
done partly to prevent them from being laid down by the wind, 
and partly to prevent them from being eaten by jackals. Diu'ing 
the next month three or four of these bunches are tied together ; 
and about the end of September, when the canes grow rank, they 
are supported by bamboo stakes driven in the groimd. They are 
cut between the middle of December and the end of March." 

If the canes grow too vigorously, developing a superabundance 
of leaves, it is a good practice to remove those leaves which are de- 
cayed, that the stems may be exposed fully to the sim. In the West 
Indies, this is called trashing the canes. It requires discretion ; 
for in dry soils or seasons, or if the leaves are removed before suf- 
ficiently dead, more injury than benefit will be occasioned. 

Harvesting. — The season in which the canes become ripe in 
various districts has already been noticed when considering their 
cultivation. In addition I may state, that in the Eajahmundry 
Circar, about the mouth of the Godaver}-, Dr. Eoxburgh adds, 
" that in January and February the canes begin to be ready to 
cut, which is about nine months from the time of planting. This 
operation is the same as in other sugar coimtries — of course I need 
not describe it. Their height, when standing on the field, T^ill be 
from eight to ten feet (foliage included), and the naked cane from 
an inch to an inch and a quarter in diameter." 

In ^lalda, the canes are cut in January and February. In 
Mooradabad, upon the low land, the canes are ripe in October, and 
upon the high lands a month later. The fitness of the cane for 
cutting may be ascertained by making an incision across the cane, 
and obser\ing the internal grain. If it is soft and moist, like a 
turnip, it is not yet ripe ; but if the face of the cut is dry, and 
white particles appear, it is fit for harvesting. — {Fitzmaurice on tlie 
Culture of the Sugar Cane.) 

Injuries. — 1. A wet season, either during the very early or in 
the concluding period of the cane's vegetation, is one of the worst 
causes of injury. In such a season, the absence of the usual in- 



SrGAE. 



181 



tensity of light and heat causes the sap to be very materially defi- 
cient m saccharine matter. Bat, on the other hand, 

2. A very dry season, immediately after the sets are planted, 
though the want of rain may in some degree be supplied by arti- 
ficial means, causes the produce to be but indifterent. These 
inconveniences are of a general nature, and irremediable. 

3. Animals. — In India not only the incursions of domesticated 
animals, but in some districts of the wild elephant, buflalo, and 
hog, are frequent sources of injury. Almost every plantation is liable, 
also, to the attack of the jackal, and rats are destructive enemies. 

4. White Ants. — The sets of the sugar cane have to be carefully 
watched, to preserve them from the white ant (Tervies fatalis), 
to attacks from which they are liable until they have begun to 
shoot. To prevent this injury, the following mixture has been 
recommended : — 

Asafoetida (liing), 8 chittacks. 

Mustard- seed cake (sarsuin ki khaili), 8 seers. 

Putrid fish, 4 seers. 

Bruised butch root, 2 seers ; or muddur, 2 seers. 
Mix the above together in a large vessel, with water sufficient to 
make them into the thickness of curds ; then steep each slip of cane 
in it for half an hour after planting ; and, lastly, water the lines 
three times previous to setting the cane, by irrigatiug the water- 
course with water mixed up with bruised butch root, or muddur if 
the former be not procurable.* 

A very efi"ectual mode of destroying the white ant, is by mixing 
a smaU quantity of arsenic witli a few ounces of burned bread, 
pulverised flour, or oatmeal, moistened with molasses, and placing 
pieces of the dough thus made, each about the size of a turkey's 
egg, on a flat board, and covered over with a wooden bowl, in 
several parts of the plantation. The ants soon take possession of 
these, and the poison has a continuous efiect, for the ants which 
die are eaten by those which succeed them.f They are said to be 
driven from a soil by frequently hoeing it They are found to pre- 
vail most upon newly broken-up lands. 

In Central India, the penetration of the white ants into the in- 
terior of the sets, and the consequent destruction of the latter, is 
prevented by dipping each end into buttermilk, asafoetida, and 
powdered mustard-seed, mixed into a thick compound. 

5. Storms. — Unless they are very violent. Dr. Eoxburgh ob- 
serves, " they do no great harm, because the canes are propped. 
However, if they are once laid down, which sometimes happens, 
they become branchy and thin, yielding a poor, watery juice." 

* That the above application would be beneficial, is rendered still more 
■worthy of credit from the following experience : — In the Dhoon, the white 
aut is a most formidable enemy to the sugar planter, owing to the de- 
struction it causes to the sets when first planted. Mr. G. H. Smith says, 
that there is a wood very common there, called by the natives Butch, through 
which, they say, if the irrigating waters are passed in its progress to the 
beds, the white ants are driven away. (Trans. Agri-Hort. Soc. of India, y. 65.) 

t Fitzmaurice on the Culture of the Sugar Cane. 



182 



G. The Worm "is anotlier evil, whicli generally \dsitg them eTerr 
few years. A beetle deposits its eggs in the young canes : the 
caterpillars of these remain in the cane, liying on its medullary 
parts, till they are ready to be metamorphosed into the chiTsalis 
state. Sometimes this eyil is so great as to injure a sixth or an 
eighth part of the field ; but, what is worse, the disease is commonly 
general when it happens — few fields escaping." 

7. The Flowering " is the last accident they reckon upon, al- 
though it scarce deseryes the name, for it rarely happens, and never 
but to a yery small proportion of some few fields. Those canes 
that flower have yery little juice left, and it is by no means so 
sweet as that of the rest." 

In the Brazils, the fact of the slaye trade being at an end must 
influence the future produce of sugar, and attention has been 
lately chiefly directed to coftee, cotton, and other staples. The 
exports of that emph-e in 1842, were 59,000 tons ; in 1843, 54,500 ; 
in 1844, 76,400 ; in 1845, 91,000 ; average of these four years 
69,720. The exports in the next four years averaged 96,150 tODS, 
viz :— 76,100, in 1846 ; 96.300, in 1847; 112,500, in 1848; and 
99,700, in 1S49. 

Mode of Cultivation in Brazil. — The lands in Brazil are never 
grubbed up, either for planting the sugar cane, or for any 
other agricultural purposes. The inconveniences of this custom 
are perceivable more pai'ticularly in high lands ; because all of 
these that are of any value are naturally covered vdth thick woods. 
The cane is planted amongst the numerous stumps of trees, by 
which means much ground is lost, and as the sprouts from these 
stumps almost immediately spring forth (such is the rapidity of 
vegetation) the cleanings are rendered veiy laborious. These 
shoots require to be cut down sometiisies, even before the cane 
has found its way to the surface of the ground. The labor like- 
wise is gTcat every time a piece of land is to be put under cultivation, 
for the wood must be cut down afresh ; and although it cannot 
have reached the same size which the original timber had attained, 
still as several years are allowed to pass between each period at 
which the ground is planted, the trees are generally of considerable 
thickness. The wood is sufiered to remain upon the land until 
the leaves become diy ; then it is set on fire, and these are de- 
stroyed with the brush wood and the smaller branches of the trees. 
Heaps are now made of the remaining timber, which is likewise 
burnt. This process is universally practised in preparing land for 
the cultivation of any plant. I have often heard the method much 
censured as being injurious in the main to the soil, though the crop 
immediately succeeding the operation may be rendered more 
luxuriant by it. I have observed that the canes Avhich grew upon 
the spots where the heaps of timber and large branches of trees 
had been burnt, were of a darker .and richer gi^een than those 
around them, and that they like^viise over-topped them. After the 
plant-canes, or those of the first year's growth, are taken from the 
lands, the field-trash, that is the dried leaves and stems of the 



1S3 



canes wliicli remaiu upon the grouDcl, are set fire to, with the idea 
that the ratoons, — that is, the sprouts from the old roots of the 
canes, — -spring forth with more luxuriance, and attain a greater size 
•by means of this practice. The ratoons of the first year are called 
in Brazil, socas ; those of the second year, resocas ; those - of the 
third year, terceiras socas, and so forth. After the roots are left 
unencumbered by burning the field-trash, the mould is raised 
rouDd about them ; indeed, if this was neglected, many of those 
roots would remain too much exposed to the heat of the sun, 
and would not continue to vegetate. 

Some lands will continue to give ratoons for five, or even seven 
years ; but an average may be made at one crop of good ratoons 
fit for grinding, another of inferior ratoons fit for planting, or 
for making molasses to be used in the still-house, and a third which 
aftords but a trifling profit, in return for the trouble whicli the 
cleanings give. 

I have above spoken more particularly of high lands. The low 
and marshy grounds, called in Brazil, varzeas, are, however, those 
which are the best adapted to the cane: and, indeed, upon the plan- 
tations that do not possess some portions of this description of 
soil the crops are very unequal, and sometimes almost entirely 
fail, according to the greater or less quantity of rain, which may 
chance to fall in the coarse of the year. The varzeas are usually 
covered with short and close brushwood, and as these admit, 
froiQ their rank nature, of frequent cultivation, they soon 
becjme easy to work. The soil of these, when it is new, 
receives the name of paid ; it trembles under the pressure of the 
feet, and easdy admits of a pointed stick being thiaist into it ; and 
though dry to appearance requii'es draining. The macape marl 
is often to be met with in all situations ; it is of a greenish white 
color, and if at all wet, it sticks very much to the hoe ; it becomes 
soon dry at the surface, but the canes which have been planted 
upon it seldom fail to revive after rain, even though a want of it 
should have been much felt. The white marl, harro hranco, is less 
frequently found ; it is accoimted extremely productive. This clay 
is used in making bricks and coarse earthenware, and also for clay- 
ing the sugar. Eed earth is occasionally met with upon sides of 
hills near to the coast ; but this description of soil belongs 
properly to the cotton districts. Black mould is common, and 
likewise a loose brownish soil, in which a less or greater proportion 
of sand is intermixed. It is, I believe, generally acknowledged 
that no land can be too rich for the growth of the sugar cane. 
One disadvantage, however, attends soil that is low and quite new, 
which is, that the canes rim up to a great height without sufilcient 
thickness, and are thus often lodged (or blown down) before the 
season for cutting them arrives. I have seen rice planted upon 
lands of this kind on the first 3'ear to decrease theii^ rankness, and 
render them better adapted to the cane on the succeeding season. 
Some attempts have been made to plant cane upon the lands 
which reach down to the edge of the mangroves, and in a few 



SrG-AB. 



instances pieces of land heretofore coTered by the salt water at tlie 
fiow of tlie tide, have been laid dr}' by means of dnmiing for tlie 
Eame purpose ; bnt the desired success ha.s not attended the plan, 
for the canes haye been fotmd to be nnSt fot making sugar: the 
symp does not coagulate, or at least does not attain that con- 
sistence which is requisite, and therefore it can only be used for 
the distilleries. 

The general mcde of :;rf-r:ir:'-iz :::r li'-ii ::r the C2ne is by 
holing it with hoes. The i:rrr :r5 5 rand in a r:~. e.rrh rcan 
strikes his hoe into the griuhi ::rm:ediately ':-::zt h::^, and 
forms a trench of fire or six inches :_: It rh : i-z r'.TZ 
the whole row doing the same, an^ riiry ;:::rrh :r rh:^ :rvL:.::;n 
from one side of the cleared land to r".? :r :v:, :r r.::- r;p 

of a hill to the bottom. The earth vrh: :h 15 rh: :"h- " v.r ;: rae 
trench remains on the lower silr ir. In the Br:ri;'r AVf-sr In- 
dia colonies this work is done i:r a ::r:.::her nearly sirihar. "?"ar more 
STst-er-ariraJy. The hr-h :1s ih Brazil are hrr hrrasrrraa, an i every- 
thing is done by the eye. The qnarrrrry : f cane -hirh a tiece will 
require for planting is estimatrd ly s: n:ah- :rr-l;al;: and 
nothing can he nr:reva_:nr rhan rn:- in:!^ rf :::nrnr-rr:n, r :r rhe 
load which a carr :a:- :arry hrrrhls nr:n rlr c.nlrmn c: ane 
oien. upon the natnre rf rlie r a l. and upon rlie Irn.rn :f the 
cane. Sach is the awk— rhril nnrae :f these rehijles. rhar miieh 
nicety is nec-essary in 'na:ki:ri- rnern. an: if r— : janes -vill a : :at 
nt into a canr iTh.ri: - a;.-s, nrnrh nr. re 'vih ';e ::nn:yel rhan rr' rhe 
canes are longer and they double over each other. 

The plough is sometimes used in low lands, upon which drain- 
ing has not been fern 1 n rjessary; but such is the clumsy con- 
struction of the machine ~hi ch they make use. that shr oxen are 
yoked to it. A plorrar. ara"~n ly two oxen, constructed after a 
model which was brcn_:hr fr::n Cayenne, has been introduced in 
one or two instances, L'r:n nig': Ir:: n rhe stumps 01 the trees 
almost preclnde rhe r :ssibility :r rraas rvhrmnr rhe lah:rers. The 
trenche- ::ein^ pnrarrl, rfh y----^ y.-; hh.irnhnih;- m 
the bottom of tnem. and are covered witli rhe rrearesr rarr : me 
mould which had been taken out ofthetren:. 11 > - _: ;rt _:n 
to rise above the surface of th^ gr: aha in rhe c:n:;r :r r~e-Tr :r 
fourteen days. The canes unilera: rliree jlranings h-cm the -"c-e:!? 
and the sprouts praceeding fr::n r'ne sracnr- :r' rhe rrrcs : ana 
when the land is poor, and pre an: s a grearer :nanr:ry cr rhe : :r- 
mer, and contains fe— er :r^ rhr l-rreh r .e - r: nne r: m 
cleaned afc>urth time, T m cnrrmgs are nn .:.ln la 1- :n:_m m 
length, but it is judged that the shorter they are l etter, ll 
they are short, and one piece of cane rots, an n : :e ^hich re- 
mains vacant is not so large as when the cutriaa- : ; l:::h nna 
they by any accident fail. The canes which are n;e 1 : - mah.r:_g 
are generally ratoons. if any exist upon the plantation : but it 
there are none of these, the inferior plant canes snnnly their 
places. It is accounted more economical to make an r rl:e ra- 
toons for this purpose : and maDy persons say that rn.y are less 



STJaAB. 



185 



liable to rot than the plant canes. In the British sugar islands the 
cuttings for planting are commonly the tops of the canes which 
have been ground for sugar. But in Brazil the tops of the canes 
are all thrown to the cattle, for there is usually a want of grass 
during the season that the mills are at work. In the British colo- 
nies, the canes are at first covered with only a small portion of 
mould, and yet they are as long in forcing their way to the surface 
as in Brazil, though in the latter a more considerable quantity of 
earth is laid upon them. I suppose that the superior richness of 
the Brazilian soil accounts for this. Upon rich soils the cuttings 
are laid at a greater distance, and the trenches are dug farther 
from each other, than upon those which have undergone more fre- 
quent cultivation, or which are known to possess less power from 
their natural composition. The canes which are planted upon the 
former throw out great numbers of sprouts, which spread each 
way ; and, although when they are young, the land may appear to 
promise but a scanty crop, they soon close, and no opening is to 
be seen. It is often judged proper to thin the canes, by removing 
some of the suckers at the time that the last cleaning is given ; and 
some persons recommend that a portion of the dry leaves should 
also be stripped off at the same period, but on other plantations 
this is not practised. 

The proper season for planting is from the middle of July to the 
middle of September, upon high lands, and from September 
to the middle of ^^ovember in low lands. Occasionally, the great 
moisture of the soil induces the planter to continue his work until 
the beginning of December, if his people are sufficiently numerous 
to answer all the necessary purposes. The first of the canes are 
ready to be cut for the mill in September of the following year, 
and the crop is finished usually in January or Eebruary. In the 
British sugar islands the canes are planted from August to No- 
vember, and are ripe for the mill in the beginning of the second 
year. Thus this plant in Brazil requires from thirteen to fifteen 
months to attain its proper state for the mill ; and in the West 
India islands it remains standing sixteen or seventeen months. 

The Otaheitan, or the Bourbon cane, has been brought from 
Cayenne to Pernambuco since the Portuguese obtained possession 
of that settlement. I believe the two species of cane are much 
alike, and I have not been able to discover which of them it is. 
Its advantages are so apparent, that after one trial on each estate, 
it has superseded the small cane which was in general use. The 
Cayenne cane, as it is called in Pernambuco, is of a much larger 
size than the common cane ; it branches so very greatly, that the 
labor in planting a piece of cane is much decreased, and the re- 
turns from it are at the same time much more considerable. It is 
not planted in trenches, but holes are dug at equal distances from 
each other, in which these cuttings are laid. This cane bears 
the dry weather better than the small cane; and when the 
leaves of the latter begin to turn brown, those of the former 
still preserve their natural color. A planter in the Varzea told 



186 



me that lie bad obtained four crops from oue piece of land in 
three years, and that the soil in question had been considered by 
him as nearly worn out, before he planted the Cayenne cane upon 
it. — (" Koster's Travels in Brazil," vol. 2.) 

Mr. E. Morewood, of Compensation, Natal, who has paid much 
attention to sugar culture in that colony, has favored me with 
the following details, which will be useful for the guidance of 
others, as being the results of his own experience : — 



lbs. 

Produce of one acre of sugar cane .... 72,240 

Juice expressed, (or 64 per cent.) .... 46,308 

Dry sugar . . . . . . 7,356 

Green syrup or molasses . . , . .2,829 

This syrup carrying with it a good deal of sugar out of the coolers, 

contains fully 75 per cent, of crystalizable sugar, or . . 2,121 

Thus the total amount of sugar per acre is . . . 9,477 



The average density of the cane juice was 12 degrees Beaume, or 21 per cent. 
All the improved cane mills are now constructed to give at least 75 per cent, of 
juice. "With such a mill, an acre would , yield 11,075 lbs, of sugar. With 
proper cultivation I have no doubt the produce could be largely increased ; for, 
as the numerous visitors who have seen this place can testify, my cane fields 
were not attended to. 

T® enable me to show the cost of producing a crop of canes, you must 
allow me to go into the expense of cultivating the land first. 

To keep one ploughman going, a person requires — - 

20 Oxen at £3 . . . . £60 0 0 

1 Plough . . . . 7 10 0 

1 set Harrows . . . . 7 10 0 

Yokes, Trektows, Eeins, &c. . . 5 0-0 



Then the expenses per month will be : — 
Ploughman's wages 

Board .... 
1 Driver, 10s., Leaders, 5s. . 
Food for two natives 

"Wear and tear of oxen and gear, at 25 per cent, 
per annum 



£80 


0 


0 


£2 


10 


0 


1 


10 


0 


0 


15 


0 


0 


10 


0 


1 


10 


4 


£6 


18 


4 



These two spans of oxen will comfortably plough and harrow twenty acres 
per month, and the cost will thus he about 7s. per acre. 

'Now, let us suppose that a person wishes to put in twenty acres of canes, 
the expense would be about as follows : — 

4 Ploughings and harrowings, 80 acres at 7s. . 

Drawing canefurrows, 4 acres per day, 5 days at 6s. 

2,000 Cane tops per acre, at 50s. 

4 Horsehoeings, at 2s. 6d. . 

4 Handweedings in the rows, at 2s. 6d. 

Cutting and carrying out canes, at 30s. 

Carriage to Mill, thirty tons per acre, at 2s, 



£28 
1 

100 
10 
10 
30 
60 



£239 10 0 

or £12 per acre. To this must be added the rent of land, say 10s. per acre, 
with right of grazing cattle, for two years, when the first crop will come in, 
would bring the expense to ' £13 per acre. The cane yielding say only three 
tons of sugar per acre, of which the planter Avould, most likely, have _ to give 
the manufacturer one-third, he will receive forty tons of sugar, costing him 



SUC+AK. 



187 



£6 10s. per tou, aud worth on the spot, according to advices received from 
England and the Cape, £15 per ton, at the lowest estimate, or £600. 

The greatest expense, you will perceive, is the article of tops for planting ; 
but this ought not to discourage persons. The plants which I imported from 
the Mauritms some years ago, cost me, on account of many of them not vege- 
tating, at the rate of £30 per acre. Parties who begin planting now have the 
great advantage that they can get plants, every one of which, if properly 
treated, will grow, at one-sixth of that price. 

How many crops cane will give on good soil in Natal, I am of course unable 
to state, as the oldest cane I have got has been cut only three times — the last 
yield (second ratoons) was much finer than the preceding ones, and by adopt- 
ing the improved manner of cane cultivation, viz., returning all but the cane 
juice to the soil, I am confident that replanting will be found quite unnecessary ; 
the expenses for the second and following years will therefore be very trifling. 



Comparative Statement of the 
Mauritius of Land, Live Stock, 
requirements connected with the 
MAUEITIUS, 



Land, per acre, £3 10s. to 
Kent of Land. It is not 
customary to let land at 
the Mauritius, except on 
the system of an equal 
division of the produce. 
Manure. Guano, com- 
monly used in its dry 
state, also other ma- 
nures or composts, per 
ton, £6 to 

Live Stock. Mules, 5 of 
which are required to 
each load of 3,000 to 
4,000 lbs., £30 each . 
Keep of Mules each, per 
annum 

Labor. Drivers, each, 
per month 

Coolies, including keep, 

each . 
White labor, each 



Fuel. Cane trash or wood 
Mill Powder. Steam or 
water 

Implements. All agricul- 
tural labor is performed 
by the hand-hoe, very 
expensive in its nature. 



Produce of the Cane. 
Average from 1 to 4 tons. 

Cane. Periodical renewal 
of the cane, according to 
the quality of the soil, 
every 3 to 10 years 



7 0 0 



150 0 0 



7 0 0 



1 0 0 



ruling Prices at Natal and the 
Implements, Labor, and other 
cultivation of the Sugar Cane. 
NATAL. 

£ s. d. 

Land, per acre, 10s. to .10 0 
Rent of Land, 6d. to .050 



Cattle Manure in abun- 
dance, according to dis- 
tance, per load. Is. to . 0 2 6 
(None required on virgin 
soil for the fii'st three 
years of cultivation.) 
Oxen, of which 12 are re- 
quired to each load, £3 
each . . . 36 0 0 

Keep of oxen, on pastu- 
rage . 

Colored driver, each, per 
month . 

Kafir leader, ditto 
Kafirs, including keep, 

ditto . . . 0 10 0 

"White labor, each per 

month, £3 lOs. to .400 
Cane trash or wood 
The same . . 

All agiicultural labor is 

performed with the 

plough, harrows, and 

scarifier, with oxen so 

much less expensive than 

the hand labor at the 

Mauritius 
From 2 to 3 tons . 

Not yet ascertained, and 
depending on the soil . 



free. 



0 15 
0 10 



188 



SUGAK. 



MAURITIUS. 
PROA^SIONS, &c. Beef, per 
lb. 6d. to 
Bread, per loaf . 
Butter, per lb., Is. 3d. to 
Eice, the food of the 

Coolies, per bag of 

150 lbs., 12s. 6d. to . 
Oats, per bag, of 100 lbs. 

12s. 6d. to . 
Bran, ditto, 100 lbs. 

I2s. to 
Beans, ditto, 100 lbs. 

223. 6d. to . 
Coal, per ton, 40s. to 
Charge or Ma^'ufac- 
TURE. The manufactu- 
rer reaps and carries to 
the mill the canes of the 
grower, but the latter 
provides his own bag- 
ging, and carts away his 
half of the sugar, the 
other half being the re- 
muneration of the manu- 
facturer 



Analysis of the foregoing Statement, showing the total compa- 
rative outlay for sundries connected with the cultivation of Sugar 
at Natal and ^laimtius, computed at the lowest ruling prices. 





MAUEITIUS. 


IfATAL. 


Difference 
in 

faror of Natal 


Land, 100 acres 


70s.— 


350 


0 


0 


10s.- 


- 50 


0 


0 


300 


0 


0 


Manure, Guano 10 loads 


£Q— 


60 


0 


0 
















Cattle Manure, 10 loads 










Is.- 


- 0 


10 


0 








Live Stock, 10 mules . 


£30— 


300 


0 


0 


£15- 


-150 


0 


0 


150 


0 


0 


: — 10 oxen . 


£12— 


120 


0 


0 


£3- 


- 30 


0 


0 


90 


0 


0 


Two drivers . . per month 


£1— 


2 


0 


0 




1 


5 


0 


0 


15 


0 


Coolies, 10 with keep 




10 


0 


0 










2 


10 




Kafirs, 10 ditto . 










153.- 


— 7 


10 


o} 






0 


White men, 10 


£4— 


40 


0 


0 


£4- 


- 40 


0 


0 








Beef, 100 lbs. 


at 6d. 


— 2 


10 


0 


l|d. 


~ 0 


12 


6 


1 


17 


6 


Bread, 100 loaves 


6d. 


— 2 


10 


0 


6d. 


— 2 


10 


0 








Butter, 100 lbs. 


ls.3d. 


6 


5 


0 


6d. 


— 2 


10 


0 


3 


15 


0 


Rice, 100 lbs., food for Coolies 




0 


8 


4 
















Indian Com, 100 lbs., food for 
















9I 


0 


5 


7 


Kafirs 












0 


2 










Oats .... 




0 


12 


6 




0 


10 


0 


0 


2 


6 


Beans, 100 lbs. 




1 


2 


6 




0 


10 


0 


0 


12 


6 


Coals 




2 


0 


0 




2 


0 


0 










£897 


8 


4 




£288 


0 


3 


£554 


18 


1 



The immense saving obtained by ploughing, &c., over the 
Mauritius hand labor with the hoe, is not shown in the above 
figures. 



jS^ATAL. 

£. s. d. Provisioxs, &c. Beefjper 
0 0 8 lb., l|d. to 

0 0 6 Breaci, per loaf 

0 16 Butter, per lb., 6d. to . 

Indian corn, (maize per 
180 lbs. 5s.) per 150 
0 15 0 lbs. . 

Oats, per 104 lbs., 10s. to 
0 15 0 

Bran, not used . 

0 13 9 Beans, per 180 lbs., 13s 
to 20s., or per 100 lbs 

1 5 0 7s. 2d. to 

2 10 0 The same 
The Mauritius principle 

may be adopted in this 
colony, with such modi- 
fications as may be called 
for by local exigencies . 



0 11 0 



189 



Table showing the cost of producing Muscovado sugar, and the 
quantity produced or available in the several countries men- 
tioned, as made up from the evidence given before the Com- 
mittee on Sugar and Coffee Plantations ; by T. Wilson. 



COUNTRY. 


Average 
cost of 
produc- 
tion 
under 
slavery 
or com- 
pvdsory 
labor. 


Average 
available 
produce 

slavery or 
compulsory 
abor, for 
tlie supply 
of Europe 
and the 
United 
States, 


Average 
available 
produce 
during the 
last three 
years of 
freedom, 
for the 
supply of 
Europe and 
the United 
States. 


Cost of 
producing 
one cvrt. of 
sugar at 
present 
date,exclu- 
sive of in- 
terest on 
capital, etc. 


Excess 
of cost 
of free 
labour 
over 
slave or 
compul- 
sory 
labor, 
percwt., 
taking 
theaver- 
age cost 
of the 
latter at 
lis. per 
cwt. 


Excess 
of cost 
of free 
over 

SLAVE 
TEADE 

labor, 
talcing 
the cost 
in Brazil 
at 7s.6d. 
per cwt. 
making 
theaver- 
age of 
slave- 
trade 
labor 
8s. per 
cwt. 


Increase 
of cost 
in the 
British 
planta- 
tions 
since 
emanci- 
pation. 


British Plantations. 


s. 


d. 


Ions. 


1 ons. 


B. 


d. 




S. 


d. 


8. a. 


a A 

s. a. 




7 


6 


/, /O/ 


ft CkR'X 

o,yD»5 


16 


6 




5 


6 


ft A 


Q n 




6 


0 




lD,i>/ o 


15 


6 




4 


6 


7 fi 


if D 




11 


0 


9,634 


3,779 


17 


6 




6 


6 


9 6 


6 6 




5 


0 






19 


0 




8 


0 


1 1 r> 
1 1 u 


14. n 

Ira KJ 




5 


6 


10 056 


6 636 


19 


6 




8 


6 


11 fi 

Li. O 


14 0 




5 


6 


5 321 




19 


6 




8 


6 


1 1 fi 

LA. \} 


14 f) 
X.'H \J 


€4- T 1-1 'AIM 


5 


6 


9 600 


8 650 


19 


6 




8 


6 


LI 6 


14 0 




10 


0 


CQ ana 
DfSjbJo 


Or\ OAT 

d(J,oU7 


22 


6 




11 


6 




1 o a 
li2 o 




6 


8 


44,178 


24,817 


25 


10 




14 


10 


17 10 


19 2 




3 


0 


15,428 


16,539 


20 


10 




9 


10 


12 10 


17 iQ 








oO,UUU 


ou,uuu 


20 


0 




9 


0 


La U 












dZ,000 


23 


0 




12 


0 


15 0 












7,000 


20 


0 




9 


0 


12 0 




FoTBtc/n Ft66 X/UbOT 
























Country. 
























Europe (Beet-root) \ 








100,000 


24 


4 




13 


4 


16 4 




Foreign Slave ^ ot 
























Compulsory Labor 
























Countries. 


























15 


0 


88,000 




15 


0"^ 












French Colonies... 


15 


0 


90,000 




15 


0 




Slave 






Cuba (Muscovado) 


8 


0 


220,000 




8 


0 




or com- 
pulsory 








8 


6 


40,000 




8 


6 




labor. 








12 


6 


100,000 




12 


6 














11 


11 


90,000 




11 















* This cost, as taken from the averages given in Lord Harris's despatches, is 
lower than the averages given by the witnesses before the Committee. 

t This beet-root sugar sells, in the continental markets, on account of its 
inferior quality, at about 4s. to 6s. per cwt. below Colonial Muscovado, so that 
Colonial Muscovado must be about 33s. per cwt. to enable beet sugar to sell in 
this market ior cost and charges, and allowing no profit to the beet sugar maker. 

X The cost of producing sugar in Java is taken at the average between the 
Government contract sugar, and the free sugar, as given by Mr. San Martin. 

§ The cost of producing sugar in Brazil is taken from the Consular return : 
this return has given no credit for rum or molasses, and has charged 6s. 5d. for 
manufacturing, fully 3s. 5d. more than the cost in Cuba, — allowance for these 
two items would give 7s. 6d, as the nett cost per cwt. 



190 



BEET ROOT SUGAE. 

The rapid progress of tlie production of beet root sugar on the 
continent, especially in Prance, Eelginm, GrernianT. Austria, and 
Hassia, and its recent introduction and cultivation as an article of 
commerce in Ireland, renders the detail of its culture and manu- 
facture on the continent interesting. I have, therefore, been in- 
duced to bestow some pains on an investigation of the rise and 
progress of its production and consumption in those countries. 

During the past three years, the smallest estimate which can be 
formed of the quantity of cane sugar that has been replaced by 
beet root sugar in the chief European countries, is about 80,000 
tons annually, vdth. the certainty that, year after year, the con- 
sumption will become exclusively confined to the former, to the 
greater exslusion of the latter ; unless some great change shall 
take place in the relative perfection and manufacture of the two 
different descriptions of produce. 

Although, observes the Econoinist, the beet root sugar produced 
in France, Belgium, Germany, and other parts of the continent 
is not brought into competitionin our own markets with the produce 
of the British colonies, yet it must be plain that the exclusion of so 
much foreign cane sugar from the continent, which was formerly 
consumed there, must throw a much larger quantity of Cuba and 
Brazilian sugar upon this market ; and by this means the increased 
production of beet root sugar, even in those countries where it is 
highly protected, does indirectly increase the competition among 
the producers of cane sugar in our market. 

So early as 1747, a chemist of Berlin, named Margraf, discovered 
that beet root contained a certain quantity of sugar, but it was 
not until 1796 that the discovery was properly brought under the 
attention of the scientifi.c in Eui'ope by Achard, who was also a 
chemist and resident of Berlin, and who published a circumstantial 
account of the progress by which he extracted from 3 to 4 per 
cent, of sugar from beet root. 

Several attempts have been made, from time to time, to manu- 
facture beet root sugar in England, but never, hitherto, on a large 
and systematic scale. Some years ago a company was established 
for the purpose, but they did not proceed in their operations. 

A refinery of sugar from the beet root was erected at Thames 
Bank, Chelsea, in the early part of 1837. Duiing the summer of 
1839 a great many acres of land were put into cultivation with the 
root, at Wandsworth and other places in the vicinity of the 
metropolis. The machinery used in the manufacture was princi- 
pally on the plan of the vacuum pans, and a fine refined sugar was 
produced from the juice by the first process of evaporation, after 
it had undergone discolorization. Another part of the premises 
was appropriated to the manufacture of coarse brown paper from 
the refuse, for which it is extensively used in Erance. 

A refinery was also established about this period at Belfast, in 
the vicinity of which town upwards of 200 acre^ of land were put 
into cultivation with beet root for the manufiictnre of sugar. 



SUGAE. 



191 



The experience of Prance ought to be a sufficient guarantee that 
the manufacture of beet root sugar is not a speculative but a great 
staple trade, in whicb the supply can be regulated by the demand, 
with a precision scarcely attainable in any other case, and when, 
in addition, this demand tends rather to increase than to diminish. 
That the trade is profitable there can also be no doubt from the 
large capital embarked in it on the Continent — a capital which is 
steadily increasing even in France, where protection has been 
gradually witlidrawn, and where, since 1848, it has competed upon 
equal terms with colonial sugars. 

The produce of France in 1851 was nearly 60,000 tons. The 
beet root sugar made in the ZoUvereinin 1851 was about 45,000 
tons. Probably half as much more as is made in France and the 
Zollverein, is made in all the other parts of the Continent. In 
Belgium, the quantity made is said to be 7,000 tons ; in E-ussia, 
35,000 ; making a total of beet root sugar now manufactured in 
Europe of at least 150,000 and probably more, or nearly one-sixth 
part of the present consumption of Europe, America, and our 
various colonies. In 1847 this was estimated at upwards of 
1,000,000 tons ; and, as the production has increased considerably 
since that period, it is now not less than 1,100,000 tons. 
The soil of the Continent, it is said, will give 16 tons to the acre, 
and that of Ireland, 26 tons to the acre. The former yields from 
6 to 7 per cent. — the latter from 7 to 8 per cent, as the extreme 
maximum strength of saccharine matter. The cost of the root in 
Ireland — for it is with that, and not with the cost of the Continental 
root, with Avhich the West Indies will have to contend — is said to 
be at the rate of 16s, per ton this ; but will probably be 13s. next 
season. The cost of manufacture is set down at £7 5s, per ton. 
Calculating the yield of the root to be 7^ lbs. to every 100 lbs., 
for 26 tons the yield would be nearly 2 tons of sugar, which 
would give about £9 10s. per ton, putting down the raw material 
to cost 143. 6d. per ton, the medium between 16s. and 13s. Thus 
a ton of Irish-grown and manufactured beet root sugar, would 
cost £16 15s. per ton. Mr. Sullivan, the scientific guide to those 
who are undertaking to make beet root sugar at MountmeUick, 
Queen's County, Ireland, estimates the cost of obtaining pure 
sugar at from £16 17s. to £19 18s. per ton, according to the 
quantity of sugar in the root. 

Beet root is a vegetable of large circumference, at the upper 
end nine to eleven inches in diameter. There are several kinds. 
That wliich is considered to yield the most sugar is the white or 
Silesian beet {Beta alba). It is smaller than the mangel wurzel, 
and more compact, and appears in its texture to be more like the 
Swedish turnip. For the manufacture of sugar, the smaller 
beets, of which the roots weigh onlj^ one or two poimds, were pre- 
ferred by Chaptal, who, besides being a celebrated chemist, was 
also a practical agriculturist and a manufacturer of sugar from 
beet root. After the white beet follows the yellow (beta major), 
then the red (beia Tomana), and lastly the common or field beet root 



192 



SIJGAE. 



{Beta sylvestris). Margraf, as we have seen, was the first chemist 
who discovered the saccharine principle in beet root ; and Achard, 
the first manufacturer who fitted up an establishment (in Silesia) 
for the extraction of sugar from the root. It was not before 1809 
that this manufacture was introduced into France. 

The manufacture sprung up there in consequence of Bonaparte's 
scheme for destro}dng the colonial prosperity of Great Britain by 
excluding British colonial produce. It having been found that 
from the juice of the beet root a crystaUizable sugar could be ob- 
tained, he encouraged the dstablishment of the manufacture by 
every advantage which monopoly and premiums could give it. 
Colonial sugar was at the enormous price of four and five francs a 
pound, and the use of it was become so habitual, that no French- 
man could do without it. Several large manufactories of beet 
root were established, some of which only served as pretexts for 
selling smuggled colonial sugar as the produce of their own works. 
Count Chaptal, however, established one on his own farm, raising 
the beet root, as well as extracting the sugar. The roots are first 
cleaned by washing or scraping, and then placed in a machine to 
be rasped and reduced to a pulp. This pulp is put into a strong 
canvas bag and placed under a powerful press to squeeze out the 
juice. It is then put into coppers and boiled, undergoing certain 
other processes. Most of the operations are nearly the same as 
those by which the juice of the sugar cane is prepared for use ; 
but much greater skill and nicety are required in rendering the 
juice of the beet root crystaUizable, on account of its greater 
rawness and the smaller quantity of sugar it contains. But when 
this sugar is refined, it is impossible for the most experienced 
judge to distinguish it from the other, either by the taste or ap- 
pearance ; and from this arose the facility with which smuggled 
colonial sugar was sold in France, under the name of sugar from 
beet root. Five tons of clean roots produce about 4|- cwt. of 
coarse sugar, which give about 160 lbs. of double refined sugar, 
and 60 lbs. of inferior lump sugar. The rest is molasses, from 
which a good spirit is distilled. The dry residue of the roots, 
after expressing the juice, consists chiefly of fibre and mucilage, 
and amounts to about one-fourth of the vreight of the clean roots 
used. It contains all the nutritive part of the root, with the ex- 
ception of 4iJ per cent, of sugar, which has been extracted from 
the juice, the rest being water. 

As the expense of this manufacture greatly exceeded the value 
of the sugar produced, according to the price of colonial sugar, 
it was only by the artificial encouragement of a monopoly and 
premiums that it could be carried on to advantage. Tlie pro- 
cess is one of mere curiosity as long as sugar from the sugar cane 
can be obtained cheaper, and the import duties laid upon it are not 
so excessive as to amount to a prohibition ; and in this case it is 
almost impossible to prevent its clandestine introduction. 

Another mode of making sugar from beet root, practised in some 
parts of Germany, is as follows, and is said to make better sugar 



193 



than tlie other process : — The roots having been washed, are sliced 
lengthways, strung on packthread, and hung up to dry. The ob- 
ject of this is to let the watery juice evaporate, and the sweet 
juice, being concentrated, is taken up by macerating tlie dry slices 
in water. It is managed so that all the juice shall be extracted by 
a very small quantity of water, which saves much of the trouble 
of evaporation. Professor Lampadius obtained from 110 lbs. of 
roots 4 ibs. of well-grained white powder-sugar, and the residuum 
afforded 7 pints of spirit. Achard says that about a ton of roots 
produced 100 lbs. of raw sugar, which gave 55 lbs. of refined sugar, 
and 15 lbs. of treacle. This result is not very different from that 
of Chaptal. 6,000 tons of beet root it is said will produce 400 
tons of sugar and 100 tons of molasses. 

Beet root sugar in the raw state contains an essential oil, the 
taste and smell of which are disagreeable. Thus the treacle of beet 
root cannot be used in a direct way, whereas the treacle of cane 
sugar is of an agreeable flavor, for the essential oil which it con- 
tains is aromatic, and has some resemblance in taste to vanilla. 
But beet root sugar, when it is completely refined, differs in no 
sensible degree from refined cane sugar. In appearance it is quite 
equal to cane sugar, and the process of refining it is more easy 
than for the latter. Samples made in Belgium were exhibited at 
a late meeting of the Dublin Society, It was of the finest ap- 
pearance, of stroDg sweetening quality, and in color resembling 
the species of sugar known as crushed lump. The most singular 
part of the matter is, that it was manufactured in the space of 
forty-five minutes — the entire time occupied from the taking of the 
root out of the ground and putting it into the machine, to the 
production of the perfect article. It was said that it could be 
produced for 3d. per lb. An acre of ground is calculated to yield 
50 tons of Silesian beet, which, in France and Belgium, give three 
tons of sugar, worth about £50 ; the refuse being applied in 
those countries to feeding cattle. But from the superior fitness 
of the Irish soil, as shown by experience to be the case, it is con- 
fidently affirmed by persons competent to form an opinion, that 8 
per cent, of sugar could be obtained there on the raw bulk. 

The following figures are given as illustrative of the expense of 
the cultivation of one acre of beet-root in Ireland : — 



Two ploughings and harrowing 
Expense of manure and carting 
Hoeing and seed 
Drilling and sowing 
Eent 



£1 1 0 

5 0 0 

0 6 0 

0 5 0 

2 0 0 



£8 12 0 



An average produce of 20 tons, at £15 per ton, would leave a 
profit of £6 8s. per acre, leaving the land in a state fit for the re- 
ception, at little expense, of a crop of wheat, barley, or oats for 
the next year, and of hay for the year ensuing ; a consideration of 



194 



STiaAE. 



no small importance to the farmer. The following estimates, re- 
cently given, are not by an}'- means exaggerated : — 

61,607 tons of beet, at lOs. , £30,803 10 0 

Cost of manufacture, at lis. per ton . 33,883 17 0 

64,687 7 0 

Produce 7 per cent of sugar, at 28s. per c^rt. 136,767 10 0 
Estimated profit . £72,080 3 0 

The quantity of sngar made from beet-root in France in 1828, "vras 
about 2,650 tons ; in 1830, its weight was estimated at 6 million 
kilogrammes* (5,820 tons) ; in 1834, at 26 million liilogrammes 
(24,000 tons) ; in 1835, 36,000 tons ; in 1836, 49,000 tons. At 
the commencement of the year 1837, the number of refineries at 
work or being built was 543 ; on an average 20 kilogrammes of 
beet-root are required for the production of one kilogi'amme of 
sugar. The sugar manufactured from the beet-root in France a 
few years ago was stated to amount to 55,000 tons, or one half of 
the entire consumption of the kingdom. The Courrier Francais 
calculated that the beet-root sugar made in France in 1838 
amounted to 110 million lbs., and the journal added, there is no 
doubt that, in a few years, the produce will be equal to the entire 
demand. The cultivation then extended over 150,000 acres, and 
in the environs of Lille and Valenciennes it has sometimes been as 
high as 28,000 lbs. per acre. 

From returns of the produce and consumption of beet-root sugar 
published in the Moniieur, it appears that on the 1st Dec. 1851, 
there were 335 manufactories in operation, or 81 more than in the 
corresponding period of 1850. The quantity of sugar made, 
including the portion lying over from the previous year, amounted 
to 19,625,386 kilogrammes, and that stored in the public bonding 
warehouse to 10,556,847. At the end of June, 1852, 329 manufac- 
tories were at work, or two more than at the same period in 1851. 
The quantity sold was 62,211,663 kilogrammes, or 9,167,018 
less, as compared with the corresponding period of the previous 
year. There remained in stock in the manufactories 91,434,070 
Idlogrammes, and in the entrepot 4,597,829 kilogrammes, being an 
increase of 2,568,662 kilogrammes in the manufactories, and a de- 
crease of 1,292,962 in the entrepots. The manufacture of beet- 
root sugar is every year assuming in France increased importaiice, 
and attracts more and more the attention of political economists as 
a source of national wealth, and of government, as affording matter 
of taxation. Thirty new factories, got up upon a ver}' extensive 
scale, are enumerated as going into operation this year. They 
are located, with but two exceptions, in the north of France ; 
fifteen of them are in the single department of Xord. Indeed, 
the manufacture of beet-root sugar is confined, almost exclusively, 
to the five northern adjacent departments of Nord, Pas de Calais, 

* The kilogramme is equal to 2 lb. 3 oz. avordupoi?t 



195 



Somme, Aisne, and Oise, The best quality retails at 16 cents 
the pound. 

I take from a table in the Moniteiir the following statement 
of the number of factories and their location, with the amount of 
production up to the 31st May, 1851. At that date the season is 
supposed to end. A separate column gives the total production in 
the season of 18l!2, showing an increase in ten years of more than 
double, viz., of 41,582,113 kilogrammes, or, in our weight, of 
93,559,751 pounds. 



Departments. 


JTumber of 
Factories. 


Kilogrammeg 
Prod. 1850-1. 


Kilogramme! 
Prod. 1842, 


Aisne 
Xord 
Oise 

Pas-de-Calais 
Somme 

Scattered about 


30 
loo 
8 
70 
23 
18 


5,307,754 
44,142,224 

1,589,939 
16,665,084 

3,404,776 

2,707,190 


3,103,178 
15,334,063 
751,746 
5,856,944 
2,683,421 
3,505,602 




304 


73,817,607 


30,234,954 



This information was given by M. Fould, Minister of [Finance, 
upon the introduction of a bill making an appropriation for the 
purchase of 455 saccliarometers, which had become necessary by 
reason of the late law ordering that from and after the 1st of Ja- 
nuary, 1852, the beet sugars were to be taxed according to their 
saccharine richness. The Minister declared that at that date there 
would be in active operation in France 334 sugar factories and 
84 refining establishments. 

The Moniteur Parisien has the following : — 

" Notwithstanding the advantages accorded to colonial sugar, and the duties 
which weigh on beet-root sugar, the latter article has acquired such a regular 
extension that it has reached the quantity of 60,000 tons — that is to say, the half 
of our consumption. France (de'lucting the refined sugar exported under favour 
of the drawback) consumes 120,000 tons, of which 60,000 are home made, 50,000 
colonial, and 10,000 foreign. The two sugars have been placed on the same con- 
ditions as to duties, but it is only from the 1st inst. (Jan. 1852), that the beet-root 
sugar will pay a heavier duty than our colonial siigar. In spite of this difference 
we are corniced that the manufactiu-e of beet -root sugar, which is every day, im- 
proved by neu' processes, will be always very advantageous, and will attain in 
some years the total quantity of the consumption. In Belgium the produce of 
the beet-root follows the same progress. The consumption of sugar there was, in 
1850, 14,000 tons, of which 7,000 was beet-root, made in 22 manufactories. 
This year there are 18 new ones, and although their organisation does not allow 
of their manufacturing in the same proportion as the 22 old ones, they will fur- 
nish at least 3,000 tons. The quantity of foreign sugar ih that market does not 
reckon more than 4,000 tons. This conclusion is the more certain, as in 1848- 
1849, the beet-root only stood at 4,500 tons in the general account. It may 
therefore be seen from these figures what progress has been made. The same 
progressive movement is going on in Germany. In 1848 it produced 26,000 
tons, and in 1851, 43,000. The following table shows the importance of 
this improvement. It comprises the Zollverein, Hanover, and the Hanse 
Towns : — 

o 2 



196 



STJGAE. 



Cane Sugar. 
Tons. 



Beet-root. 
Tons. 



Totals. 
Tons. 



1848 
1849 
1851 



00,500 
54,000 
45,000 



26,000, 
, 34,000 
.43,000 



86,500 
,88,000 
,88,000 



Thus we find that in the peiiod of four years cane sugar has lost 15,000 tons' 
and it will lose still more when new manufactories shall have been established. 
The consumption of Russia is estimated at 85,000 tons, of which 35,000 is beet- 
root, and what proves that the latter every day gains ground is, that the orders 
to the Havana are constantly decreasing, and prices are getting lower. In 1848 
Austria consumed 40,000 tons, of which 8,000 were beet-root. Last year (1851,) 
she produced 15,000 tons. The production of the continent rising to 200,000 
tons, and the consumption remaining nearly stationary, it is evident that Bra- 
zilian and Cuban sugars will encumber the English market, independently of 
the refined sugar of Java, which Holland sends to Great Britain. When the 
continental system was established by the decrees of Milan and Berlin, the Em- 
peror Napoleon asked the savans to point out the means of replacing the pro- 
ductions which he proscribed : it is to the active and useful impulse which his 
genius impressed on all minds, that France and Europe owe this fresh manufac- 
ture — a creation the more valuable as its fortunate development required the co- 
operation of chemical science and agricultural improvement." 

The quantity of sugar extracted from beet-root in the commence- 
ment of the process, amounted to only 2 per cent. ; but it was after- 
wards made to yield 5 percent., and it was then supposed possible 
to extract 6 per cent. On this calculation the fiscal regulations 
for the protection of colonial sugars in Erance were founded ; but 
recent experiments have been made, by means of which as much 
as ten and a half per cent, of sugar has been obtained. The fol- 
iowiug notice of the improved process is given in a number of the 
Constitutionnel : — 

" It appears that a great improvement is likely to be made in the manufactiire 
of beet-root sugar. Those who are acquainted with the process of this manufac- 
ture, are aware that M. de Dombasle has the last six years exclusively devoted 
himself to bring to perfection the process of maceration, of which he is the in- 
ventor. Adopting recent improvements, this process is materially altered, and 
ha3 now arrived at such a point of perfection that it could scarcely be exceeded. 
The Society for the Encouragement of National Industry recently appointed com- 
mittees to examine the efifect produced in the manufactory of Eoville. They 
witnessed the entire progress of the work, every part of which was subjected to 
minute investigation. Similar experiments have been made in the presence of 
many distinguished manufacturers. We have not the least intention to prejudge 
the decision which may be made on this subject by the society we have alluded 
to ; but we believe we are able to mention the principal results that have regu- 
larly attended the works of the manufactory this year. The produce in coarse 
sugar has been more than eight per cent, of the first quality, and more than two 
per cent, of the second quality, in all nearly ten and a half per cent, of the weight 
of beet-root used ; and the quality of these sugars has been considered by all the 
manufacturers superior to anything of the kind that has hitherto been made, and 
admits of its being converted into loaf-sugar of the first quality. The progress 
of these operations is as simple as possible, and the expenses attending the manu- 
facture are considerably less than that of the process hitherto adopted." 

The cultivation of the beet in Prance appears likely to prove 
still more advantageous, in consequence of the discovery that the 
molasses drawn from the root may be, after serving for the manu- 



SUGAR, 



197 



facture of sugar, turned to farther advantage. It appears that 
potash may be made from it, of a quality equal to foreign potash. 
A Monsieur Dubranfaut has discovered a method of extracting 
this substance from the residue of the molasses after distillation, 
and which residue, having served for the production of alcohol, was 
formerly thrown away. To give some idea of the importance of 
the creation of this new source of national wealth (remarks the 
Journal des Dehats), it will be sufficient to say that the quantity 
of potash furnished by M. Dubranfaut' s process is equal to l-6th 
of the quantity of sugar extracted from the beet. Thus, takiug 
the amount of indigenous sugar manufactured each year at seventy 
million kilogrammes (each kil. equal to 2 lbs. 2 oz. avoird.), there 
may besides be extracted from this root, which has served for that ♦ 
production, twelve million kilogrammes of saline matter, compara- 
ble to the best potash of commerce ; and this, too, without the loss 
of the alcohol and the other produce, the fabrication of which may 
be continued simultaneously. According to the present prices, the 
twelve millions of kilogrammes represent a value of from fourteen 
to fifteen million francs. 

The States composing the German Union possessed towards the 
close of 1838, 87 manufactories of beet-root sugar in full operation, 
viz., Prussia, 63 ; Bavaria, 5 ; Wurtemburg, 3 ; Darmstadt, 1 ; other 
states, 15 ; besides 66 which were then constructiug. 

The only returns given for Prussia and Central Grermany are 
1836 to 1838, and the annual production of sugar was then esti- 
mated at eleven million pounds. The quantity now made is, of 
course, much greater. 

At the close of 1838, Austria produced nine million pounds ; she 
now makes fifteen thousand tons. 

The growth of beet-root in Hungary, during the years 1837 and 
1838, was extremely favorable^ and the manufacture of sugar from 
it has become very extensive. It has been greatly encouraged by 
the Austrian government. It was estimated that fifty millions of 
pounds were manufactured in Prussia and Germany in 1839. In 
Bohemia there were, in 1840, fifty-two factories of beet-root sugar, 
and nine for the making of syrup out of potato meal. In 1838,- 
the number was as high as eighty-seven. 

The Dutch papers state that in a single establishment in Voster 
Vick, in Guilderland, about five million pounds' weight of the beet- 
root are consumed in the manufacture of sugar. 

The following is a Comparative Statement of the number of 
Sugar Manufactories, and the Quantity of Beet-root upon which 
duty was paid for the Manufacture of Sugar in the ZoUverein 
I during the years ending the 31st of August, 1846 and 1847 : — 

I 



i 



198 



SUGAE. 



Name of the State of 
the Zollverein, 


Number of 
Manufactories. 


Quantity of Beet-root upon which duty 
was paid for the Manufacture of Sugar. 


Io4i0— 0. 


1 QAR 


Comparison iii 
1846-7 with the 
preceding year. 




1845-6 


1846-7 






More i u 


Less in 








1 Q Ad t7 

1o4d-7. 


"to Ad >7 


Jr russia. 






V-/W to. 


Cwts. 


Cwts. 


Cwts. 


Eastern Prussia . . 


2 


2 


12,393 


29,941 


17,548 





Western Prussia . . 













. 




7 


8 


101,422 


121,914 


20,492 





Pomerania . . . . 


5 


4 


89,865 


121,061 


31,196 





Silesia 


16 


22 






121,087 





Brandenburg . . . . 


3 


3 




140, UDO 


7,645 





Prussian Saxony . . 


38 


42 






871,817 







4 


5 






21,737 





W^estphalia . « • . 














Khenish Provinces . 


2 












A otai m J: russia • • 


77 


86 


0,0/ y,oo4 


A QfiC P^Q*7 

4,yoo,oo/ 


1,079,043 




T 1 

j-juxeniburg . . . , 










— 




Bavaria, Kingdom of 


o 
o 


17 
1 


50,952 


46,142 




A QT a 


Saxony, 


1 


2 


20,887 


34,230 


13,343 




W^urtemburg 


2 


2 


59,521 


141,366 


81,845 




Baden, Grand Duchy . 


2 


2 


316,968 


328,608 


11,640 




Hesse, Electorate . . 


2 


3 


25,376 


23,529 




1,847 


Hesse, Grand Duchy . 
















2 


3 


36,127 


38,218 


2,091 




Brunswick, Dukedom . 


2 


2 


65,707 


52,796 




12,911 


Nassau, Dukedom . . 














Frankfort, Free City . 














Total, exclusively of) 
Prussia ; . . . j 

Total in the Zollverein 


19 


21 


575,538 


664,889 


89,351 




96 


107 


4,455,092 


5,633,476 


1,168,394 





This statement proves that the cultivation of the beet-root, and 
the subsequent manufacture into sugar, has greatly increased in 
the Zollverein. Eleven manufactories had been added to the 
number in the previous year, and an increase of 26 per cent, took 
place in the quantity of beet-root which was manufactured into 
sugar. Each manufactory used, upon an average, the following 
quantity during the undermentioned vears : — 

1841-2, 1844-5. 1846-7. 
Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. 

In Prussia generally ... 38,161 50,384 57,774 

In the province of Saxony 55,412 70,423 84,473 

In the province of Silesia 33,595 36,909 32,347 

In the Zollverein, on an average 

in each manufactory ... ...27,237 46,407 52,634 



* 79 Prussiau cwts. are equal to 80 English cwts. 



STJGAE. 



199 



The increase is chiefly evident in the province of Saxony, where, 
in 18^:6-7, an augmentation of 1,087,851 cwt. of beet-root, in com- 
parison to the preceding year, took place. If we compare the 
quantity of beet-root employed in Saxony with that of the whole 
Zollverein, we find that the former province requires 63 per cent, 
of the whole quantity used for the manufacture of sugar. The 
great activity in that province (chiefly in the district of Magde- 
burg) is rendered more apparent by the following table : — 

Comparative Statement of the jS'umber of Manufactories, and their 
Machinery and Utensils, employed for the Manufacture of 
Beet-root Sugar in the Prussian Province of Saxony during 
the years 1811-2 and 1846-7 respectively. 





Province of Saxony. 


In the neighbourhood of 
Magdeburg. 




1841-2. 


1846-7. 


1841-2. 


1846-7. 




No. 


No. 


No. 


No. 


Manufactories .... 


40 


39 


15 


15 


Apparatus for grating 


58 


65 


27 


32 


Hydraulic presses 


136 


209 


72 


93 


Clarifying pans, with open fii-ing 
Ditto, by steam 


81 


68 


24 


24 


50 


76 


33 


42 


Evaporating pans, with open firing 


130 


123 


55 


54 


Ditto, by steam 


46 


71 


28 


32 


Clarifiers, with open firing . 


23 


21 


14 


10 


Ditto, by steam 


23 


28 


19 


21 


Boiling pans, with open firing . 


76 


61 


33 


24 


Ditto, by steam 


20 


35 


12 


17 


Of which there are vacuum pans 


8 


21 


3 


9 


Steam-engines .... 


19 


40 


12 


20 


Horse-power .... 


210 


457 


153 


267 


Cattle mills .... 


19 


9 


4 


2 


Cattle employed 


79 


38 


19 


12 


Quantity of beet-root used for ) 
manufacture . . .) 


Cwt. 
2,349,774 


Cwt. 
3,387,280 


Cwt. 
1,433,293 


Cwt. 
1,889,463 


Or on an average in each manu- ) 
factory . , . .) 


58,744 


86,853 


95,553 


125,964 



The increase of power by machinery is surprising, chiefly by 
steam and hydraulic presses, wliich has not only eflected a greater 
produce, but likewise a much larger increase of the quantity of 
beet-root required for manufacture. The works where draught 
cattle are employed have decreased, and are only in use where the 
manufacture of beet root sugar is combined with a farm. 

In Eussia, in 1832, there existed only 20 manufacturers of beet 
root sugar, but this number subsequently increased to 100, and 
they annually produced the twelfth of the total quantity of sugar 
which Eussia receives from foreign parts. The number of those 
manufactories in 1840, was 140, and the importation of sugar, 
which reached to 1,555,357 lbs. in 1837, amounted to only 
1,269,209 lbs. in 1839. The production of indigenous sugar is 
now set down at 35,000 tons. 



200 



In France, far many years past, the production of beet-root 
sugar has been rapidly increasing, in spite of a gradual reduction 
of the protection ^vhich it enjoyed against colonial and foreigTk 
sugar, until it has reached a quantity of 60,000 tons, or fully one 
half of the entire consu.mption. Independent of the refined sugar 
exported under dra^vback, the consumption of France may be now 
estimated at 120,000 tons, of which 60,000 tons are of beet-root, 
50,000 tons of French colonial, and 10,000 tons at the outside of 
foreign sugar. The beet-root and the French colonial sugars are 
now placed on the same footing as regards duty, and a law was 
recently passed, subjecting beet-root su.gar, from the 1st of Ja- 
nuary, 1S52, to even a higher duty than French colonial sugar, 
Nevertheless, it is admitted that the manufacture of beet-root 
sugar is highly profitable aud rapidly increasing, so that it is likely 
in a very short time to exclude foreign sugar firom French con- 
sumption altogether. 

In Belgium, the production of beet-root sugar is also rapidly 
increasing ; in 1851 the entire consumption of sugar was 
estimated at 14,000 tons, of which 7,000 tons were of beet-root, 
and 7,000 tons of foreign cane sugar. The number of beet-root 
factories to supply that quantity was ttfenty-two, but this number 
has already increased in the present year to forty. Many of these 
will be but imperfectly at work diu'ing this season, but it is esti- 
mated that of the entii'e consumption of 14,000 tons, at least 
10,000 tons will consist of beet-root, and only 4,000 tons of foreign 
cane sugar. And from present appearances the manufactme of 
beet-root is likely to increase so much as to constitute nearly the 
entire consumption. So lately as 1848 and 1849 the production 
of beet-root sugar was only 4,500 tons. 

In Austria, the consumption of sugar in 1841 was 40,000 tons, 
of which 8,000 tons were of beet-root, and 32,000 tons of foreign 
cane sugar. But the production of beet-root has increased so fast that 
it is estimated to produce in the present year 15,000 tons ; and as 
no increase has taken place in the entire consumption, the portion 
of foreign cane sugar required in the present vear will be reduced 
from 32,000 tons to 25,000 tons. 

The following information, with regard to the state of the ma- 
nufacture of beet-root sugar on the Continent last year, has been 
furnished by Mr. C. J. Eamsay, of Trinidad. 

" My first start was for Paris, where I remained a week, procuring tlie ne- 
cessary letters of introduction, to enable me to see some of the sugar works in 
the provinces. "WTiilst there I called upon Messrs. Cail and Co., the principal 
machine makers in France, mentioned the subject of my visit, and requested 
their assistance. Kothing could have been more liberal than the way in which 
they treated me. I was at once asked to look over their establishment and re- 
quested to call the next day, when letters of introduction to their branch esta- 
blishments at Valenciennes and Brussels would be ready for me. This I of 
coui'se did, and received not only these letters but some others, to sugar manufac- 
turers in the neighbourhood of Valenciennes. Thus provided, and with letters 
from Mr. D'Eickthal,"a banker in Paris, to Mr. Dubranfaut, the chemist, to^'Mr. 
Grar, a refiner of Valenciennes, to Mr. Melsens of Brussels, and to another 
sugar maker near Valenciennes, whose name I forget, and who was the ouly 



201 



man from 'vrhom I did not receive the greatest politeness, I started for Valen- 
ciennes. My first essay was upon tlie latter personage, who eyidently with a 
considerable grudge showed me a simple room in his works where foirr centri- 
fugal machines were at work — raised the cry of ruin, if the French improve- 
ments were introduced in the "West Indies, and informed me he had nothing else 
worth seeing. I returned to Yalenciennes, thinking if this is the way I was to 
be treated, I might as well have stayed at home. That this was a solitary in- 
stance of illiberality, you will presently see. I next called upon Mr- Grar, by 
whom I was received in a very diiferent manner ; he at once offered to show me 
"over his works, and especially that part of them where a new process, disco- 
yered by Mr. Dubranlaut, was carried on, eveiy part of which was fully ex- 
plained. ^Lr. Dubranfaut's laboratory is connected with these works, and having 
inspected the working part of the establishment Mr. G, then took me there, and 
introduced me to that gentleman, with whom I passed the remainder of the 
afternoon, receiving a full explanation of his new process, which is this : — a so- 
lution of hydrate of barytes is made in boiling water — the saccharine solution to 
be treated is heated to the same degree, and the two mixed together in the pro- 
portions of 46 parts of hydrate of barytes to every 100 parts of sugar contained 
in the solution, which has previously been ascertained by polariscopic examina- 
tion. A saccharate of barytes is immediately formed in the shape of a copious 
precipitate ; this, after being thoroughly washed and thus freed from all soluble 
impurities, is transferred into large, deep vats, and a stream of carbordc acid 
gas forced into it, which decomposes the saccharate of barytes, forming carbon- 
ate of barytes, and liberating the sugar in the shape of a perfectly pure solution 
of sugar in water, of the density of 20 to 23 degrees Baume ; the carbonate of 
barytes beiag thoroughly washed is again converted into caustic barytes by 
burning, so that there is little loss in the operation. The whole process is cer- 
tainly very beautiful, and its economic working has been tried for a year, on a 
sufficiently large scale to leave no doubt as to the economy of the process in 
refining molasses, which is the only purpose it has yet been applied to. 

The Messrs. Grar were so thoroughly satisfied with it, that when I was there 
they had taken^down their origraal apparatus, and were re-erecting it on such, a 
scale as to work up all the molasses by it, equal to almost five tons of sugar 
daily. Owing to this ciicumstance, I had not an opportunity of seeing the 
process on a working scale, but was shown the whole proceedings in the 
laboratory. 

The only difficulties I see in applying this process at once to the cane juice, 
are the large quantity of barytes tequired, the expense of re-buming it and the 
entire change in works that would be necessary before it could be introduced. 
The advantage would be, the obtaining the whole sugar contained in the juice, 
free from all impurities, consequently white, and in the shape of a syrup mark- 
ing 20 to 23 degrees instead of 8 or 10 degrees, thus saving fully half the 
evaporation now required. The sugar made in this way, I was told, contains 
no trace of barytes. 

To show you the degree of economy practised in such establishments in 
France, I may mention that the washings of the saccharate of barjrtes are sold 
to the makers of potass and soda, who make a profit by boiliag them down to 
obtain what salts they contain. 

The carbonic acid is obtained by the combustion of charcoal in a closed ii-on 
furnace into which air is forced by an air pump, requiring, I believe, about one 
horse power. From the top of the furnace a pipe leads into a washing vessel, 
from which the gas is led into the bottom of the vats by pipes. 

At Yalenciennes I met with Mr. Cail, who, beside being an engineer and 
machine-maker, is interested in sugar-making, both in France and in the TYest 
Indies, and most thoroughly imderstands the subject. He invited me to ac- 
company him to Douai, to see a new set of works which had been set agoing 
this month. I was of course too glad to accept his invitation, and started with 
him at six next morning, reached Douai at eight, and then proceeded to 
the works, which are a few miles out of to^m. In this work a new 
process is also employed ; it is that of Mr. Eouseau, and is said to answer 
well. The beet root juice, as soon as possible after expression, is thrown up by 



202 



SUGAR, 



a montjus into copper clarifiers with double bottoms, heated by steam at a pres- 
sure of five atmospheres. To every hundred litres of juice (=22 gals.) two 
kilogrammes of lime are added (about four and a half pounds English weight). 
The lime is most carefully prepared and mixed with large quantities of hot 
water till it forms a milk perfectly free from lumps. The steam is turned ofi", 
and the juice heated to 90 deg. A complete defecation has taken place, the 
steam is shut off, and the juice left a short time, to allow the heavier impurities 
to subside. It is then run off in the usual manner, undergoes a slight filtration 
through a cotton cloth placed over a layer of about four inches thick of animal 
charcoal, and runs into a second set of copper vessels placed on a lower level 
than the clarifiers ; these vessels are heated by means of a coil of steam piping 
sufficient to make them boil. A second pipe passes into them, making a single 
turn at the bottom of the vessel ; this is pierced on the lower side with small 
holes, through which a stream of carbonic acid gas is forced. 

This decomposes the saccharate of lime, which has been formed in conse- 
quence of the large excess of lime added to the clarifiers. 

The lime is precipitated as carbonate. When precipitation has ceased, steam 
is turned on, and the whole made to boil ; this expels any excess of carbonic 
acid ; the liquor is then run off, undergoes a similar partial filtration to that 
mentioned above, and is then passed through the charcoal filters to be decom- 
posed. The sugar made by this process, directly from the beet-root juice, is 
nearly white. The molasses is re-boiled as often as six times ; each time under- 
going a clarification and filtration through animal charcoal. And the proceeds 
of the last re -boiling is certainly in appearance not worse than a great deal of 
muscovado I have seen shipped from Trinidad. 

In this work there are about 150 people employed. The work goes on night 
and day, one gang replacing the other. The whole evaporation is done by two 
vacuum pans, each 6~ feet in diameter, 80,000 kilogrammes of beet-root are used 
daily, from which about 6,000 kilogrammes of sugar are obtained, equal to about 
6 tons English weight. 

In these and every other works I visi ted — eight in all — the centrifugal ma- 
chines wore in use, and had in most cases been so for two years ; those lately 
made have been much simplified in construction, and work admirably. Cail & 
Co., of Paris, are the makers ; their charge is 3,000 francs for each machine 
(£120 stg.). They require about one and a half horse power each. As they are 
wrought in France, one machine is about equal to work off a ton and a half of 
sugar daily, working all the 24 hours. Mr. Cail recommends a separate engine 
for those machines ; so that they can be used at any time, independent of the 
other machinery. The charge put into a machine is about 80 kilogrammes, from 
which about 30 to 35 kilogrammes of dry sugar is obtained ; the calculation is, 
I believe, 40 per cent. I weighed some of the baskets of sugar taken out after 
drying, and found them 35 kilogrammes. Sugar intended for the machine is 
never concentrated beyond 41 degrees Baume ; that made from the juice direct 
is allowed 18 to 34 hours to crystallize, and is put into the machine in a semi- 
liquid state ; the motion at first is comparatively slow ; in about three minutes 
the sugar appears nearly dry ; about three-fourths of a gallon of brown syrup is 
then poured into the machine whilst in motion, and the speed brought up to its 
highest, about 1200 revolutions a minute ; in 3 or 4 minutes more the machine 
is stopped, the sugar scooped out and thrown into baskets, the inside of the re- 
volving part, and especially the wire cloth, carefully washed v/ith a brush and 
water, and a fresh charge put in. The whole time betwixt each charge is about 
15 minutes. From the large proportion of molasses you will see very plainly 
that those who do not intend to re -boil, need not think of centrifugal machines. 
The sugar dried in this way is not altogether white, but has a slight greyish 
yellow tinge. 

Of the other sugar works which I visited, the only one of peculiar interest was 
that of Mr. Dequesne, near Valenciennes. Here the roots are first cut into smaU 
pieces by an instrument similar to a turnip slicer, then dried in a species of 
kiln, and stored up till required. In this way I was told beet-root could be 
preserved with very little deterioration for a full year, and this enables Mr. De- 
quesne to go on making sugar all the year round. "When the sugar is to be ex- 



SUGAE. 



203 



tracted, the dried cuttings are put into a series of closed vessels connected by 
pipes, and by a system of continuous filtration of warm water through these . 
vessels the solution of sugar is obtained, of a density equal, I believe, to 25 de- 
grees Baume ; it is a good deal coloredj and requires filtration through animal 
charcoal. Mr. Dequesne informed me that for five years he had been unable to 
make this mode of sugar-making cover its expenses, owing to the loss oc- 
casioned by fermentation taking place in the beet-root ; but that he has now 
entirely overcome that difficulty ; by what means I was not told. 

The number of macerating vessels is fourteen, ten of which are working at a 
time, the other four filling and emptying. 

A greater number of vessels, Mr. Dequesne thinks, would be advantageous, 
as cold instead of hot water could then be employed. He thinks a similar plan 
might be introduced in the West Indies with great advantage, and that by em- 
ploying the proper means to prevent fermentation the sun's heat would be quite 
sufficient to dry the cane slices. 

Mr. Dubranfaut and Mr. Rouseau's processes are patented in England. The 
terms for the use of the former would, I was told, be made so moderate, as to 
offer no obstruction to its being used in the colonies. What Mr. Eouseau's 
terms are I could not learn. 

There are now 288 works making beet root sugar in France, and over 30 in 
Belgium. The same manufacture is rapidly spreading in Germany and Russia, 
and is now being introduced in Italy. Whilst at Valenciennes, I learned that 
two English gentlemen had just preceded me in visiting the works in that 
neighbourhood, mentioning that they had in view introducing the beet root 
sugar manufacture in Ireland. 

The sugar crop of France was last year over 60,000,000 of kilogrammes 
(60,000 tons). For two years Belgium h%s been exporting to the Mediterranean. 
One maker told me that he had last year* exported a considerable part of his 
crop. It would therefore appear, that even beet root sugar can compete in 
other than the producing country with the sugar of the tropics — a most signifi- 
cant hint that, unless the cane can be made to yield more and better sugar than 
is now generally got from it, there is some risk of its being ultimately beaten 
by the beet root, the cultivation of which is now carried on with so much profit 
that new works are springing up every year, ia almost every country of the 
continent. 

In going through the French works, I made inquiries as to how far the pre- 
cede Mclsens had been adopted, and was everywhere told it was a total failure. 
I, however, determined to see Mr. Melsens and judge for myself how far it 
might be applicable to the cane, even if a failure with regard to the beet root. 
I, therefore, went on to Brussels, enclosed my letters of introduction and card, 
and received in return a note, appointing to meet me next morning. I found 
him one of the best and most obliging of men. He immediately offered to go 
over some experiments on beet root juice with me at his laboratory, where I 
accordingly spent the greater part of two days with him, and went over a 
variety of experiments ; and from what I saw and assisted in doing, I feel 
strongly inclined to think that, notwithstanding the French commission at 
Martinique report otherwise, some modification of Mr. Melsens' process may be 
most advantageously employed in making cane sugar if not as a defecator, at 
least to prevent fermentation, and, probably, also as a decolorising agent. 

Mr. Melsens showed me letters he had received from Java from a person with 
whom he had no acquaintance, stating that he had used the bisulphate of 
lime with complete success ; and whilst I was with him he again received 
letters from the same person, stating that by its use he had not only improved 
the quality of sugar, but had raised the return to 9 per cent, of the weight of 
cane. From the letters which I saw, the process appears to have been tried on 
a very large scale, with the advantage of filters and a vacuum pan. Where 
the old mode of leaving half the dirt with the sugar, and boiling up to a tem- 
peratui-e of 340 degrees or thereby is continued, I fear there is not much chance 
of ^either bisulphate or anything else making any very great improvement. 

The use of bisulphate of lime is patentee! in England and the colonics, but I 
believe I may state the charge for the right of using it will be made extremely 
moderate. 



204 



The i3oiiits -which appeared to me worthy of remark in visiting the beet-root 
sugar works are, the extreme care that nothing shall be lost — the great attention 
paid to cleanliness in every part of the process, besides the particular care given 
to defecation. No vessel is ever used twice without being thoroughly washed. 
Such a thing as the employment of an open fire in any part of the manufacture 
is quite unknown. Everything is done by steam, of a pressure of fi-om 4 to 5 
atmospheres. In the more recently started works, the evaporation is entirely 
carried on in vacuum. In some of the older works copper evaporators, heated 
by coils of steam piping, and having covers, with chimneys to carry off the 
vapor, are still used ; but of the eight works I visited I only saw them in use 
in one of them, and they are nowhere used excepting to evaporate to the point 
when the second filtration takes place. 

The coolers I saw were invariably made of iron, and varied in depth from 
2 to over 6 feet. These very deep vessels are used for the crystallization of 
sugar, made of the fourth, fifth and sixth re-boilings of molasses, which requires 
from three to six months. 

One thing struck me forcibly in going over the French and Belgian works ; 
it was the extreme liberality with which I was allowed to go over every part of 
them ; to remain in them as long as I pleased ; had all my inquiiies answered, 
and every explanation given ; in most striking contrast to the grudging manner 
in which I have been trotted over some of the refineries in England, as if those 
who showed them were afraid I should gain any information on the subject of 
their trade. 

Mr. H. Colman, speaking of the agriculture of the Continent, 
gives some information lie obtained on the comparative cost of 
producing beet and cane sngar.. , A hectare (two and a half acres) 
produces, in the Isle of Bourbon, about 76,000 kilogrammes (a 
kilogramme is nearly two and one-fifth pounds) of cane, which will 
give 2,200 kilogrammes of sugar, and the cost for labor is 2,500 
francs. A hectare of beet root produces 40,000 kilogrammes of 
roots, wdiich yield 2,400 kilogrammes of sugar, and the expense of 
the culture is 354 fraucs. The cost of the cane sugar in this case 
is 27 centimes, and of the beet sugar 14 centimes only, per kilo- 
gramme. 

These are extraordinary statements, and will be looked at by the 
political economist and the philanthropist with great interest. 
There are few of the northern states of Em'ope, or of the United 
States, which might not produce their own sugar ; and when we 
take into account the value of this product, even in its remains 
after the sugar is extracted, for the fattening of cattle and sheep, 
and of course for the enrichment of the land for the succeeding 
crops, its important bearing upon agricultural improvement can- 
not be exaggerated. 

According to M. Peligot, the average amount of sugar in beets 
is 12 per cent. ; but, by extraction, they obtain only 6 per cent. 
The cane contains about 18 per cent, of saccharine matter, but 
they get only about 7^. The expense of cultivating a hectare of 
beets, according to Dombasle, is 354 francs. An hectare of cane, 
which produces 2,200 kilogrammes of sugar, in the Island of 
Bourbon, and only 2,000 in French Gruiana, demands the labor 
of twelve negroes, the annual expense of each of whom is 250 
, francs, according to M. Labrau. — (Commission of Inquiry in 1840.) 

Sugar has become not only an article of luxury, but of utility, to 
such a degree, that a supply of it constitutes an important article 



205 



of importation, and is of national consequence. For sugar the 
world has hitherto relied on the cane, with the exception of some 
parts of India, where the sugar palm yields it much more cheaply. 
The sugar cane is, however, a tropical plant, and, of course, its 
cultivation must of iiecessity be limited to such hot countries. 
Erance, during the wars of ]N'apoleon, shut out from her Indian 
possessions or deprived of them, commenced making sugar from 
beets, and it proving imexpectedly successful and profitable, it has 
as we have just seen, extended not only over that empire, but nearly 
the whole of continental Eiu-ope, where it forms an important 
item in their system of cultivation and profit. The manufacture 
has been attempted in the United States ; but though the facts of 
the ease and certainty with which the beets may be gTOwn and their 
great value for stock has been fully ascertained, still little progress 
in the production of sugai; from them has been made there. 

MAPLE SUGAE. 

There are few trees in the American forest of more value than the 
maple {Acer saccliarinmn) . As an ornamental tree, it is exceeded 
by few ; its ashes abound in alkali, and from it a large proportion 
of the potash of commerce is produced ; and its sap furnishes a 
sugar of the best quality, and in abundance. It likewise affords 
molasses and an excellent vinegar. In the maple the sugar amounts 
to five per cent, of the whole sap. There is no tree whose shape 
and whose foliage is more beautiful, and whose presence indicates 
a more generous, fertile, and permanent soil than tlie rock maple : 
in various cabinet-work its timber \ies with black walnut and ma^ 
hogany for durability and beauty ; and as an article of fuel its wood 
equals the solid hickory. Its height is sometimes 100 feet, but it 
usually grows to a height varying from forty to eighty feet. It is 
bushy, therefore an elegant shade tree. The maple is indi- 
genous to the forests of America, and wherever there has been 
opportunity for a second growth, this tree attains to a considerable 
size much sooner than might be imagined. In the course of ten 
or fiff;een years the maple becomes of a size to produce sugar. The 
trees which have come up since the first clearing, produce sap that 
yields much more saccharine than the original forest maples. 

The whole interior of the northern part of the United States 
have relied, and still rely, more on their maple woodlands for sugar 
than on any other source ; and as a branch of domestic manuiac- 
ture and home production, the business is of no little consequence. 
The time occupied too in the manufacture is very limited, and 
occurs at a season when very little other labor can be performed. 

Hitherto but comparatively little attention has been bestowed 
upon this important branch of industry in Canada. The inhabi- 
tants of that province might doubtless manufacture a suflicient 
quantity of maple sugar to supply the demand or consumption in 
this article for the whole population of the country. This variety 
of sugar may be refined, and made as valuable for table use as the 
finest qualities of West India sugar. On the south shore of Lake 



206 



SUGAE. 



Huron, and tlie islands of that inland sea, there are forests of sugar 
maple unsurveyed capable of producing a supply for the whole 
population. The Indians upon those islands have lately turned 
their attention pretty largely to the manufacture of sugar from the 
maple ; and many tons have been exported from this source. If 
the Indians could obtain a fair value for their sugar, say seven or 
eight dollars per 100 lbs., they would extend their operations upon 
a large scale. Upon these islands alone, there are upwards of a 
million of full-grown maple trees, capable of yielding each from 
two and a half to three pounds of excellent sugar per annum ; and 
if proper attention were given to this branch of production in that 
quarter, I see no reason why a most profitable business could not 
be carried on. Every farmer who has a grove of sugar maple, 
should endeavour to manufacture at least sufficient for the con- 
sumption of his own family. In most cases 150 trees of medium 
growth would yield an amount of sap that would make 300 lbs. of 
sugar, twenty-five gallons of molasses, and a barrel of vinegar. The 
labor required to manufacture this amount of sugar, molasses, and 
vinegar, would scarcely be felt by the well- organised cultivator, as 
the season for the business is at the close of the winter, and open- 
ing spring, when no labor can be done upon the land. In pro- 
portion to the amount of labor and money expended in the 
production of maple sugar, it is as capable of yielding as large a 
return of profits as any other branch of farm business. It is cer- 
tainly an object of great national interest to the inhabitants of our 
i^orth American Colonies, that they should supply their own 
market with such products as their highly-favored country is 
capable of producing. Sugar is an article which will ever find a 
ready sale at highly-remunerating prices, provided that it be pro- 
perly manufactured and brought into market in good condition. 
It requires a little outlay at first to purchase buckets, cisterns, and 
boilers, to stock a sugar bush ; but by carefully using the above 
necessary apparatus, they will last for a very long period. A farmer 
can supply himself with the suitable materials for performing the 
sugar business without any cost further than his own labor. The 
spring is the season of the year that everything should be put in 
readiness, — even the wood should be chopped and drawn to the 
spot, so that when the sap commences to run, there may be no 
impediments in the way to hinder the complete success of the 
business. 

Large tracts of land in the Ottawa district are covered witli 
the true sugar maple. It is found in great numbers in the 
eastern townships of Lower Canada, where considerable forests 
of miles in extent contain nothing else, and in other places it is 
mixed with various trees. There is scarcely a spot in Lower 
Canada where it is not to be met with. Capt. Marryatt has 
stated that there were trees enough on the shores of Lakes Huron 
and Superior, to supply the whole world with sugar. In the 
United States, the manufacture of the sugar was first attempted 
about the year 1752, by some farmers of New England, as a 



SU&AR. 



207 



brancli of rural economy. This gradually spread wlierever tlie 
tree was known. Now it forms an article of food througliont a 
large portion of the country. Almost every farmer prepares sugar 
enough from the trees in his neighbourhood for the consumption 
of his family daring the year, and has often a surplus for sale. 
It is much cheaper than muscovado, being sold at from 2d. to SJd. 
per pound, whilst common muscovado cannot be bought for less 
than 4|d. to 5d. per pound. 

The province of Canada produced nearly ten million pounds 
in 1852, 6,190,094 being made in Lower Canada, and 3,581,505 
in Upper Canada. The quantity made in Lower Canada in 1819 
was only about 1,537,093 lbs. The maple sugar product of the 
Canadas in 1848 was officially stated as follows : — 

lbs. 

Upper Canada ..... 4,160,667 
Lower Canada ..... 2,303,158 

6,463,835 

This product is therefore of immense importance to the 
British ^»iorth American provinces, all of which, under a judicious 
system, might be made to produce vastly increased quantities of 
this wholesome and valuable commodity. 

The importation of sugar in Canada may very safely be com- 
puted at £10,000 2)er annum, and the whole of this amount of 
money could be retained in the country if the people would only 
look well to the matter. 

In tapping the tree, the gouge is the best implement that can be 
used, provided it is an object to save the timber. It is usual, when 
using the gouge, to take out a chip about an inch and a half in 
diameter ; but this system is objectionable where tlie maple is 
not abundant, as it subjects the timber to decay ; it is a better 
course to make an incision by holding the gouge obliquely up- 
wards an inch or more in the wood. A spout, or spile, as it is 
termed, about a foot long, to conduct off the sap, is inserted about 
two inches below tliis incision with the same gouge. By this 
mode of tapping, the wound in the tree is so small that it Avill 
be perfectly healed or grown over in two years. A boiler, of 
thick sheet-iron, made to rest on the top of an arch, by which the 
sides would be free from heat, and only the bottom is exposed, is 
doubtless a secure and rapid process of evaporation. The sides 
and ends of the boiler may be made of well-seasoned boards, which 
will answer the same purpose as if made solely of sheet-iron. 
"When the sap is boiled dovrn into syrup or thin molasses, it 
must be taken out of the boiler and strained through a flannel 
cloth into a tub, where it should settle about twenty-four hours. 
The clear syrup should be separated from the sediment, which will 
be found in the bottom of the tub. The pure syrup must 
be boiled down into sugar over a slovr fire. A short time, how- 
ever, before the syrup is brought to a boiling heat, to complete the 
clarifying process, the whites of five eggs well beaten, about one 



208 



SUGAE. 



quart of new milk, aud a spoonful of saleratus, should be all well 
mixed with a sufficient amount of syrup, to make 100 lbs. of sugar. 
The scum which would rise on the top must be skimmed off. Cau- 
tion is to be observed in not allowing the syrup to boil until the 
skimming process is completed. To secure a good article, the great- 
est attention must be bestowed in granulating the sjrrup. The boxes 
or tubs for draining should be large at the top and small at the 
bottom. The bottom of the tubs should be bored full of small 
holes, to let the molasses drain through. After it has nearly done 
draining, the sugar may be dissolved, and the process of clarifying, 
granulating, and draining repeated, which will give as pure a 
quality of sugar as the best refined West India article. 

The greatest objections that are advanced against maple sugar 
are, that the processes made use of in preparing the sugar for 
market are so rude and imperfect that it is too generally acid, 
and besides charged with salts of the oxide of iron, insomuch that 
it ordinarily strikes a black color with tea. These objections may 
be removed without any comparative difficulty, as it has been 
proved to demonstration, by the application of one ounce of clear 
lime-water to a gallon of maple sap, that the acidity will be com- 
pletely neutralised, and the danger of the syrup adhering to the 
sides of the boiler totally removed. The acid so peculiar to the 
maple sugar, when combined with lime in the above proportion, 
is found to be excessively soluble in alcohol ; so much so, that 
yellow sugar can be rendered white in a few minutes by placing it 
iu an inverted cone, open at the top, with small holes at the bottom, 
and by pouring on the base of the cone a quantity of alcohol. 
This should filtrate through until the sugar is white ; it should 
then be dried and redissolved in boiling water, and again evaporated 
until it becomes dense enough to crystallise. Then pour it into 
the cones again, and let it harden. By this process a very white 
sample of sugar may be made, and both the alcohol and acids will 
be thoroughly dispelled with the vapor. 

The process of making maple sugar it will be seen is very sim- 
ple and easily performed. The trees must be of suitable size, and 
within a convenient distance of the place where the operations of 
boiling, &c., are to be performed. When gathered, the sap should 
be boiled as early as possible, as the quality of the sugar is in a 
great degree dependent on the nemiess or freshness of the sap. 
There is a tendency to acidity in this fluid which produces a quick 
effect iu preventing the making of sugar ; and which, when the 
sap is obliged to be kept for many hours in the reservoirs, must 
be counteracted by throwing into them a few quarts of slaked 
lime. During the time of sugar making, warm weather, in which 
the trees will not discharge their sap, sometimes occurs, and the 
buckets become wliite and slimy, from the souring of the little 
sap they contain. In this case they should be brought to the 
boiler and washed out carefully with hot water, and a handful of 
lime to each. 

In reducing the sap, the great danger to be apprehended is 



SUGAR. 



209 



from burning the liquid after it is made to the consistence of 
molasses, since, when this is done, it is impossible to convert it 
into sugar ; a tough, black, sticky mass, of little value, being the 
result. Indeed, constant care and attention is required to pro- 
duce a first-rate article : for though sugar may be made in almost 
any way where the sap can be procured, yet unless the strictest care 
is observed in the processes, in gathering and boiling the sap, 
clarifying the syrup, and in converting the syrup to sugar, a dirty 
inferior article will be made, instead of the beautiful and delicious 
sweet which the maple, properly treated, is sure to yield. 

The quantity of sugar produced in a year varies considerably 
from the same trees. The cause of this difference is to be found 
in the depth of snow, continued cold, or a sudden transition from 
cold to warm, thus abridging the period of sugar-making. A 
sharp frost at night, with clear warm days, is the most favorable 
to the sugar-maker. Perhaps four pounds of sugar from a tree 
may be a pretty fair average of seasons generally, although we 
have known the growth to exceed six pounds, and sink as low as 
three. A man will take care of one hundred trees easily, during 
the season of sugar, which usually lasts from about the middle of 
March into April, perhaps employing him twenty days in the 
whole. Dr. Jackson, in his Eeport of the Maine G-eological Sur- 
vey, gives the following instances of the production of sugar in 



that State : — 

Lbs. of Sugar. 

At the Forks of the Kennebec, twelve persons made .... 3,605 

On Xo. 1, 2d range, one man and a boy made 1,000 

In Farming-ton, Mr. Titcomb made 1,500 

In Moscow, thirty families made 10,500 

In Bingham, twenty-five families made 9,000 

In Concord, thirty families made 11,000 



A cold and dry winter is followed with a greater yield of sugar 
from the maple than a season very moist and variable. Trees 
growing in wet places will yield more sap, but much less sugar 
from the same quantity, than trees on more elevated and drier 
ground. The red and white maple will yield sap, but it has much 
less of the saccharine quality than the rock or sugar maple. 

The work begins usually about the first of March. The tree 
will yield its sap long before vegetation appears from the bud : 
frequently the most copious flow is before the snow disappears 
from the ground. 

Some persons have a camp in their maple orchards, where large 
cauldrons are set in which to boil down the sap to the consistency 
of a thick syrup : others take the liquid to their houses, and there 
boil down and make the sugar. 

The process begins by the preparation of spouts and troughs 
or tubs for the trees : the spouts or tubes are made of elder, 
sumach, or pine, sharpened to fit an auger hole of about three- 
fourths of an inch in diameter. The hole is bored a little upward, 
at the distance horizontally of five or six inches apart, and about 
twenty inches from the ground on the south or sunny side of the 

p 



210 



STT&AE. 



tree. The trongli, cut from ATliite niaple, pine, asli, or bass wood, 
is set directly under the spouts, the points of Tvhich are so con- 
structed as completely to fill the liole in the tree, and preveut the 
loss of the sap at the edges, having a small gimlet or pitch hole 
in the centre, through winch the entire juice discharged from the 
tree runs, and is all saved in the vessels below. The distance 
bored into the tree is only about one-half an inch to give the best 
run of sap. The method of boring is far better for the preserva- 
tion of the tree than boxing, or cutting a hole with an axe, from 
the lower edge of which the juice is directed by a spout to the 
trough, or tub prepared to receive it. The tub should be of ash 
or other wood that will communicate no vicious taste to the liquid 
or sugar. 

The sap is gatliered daily from the trees and put in larger tubs 
for the purpose of boiling down. This is done by the process of 
a steady hot fire. The siu-face of the boiling kettle is from time 
to time cleansed by a skimmer. The liquid is prevented from 
boiling over by the suspension of a small piece of fat pork at the 
proper point. Presh additions of sap are made as the volume 
boils away. "WTien boiled down to a syrup, the liquor is set away 
in some earthen or metal vessel till it becomes cool and settled'. 
Again the purest part is drawn ofi" or poured into a kettle until 
the vessel is two-thirds full. By a brisk and continual fire, the 
syrup is further reduced in volume ^jO a degree of consistence 
best taught by a little experience, when it is either put into 
moulds to become hard as it is cooled, or stnred until it shall be 
grained into sugar. The rigbt point of time to take it away from 
the fire may be ascertained by cooling and graining a small quan- 
tity. The sediment is strained ofi" and boiled down to make 
molasses. 

The following is from a Massachusetts paper : — 

The niaple produces the hest sugar that ^re have from any plant. Ahnost 
GT try one admires its taste. It usually sells in this market (Boston) nearly 
t?rica as high as other brown sugar. Had care been taken from the first settle- 
ment of the country to preserve the su,i;;ar maple, and proper attention been, 
given to the cultiration of this tree, so valuable for fuel, timber, and ornament, 
besides the abundant yield of saccharine juice, could no-w produce in New- 
England sugar enough for our own consumption, and not be dependent on the 
labour of those ^yho toil and suffer in a tropical sun for this luxury or necessary 
of life. But, for want of this friendly admonition, 

" Axeman, spare that tree," 

the sturdy blows were dealt around without mercy or discretion ; and the very 
generation that committed devastation in the first settlements in different sec- 
tions of our country, generally liA-ed to witness a scarcity of fuel ; and means 
were resorted to for the purchase of sugir, that were far more expensive than 
would have been its manufacture, under a proper mode of economy in the pre- 
servation of the maple, and the production of sugar from its sap. 

Those who have trees of the sugar maple, should prepare in season for making 
sugar. In many localities, wood is no object, and a rude method of boiling is 
followed ; but where fuel is very scarce, a cheap apparatus should be prepared 
that ^'-ill require but little fuel. In some sections, broad pans or kettles have 
been made of sheet-iron bottoms, and sides of plank or boards, care being taken 



SUGAE. 



211 



to allo-^ the fire to come into contact vrith the iron only. _ These pans cost hut 
a trifle, and, o^ving• to tlieir large surface, the evaporation is rapid. 

Another cheap construction for hoiling with economy is, to make a tight box 
of plank, soma four or five feet square—the width of a wide plank will answer, 
and then put into it, almost at the bottom, a piece of large copper funnel, say 
ten or twelve inches at the outer part, and then smaller. This funnel, begin- 
ning near one end, should run back nearly to the opposite side, then turn and 
come out at the opposite end, or at the side near the end, as most convenient, 
being in only two straight parts, that the soot may be cleared out. Each end 
shordd be made tight, with a flange nailed to the box. At the mouth of the 
large part there should be a door, to reduce the draught ; here make the fire, 
and at the other end have a funnel to carry off the smoke. In this case, there 
is only sheet copper between the fire and the sap which surrounds the funnel, 
so that the heat is readily taken up by the liquid, and very little escapes. 
This is an economical plan for cooking food for stock, steaming timber, &c. 

For catching the sap, various kinds of vessels are used. The cheapest are 
made of white birch, which last one season, or less. Troughs of pine, or 
linden or bass wood, may be made for a few cents each, and they will last for 
a number of years, if inverted in the shade of trees. But these are incon- 
venient ; and, after the first year, they become dirty, and clog the sap. Pails 
with iron hoops are the best, and, eventually, the cheapest. By painting and 
carefully preserving them, they will cost, for a course of years, about one cent 
each for a year. 

]Mr. Alfred Fitch, in the " Genesee Farmer," says : — 

In clarifying, I use for 50 lbs. of sugar one pint of skimmed milk, put into 
the syrup vrhen cold, and place it over a moderate fire until it rises, which 
should occupy thirty or forty minutes ; then skim and boil until it will grain ; 
after which I put it into a tub, and turn on a little cold water, and in a few 
days the molasses will drain out, and leave the sugar diy, light, and white. 

Mr. E. W. Clark, of Oswego, furnislies the following : — 

On FinivTg Maple Sugar. — The sweet obtained from the maple tree is un- 
doubtedly the purest known ; but from mismanagement in the manufacture 
it frequently becomes very impure. Its value is lessened, while the expense 
of making it increases. I am sensible that the method which I shall recom- 
mend is noi; altogether a new one, and that it is more by attending to some 
apparently minute and trivial circumstances, than to any new plan, that my 
sugar is so good. Much has been written upon, and many useful improvements 
been made in, that part of the process which relates to tapping the trees, and 
gathering and evaporating the sap, fee. ; but still, if the final operation is not 
understood, there will be a deficiency in the quality of the sugar. I shall 
confine myself to that part of the operation which relates to reducing the syrup 
to sugar, as it is of the first importance. My process is this : — When the syi'up 
is reduced to the consistence of TVest India molasses, I set it away till it is per- 
fectly cold, and then mix with it the clarifying matter, which is milk or eggs. 
I prefer eggs to milk, because when heated the whole of it curdles ; whereas 
milk produces only a small portion of curd. The eggs should be thoroughly 
beaten and effectually mixed with the syrup while cold. The syrup should 
then be heated till just before it would boil, when the curd rises, bringing 
with it every impurity, even the coloring matter, or a great portion of that 
which it had received from the smoke, kettles, buckets, or reservoirs. The 
boiling should be checked, and the scum carefully removed, when the syrup 
should be slowly turned into a thick woollen strainer, and left to run through 
at leisure. I would remark, that a great proportion of the sugar that is 
made in our country is not strained after cleansing. This is an error. If ex- 
amined in a wine-glass, innumerable minute and almost imperceptible particles 
of curd will be seen floating in it, which, if not removed, render it liable to 
burn, and otherwise injui'e the taste and color of it. 

A flannel strainer does this much better than a linen one. It is, indeed, 
indispensable. As to the quantity of eggs necessary, one pint to a pailful of 

p 2 



212 



sr&AR. 



syrup is amply sufficient, and half as niuch. vrill do very ttgII. I now put my 
S3Tup into another kettle, ^vhiell has been made perfectly clean and bright, 
when it is placed over a quick but solid iire, and soon rises, but is kept fi-om 
overflowing by being ladled with a long dipper. When it is sufficiently reduced, 
(I ascertain this by dropping it fi'om the point of a knife, while hot, into one 
inch of cold water — if done, it will not immediately mix with the water, but 
lies at the bottom in a round flat drop,) it is taken from the fire, and the foam- 
ing allowed to subside. A thick white scum, which is useable, is removed, and 
the sugar tiumed into a cask, placed on an inclined platform, and left undis- 
turbed for six weeks or longer, when it should be tapped in the bottom and the 
molasses draT\Ti off. It will di'ain perfectly dry in a few days. 

The sugar made in this maimer is very nearly as white as lump sugar, and 
beautifully grained. "We have always sold ours at the highest price of Musco- 
vadoes ; and even when these sugars have sold at eighteen cents, ours formd a 
ready market at twenty. Two hands will sugar off 250 lbs. in a day. From 
the scum taken off in cleansing, I usually make, b}" diluting and recleansing, 
one-sixth as much as I had at fh'st, and of an equal quality. 

It is not of much consequence as regards the quality of the sugar, whether 
care be taken to keep the sap clean or not. The points in which the greatest 
error is committed, are, neglecting to use a flannel strainer, or to strain after 
cleansing — to have the sugar kettle properly cleaned — and to remove the 
white scum from the sugar. 

An important process of manufactui'ing maple sugar, wliicli 
produces a most beautiful article, is also thus described in a com- 
uunication by tlie gentleman who gained the first premium at 
the State Pair at Rochester in 1843, to the Committee on Maple 
Sugar of the New York State AgTicultui'al Society. 

In the first place, I make my buckets, tubs, and kettles all perfectly clean. 
I boil the sap in a potash kettle, set in an arch in such a manner that the edge 
of the kettle is defended all around from the fixe. I boil through the day, 
taking care not to have anything in the kettle that will give color to the sap, 
and to keep it well skimmed. At night I leave fire enough under the kettle to 
boil the sap nearly or quite to syrup by the next morning. I then take it out 
of the kettle, and strain it through a flannel cloth into a tub, if it is sweet 
enough ; if not, I put it in a cauldron kettle, which 1 have hung on a pole in 
such a manner that I can sving it on or off the fire at pleasure, and boil it till 
it is sweet enough, and then strain it into the tub, and let it stand till the next 
morning. I then take it and the syrup in the kettle, and put it altogether into 
the cauldi'on, and sugar it off. I use, to clarify say 100 lbs. of sugar, the whites 
of five or six eggs well beaten, about one quart of new milk, and a spoonful of 
saleratus, all well mixed with the syrup before it is scalding hot. I then make 
a moderate fire directly under the cauldi-on, until the scum is all raised ; then 
skim it off clean, taking care not to let it boil so as to rise in the kettle before 
I have done skimming it. I then sugar it off", leaving it so damp that it will 
drain a little. I let it remain in the kettle until it is well granulated. I then 
put it into boxes made smallest at the bottom, that will hold from fifty to 
seventy lbs., having a thin piece of board fitted in, two or three inches above 
the bottom, which is bored full of small holes, to let the molasses drain through, 
which I keep drawn off" by a tap through the bottom. I put on the top of the 
sugar, in the box, a clean damp cloth ; and over that, a board, well fitted in, so 
as to exclude the air from the sugar. After it has done draining, or nearly so, 
I dissolve it, and sugar it off again ; going through with the same process in 
clarifying and draining as before. 

The following remarks from Dr. Jackson, of Boston, may be of in_ 
terest to the sections of the country where maple sugar is made : — 

The northern parts of Maine, New Hampshii-e, Vermont, and jN'ew York, 
have dense forests of the sugar maple, and at present only very rude processes 
are mi.de use of in preparing the sugar for market,, so that it is too generally 



sr&AE. 



213 



acid and deliquescent, besides being charged ^rith salts of the oxide of iron, 
insomuch that it ordinarily strikes a black color -^ith tea. To remedy these 
difficulties was the object of my researches; Tvhile, at the same time, I was 
engaged in ascertaining the true composition of the sap, with a view to the 
theory of vegetable nutrition. 

I received several gallons of freshly-drawn maple sap from Xorthampton, 
Warner, and Canterbury, and made analyses of each lot, separating the acids, 
salts, and the sugar. I also analysed the sap of the yellow and white bii'ch, 
which do not give any crystallisable sugar, but an astringent molasses, 

I shall now communicate to you the process by which I manufactured sugar 
maple sap, received from the Shakers of Canterbury, who collected it with care 
in a clear glass demijohn, and sent it forthwith, so that it came to me without 
any change of composition, the weather being cold at the time. The evapora- 
tion was carried on in glass vessels until the sap was reduced to about one-eighth 
its original bulk, and then it was treated with a sufficient quantity of clear lime- 
water to render it neutral, and the evaporation was completed in a shallow 
porcelain basin. The result was, that a beautiful yellow granular sugar was 
obtained, from which not a single drop of molasses drained, and it did not 
deliquesce by exposure to the air. Another lot of the sap, reduced to sugar 
without lime-water, granulated, but not so well, was sour to the taste, 
deliquesced by exposure, and gave a considerable quantity of molasses. 

Having studied the nature of the peculiar acid of the maple, I found that 
its combinations M'ith lime were excessively soluble in alcohol, so that the 
yellow sugar first described could be rendered white in a few minutes, by 
placing it in an inverted cone open at the bottom, and pouring a fresh quantity 
of alcohol upon it, and allowing it to filtrate through the sugar. The whitened 
sugar was then taken and redissolved in boiling water and crystallised, by 
which all the alcoholic flavour was entirely removed, and a perfectly fine ciys- 
tallised and pure sugar resulted. Xow, in the large way, I advise the following 
method of manufacturing maple sugar. Obtain several large copper or brass 
kettles, and set them up in a row, either by tripods with iron rings, or by hang- 
ing them on a cross-bar ; clean them well, then collect the sap in buckets, if 
possible, so that but little rain-water will be mixed with the sap, and take 
care not to have any dead leaves in it. For every gallon of the maple sap add 
one measurid ounce of clear lime-water, pass the sap into the first kettle and 
evaporate ; then, when it is reduced to about one-half, dip it out into the second 
kettle, and skim it each time ; then into the next, and so on, until it has reached 
the last, where it is reduced to syrup, and then may be thrown into a trough, 
and granulated by beating it up with an oar. 

As soon as the first kettle is nearly empty, pour in a new lot of the sap, and 
so continue working it forwarti exactly after the manner of the West India 
sugar-boilers. The crude sugar may be refined subsequently, or at the time of 
casting it into the cones made of sheet iron, well painted with white lead and 
boiled linseed oil, and thoroughly dried, so that no paint can come off. These 
cones are to be stopped at first, until the sugar is cold; then remove the stopper 
and pour on the base of the cone a quantity of strong whiskey, or fourth proof 
rum. Allow this to filtrate through, until the sugar is white ; dry the loaf, 
and redissolve it in boiling hot water, and evaporate it until it becomes dense 
enough to crystallise. Xow poui- it into the cones again, and let it harden, If 
any color remains, pour a saturated solution of refined white sugar on the base 
of the cone, and this syrup will remove all traces of color from the loaf. 

One gallon of pasture maple sap yielded 3,451 grains of pure sugar. One 
gallon of the juice of the sugar cane yields, on an average, in Jamaica, 7,000 
grains of sugar. Hence, it will appear that maple sap is veiy nearly half as 
sweet as cane juice ; and since the maple requires no outlay for its cultivation, 
and the process may be carried on when there is little else to be done, tlie 
manufacture of maple sugar is destined to become an important department of 
rural economy. It is well known, by the Eeport of the Statistics of the United 
States, that Vermont ranks next to Louisiana as a sugar state, producing (if I 
recollect correctly) 6,000,000 of pounds in some seasons, though the business is 
now carried on in a very rude way, without any apparatus, and with no great 
chemical skill ; so that only a very impure kind of sugar is made, which, on 



214 



SIiaAB. 



account of its peculiar flavor, has not found its way into common use, for 
s\reetening tea and coffee. It would appear Yv^orth while, then, to improve this 
manufactiirej and to make the maple sugar equal to any now in use. This can 
be readily accomplished, if the farmers in the hack country will study the 
process of sugar-making, for cane and m.aple sugar are, when pure, ahsolutely 
identical. It should be remarked, that forest maples do not produce so much 
sugar as those grown in open fields or in groves, where they have more light, 
the under-brush being cleared away. 

In Farmington, on the Sandy Eiver, in Maine, I have seen a very fine grove 
of maples, but thirty years old, which produced a large yield of very good 
sugar. A man and two boys made 1,500 lbs. of sugar from the sap of these 
trees in a single season. The sap was boiled down in potash kettles, which 
were scoured bright with vinegar and sand. The sugar was of a fine yellow 
color, and well crystallised. It was drained of its molasses in casks, v»'ith a false 
bottom perforated with small holes — the cask having a hole bored at the bottom, 
wibh a tow plug placed loosely in it, to conduct off the molasses. This method 
is a good one, but the sap ought to be limed in boiling, as I have described ; 
then it will not attach to the iron or copper boilers. The latter metal must 
not be used with acid syrup, for coppej salts are poisonous. 

There are several towns in the northern sections of Maine, jN'ew 
Hampshire, and Yermont, that produce more than sufficient sugar 
for the con-sumption of their inhabitants. A lot of good sugar 
trees will average four pounds to the tree, in a favorable season. 
Many farmers have orchards that will yield five hundred to a 
thousand pounds of sugar in a yecr. As this is made at a season 
interfering very little with the general business of the farm, the 
sugar that the I'armer makes is so much clear gain. 

There is, on almost every hill-farm, some place favorable for 
the growth of a maple orchard — some rocky spots yielding little 
grass, and impervious for the plough. Such spots may be favor- 
ably chosen for the growth of a maple orchard ; and whether the 
increase be used for manufacturing sugar or molasses, or for timber 
or fuel, the proprietor of the land will find a profit better than 
money at interest in the growth of this beautiful tree, which will 
spontaneously propagate itself in many positions. 

Its great excellence consists in yielding sap for the manufacture 
of vast quantities of maple sugar in the country during the months 
of spring. An open winter, constantly freezing and thawing, is a 
forerunner of a bountiful crop of sugar. The orchard of maple 
trees is almost equal to a field of sugar cane of the same area, 
in the production of sugar. This tree reaches an age of 200 
years. 

Yermont is the second sugar-producing State in the Union. 
The amount of maple sugar produced there in 1840 was over 2,550 
tons, being more than 17f pounds to each inhabitant, allowing a 
population of 291,948. At five cents a poujid, this is worth 
255,963 dels, 20 cents. 

The Statistics of the United States census for 1850, show that 
about thirty-five millions of pounds (1 5,250 tons) of maple sugar 
were manufactured in that year : — 



215 



Maine 97,541 

Ke\y Hampshire . . . . 1,392,489 

Massachusetts 768,596 

Yermont 5,159,641 

Connecticut 37,781 

XewYork 10,310,764 

New Jersey 5,886 

Pennsylvania 2,218,641 

Maryland 47,740 

Virginia 1,223,908 

North Carolina 27,448 

South Carolina 200 

Georgia 50 

Alabama 473 



Brought forward . 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Arkansas 

Tennessee 



21,291,158 
110 
260 
8,825 
159,647 

Kentucky 388,525 



Ohio 
Michigan 



4.528,548 
2,423,897 



Indiana 2,921,638 

246,078 

171,942 

70,684 

661,969 

2,950 



Illinois . . . 
Missouri . 

Iowa 

Missouri , 
Minnesota , 



Carried forward . . 21,291,158 Total 32,776,671 

There is a balance of about two million pounds produced bj 
Khode Island, Texas, Oregon, California, Utah, New Mexico, 
Delaware, and Florida. The above statement does not include 
the sugar made by the Indians, east of the Mississippi river, 
which may be set down at 10,000,000 lbs., and west of that river 
2,000,000'lbs. 

Besides the above sugar crop, there was a yield by the sugar 
maple in the United States in 1850, of 40,000,000 gallons of maple 
molasses. 

Maize Sugar. — The stem and branches of Indian corn, during the 
time that its grain is filling, abounds with sugar, even when gro wn 
in this country ; so much so, that it might be turned to account by 
those of the peasantry who have small plots of ground attached to 
their cotti ges ; and I applied a simple method by which a rich 
syrup may be obtained from it, equal in sweetness to treacle, and su- 
perior to it in flavor. The proper time for cutting down the plant 
(which should be done within an inch of the ground), is when the 
corn in the ear is small and full of a milky juice. All the large and old 
leaves should be stripped^off, leaving only the young andtenderones ; 
they should then be cut into short lengths, thoroughly bruised, 
and the juice entirely pressed out from them. Where the means 
cannot be obtained for expressing the juice by this method, the 
following may be .employed : — After the plants have been cut into 
small pieces, put them into a large pot or copper, with only just 
sufficient water to extract the juice ; boil for odo hour, and then 
strain off the liquor ; to each gallon of this liquor add a wine-glass 
full of lime-water whilst warm ; but if it be the expressed juice, 
obtained as above mentioned, add double the quantity of lime- 
water. When the liquor is cold, for every three gallons beat up 
an egg with some of the liquor ; put altogether into a boiler, and 
boil gently till the syrup acquires the consistence of treacle. 
Whilst this is going on, the liquor should every now and then be 
well stirred, and the scum which rises to the surface taken off. 
This syrup, which will be found a better substitute for sugar than 
treacle, and more wholesome, should be kept in lightly-covered 
vessels, in a dry place. 

My own observations, twelve years ago, acquainted me vrith the 



216 



suaAE, 



fact, that when the grain in the ear has acquired one half of the 
fall size, the quantity of sugar in the sap has passed its maximum, 
or begun to decrease, and continues to do so until it disappears 
entirely. Lopping off the young ears makes shorter work of it. 
It is like taking the yoang from an animal giving suck, in which 
case the milk soon ceases to flow into the breast, and that which 
produced it is elaborated into other fluids necessary to the nourish- 
ment of the different parts of the body of the parent. In the 
corn- stalk, when deprived of its ears, the elements of sugar are 
dissipated by increasing the size of the plant. 

Sugar may also be obtained from the carrot and the parsnip, 
as well as from all sweet fruits. It is abundant throughout the 
vegetable kingdom ; it forms the first food of plants when they 
germinate in the seed ; when the first little sprout is projected 
from a grain of corn, a portion of the farina, or starch, is changed 
into sugar, which may be called the blood of the plant, and from 
it is drawn the nourishment necessary to its expansion and ap- 
pearance above the surface of the earth. In the latter growth of 
many plants an inverse process is carried on, as in the Indian corn, 
which I have just spoken of. In this instance, as also number- 
less others, sugar is formed in large quantities in the body of the 
plant, and elaborated into farina, or starch, in the ear. The 
elements of which sugar and starch are composed are the same ; 
the only difference is in their proportions. Chemists, being aware 
of this, have converted starch into sugar ; and could do it with 
certainty to any extent, were any advantage to be gained by it ; 
but hitherto starch has been higher in price than sugar. 



SECTION 11. 



THE GEAIN CEOPS, EDIBLE EOOTS, AND FAEmACEOUS PLANTS 
FOEMING THE BEEAD STUFFS OF COMMEECE. 

The vegetable substances, from wbich man derives his principal 
sustenance, sucb as the nutritious cereal grains, the tuberous rooted 
plants and the trees yielding farina, are very widely diffused, and 
necessarily occupy the main attention of the cultivator; their 
products forming the most important staples of domestic and 
foreign commerce. The cereal grasses and roots, cultivated in 
temperate regions, such as wheat, barley, oats, rye, and the 
potato, are so well known, and have been so fully described 
by agricultural writers that I shall not go much into details 
as to their varieties, culture, &c., but confine myself chiefly to 
their distribution, produce, statistics, and commercial importance. 
The food plants may be most conveniently arranged under three 
heads. Firstly — the Grain crops and legumes, which comprises 
the European cultivated grasses, wheat, barley, oats, &c. ; and 
the tropical ones of rice, maize, millet, Guinea corn, &c. Secondly 
— Palms and other trees yielding farina, including the sago palms, 
plantain and banana, and the bread fruit tree. And Thirdly — the 
edible Root crops and Starch producing plants, which are a some- 
what extensive class, the chief of which, however, are the com- 
mon potato, yams, cocos or eddoes, sweet potatoes, the bitter and 
sweet cassava or manioc, the arrowroot and other plants yielding 
starch in more or less purity. 

There is a great diversity of food, from the humble oak bark 
bread of the Norwegian peasant, or the Brahmin, whose appetite 
is satisfied with vegetables, to the luxurious diet of a HuDgarian 
Magnate at Vienna. 

The bread stuff's, as they are popularly termed, particularly 
wheat and wheat flour, maize, and rice, form very important 
articles of commerce, and enter largely into cultivation in various 
countries for home consumption and export. Russia, India, and the 
United States, carry on a very considerable trade in grain with other 
countries. Our local production being insufficient for food and 
manufactures, we import 3^early immense quantities of grain and 
flour. In the four years ending 1852, the annual quantity of corn, of 



218 



THE GRAIJT CHOPS. 



various kinds, imported into the United Kingdom, exclusive of 
flour and meal, rice, sago, &c., averaged 8,085,903 quarters. 

The flour and meal imported, omitting sago, arrowroot and 
otlier starclies, averaged in the same period 4,143,603 cwts. 
annually. 

The annual imports of breadstufi*s for food, taking the average 
of the four years ending with 1852, may be thus summed up—- 

Tons. 



Corn and grain, 8,085,903 quarter 
riour and meal 
Eice 

Potatoes . 
Sago, arrowroot, &c. 



s, at 60 lb. the bushel 



Total 



173,270 
207,180 
40,817 
42,440 
5,000 

468,707 



Some portion of this quantity is doubtless consumed in the 
arts — as starch for stiffening linens, &c., and for other purposes 
not coming under the term of food, but I have purposely left out 
in the calculation about 30,000 to 40,000 quarters of rice in the 
husk annually imported. 

Ireland took, in 1849, of foreign grain 2,115,129 quarters ; 
1,683,687 quarters in 1850 ; and 2,504,229 in 1851 ; as well as 
256,837 cwts. of various kinds of meal and flour in 1849; 1^20,107 
cwts. in 1850; and 341,680 cwts. in 1851. England also sup- 
plied her with about 500,000 quarters of grain and 350,000 cwts. 
of meal in each of those years. 

• The comparative returns of the importations of grain into the 
United Kingdom for the last four years, are as follows, in 



quarters : — 










1852. 


1851. 


1850. 


1849. 


Wheat ... 


.. 3,068,892 . 


.. 3,812.009 


... 3,738,995 


... 3,845,378 


Barley- 


656,737 


829',o64 


... 1,035,903 


... 1,381,008 


Oats 


995,480 


.. 1,198,529 


... 1,154,473 


... 1,267,106 


Eye 


10,023 


24,609 


98,836 


240,566 


Beans 


371,250 


318,502 


443,306 


457,933 


Peas 


107,017 


99,399 


181,419 


234,366 


Maize 


.. 1,479,891 


.. 1,807,636 


... 1,277,071 


... 2,224,459 


Other sorts 


8,085 


3,432 


868 


1,150 


Quarters 


6,667,375 


.. 8,124,280 


... 7,930,871 


... 9,651,966 


The meal and flour imported in the 


same years, m 


cwts., were 


as follows : — 










1852. 


1851. 


1850. 


1849. 


Wheat 


3,889,583 .. 


6,314,414 
34 


... 3,819,440 .. 


. 3,349,839 


Barley 


212 ... 


108 . 


224 


Oats 


521 .. 


2,525 


5,999 . 


40,230 


Eye 


92 ... 


6,493 


964 . 


18,468 


Indian corn . . 


742 ... 


9,561 


11,334 .. 


101,683 


Other sorts 


54 ... 


343 


163 .. 


1,396 


Cwts. .. 


. 3,891,195 .. 


. 5,323,370 


... .3,838,008 . 


. 3,511,840 



Before the famine in Ireland the im.ports seldom reached 20 mil- 
lions of bushels of grain and meal of all kinds. In 1848 our imports 



THE GEAJ2^ CEOPS. 



219 



were about 60 millions ; in 1849, 85 millions ; in 1850, 68 millions ; 
in 1851, 75 J millions; in 1852, 69 millions, with good wheat 
harvests ; showing the great shock received and the slowness of 
recovery. 

With a rapidly increasing population in all parts of the civilized 
world, the production of bread is obviously the first object to be 
sought after, alike by the statesman and the peasant. I scarcely 
dare give the calculation of the immense amount which would be 
realised in any great country, by the single saving of a bushel to 
an acre, in the quantity of seed ordinarily sown. The same re- 
sult would follow if an additional bushel could be produced in the 
annual average yield of the wheat crop. 

According to Mr. H. Colman, the annual amount of seed for 
wheat sown in Erance is estimated at 32,491,978 bushels. If we 
could suppose a third of this saved, the saving would amount to 
10,863,959 bushels per year. Suppose an annual increase of the 
crops of five bushels per acre, this would give an increase of pro- 
duction of 54,319,795 bushels. Add this, under improved culti- 
vation, to the amount of seed saved, and the result would be 
65,183,754 bushels — I believe under an improved agriculture this 
is quite practicable. 

An eminent agricultural writer placed the average yield in Eng- 
land at eighteen bushels per acre ; some years since a man of 
sanguine temperament rated it at over thirty bushels. In Erance 
it is stated, in the best districts, to average twenty-two bushels. 
These evidently are wholly conjectural estimates. In England 
Mr. Colman states that fifty bushels per acre were reported to 
him on the best authority, as the yield upon a large farm in a very 
favorable season. More than eighty bushels have been returned, 
upon what is deemed ample testnuony, to the E-oyal Agricultural 
Society of England, as the product of a single acre. In Erance 
Mr. Colman had, upon credible authority, reports of forty, forty- 
four and seventy-two bushels. It would be of immense impor- 
tance to any government to know the exact produce grown in any 
county, or district, or in the whole country ; and this might be 
obtained by compelling, on the part of the owner or cultivator, an 
actual return of his crop ; but it is of little use to found such 
returns on estimates purely conjectural. 

Erom the best statistical accounts that can be obtained, the 
wheat annually produced in the United Kingdom, 

England, Scotland, Ireland is . . 111,681,320 bushels. 

In France it is . . . . 198,660,000 ,, 

United States .... 100,503,899 „ 

The amount of seed ordinarily sown to the acre in Erance is 
from two to three bushels. The return of crop for the seed sown 
is represented as in the best districts averaging 6*25 for one ; in 
the least productive 5 '40 for one. My readers may be curious to 
know the calculations which have been made in some other 
countries in regard to this matter. 



220 



THE GEAIN CROPS. 



CENTRAL 

Countries. 
Spain .... 
Portugal .... 
Tuscany .... 
Plains of Lucca . 
Piedmont — Plains of Marengo . 
Bologna .... 
Soman States — Pontine marshes 

Ordinary lands 
Kingdom of Naples — best districts 

Ordinary lands 
Malta — the best lands 

Ordinary lands 



NORTHERN EUROPE. 



Sweden and Norway 
Denmark . 

Russia, a good harvest 

province of Tambof 

provinces north of 50 dc; 



Poland 
England 
Scotland 
Ireland 
Holland 
Belgium 
Bavaria 
Prussia 
Austria 
Hungary 

Switzerland, lands of an inferior quality 

Of a good quality, 8 ; of the best quality 
France, inferior lands, 3 ; best lands 

(Statistique des Cereales de la France par 



latitude 





Increase 


Year 


for seed sovi'^n 


1828 


. 6 for one 


1 / ou 


1 n 




• 10 „ 




. 15 „ 




4 to five 




15 




. 20 „ 




. 8 „ 




. 20 „ 




. 8 „ 

38 to 64 „ 




22, 25, 30 „ 



1838 


4.50 for one 


1827 


. 6 „ 


1819 


■ 0 „ 


1821 


. 4-50,, 


1821 


• 3 „ 


1826 


. 8 „ 


1830 


. 9 „ 


1830 


■ 8 „ 


1825 


. 10 „ 


1828 


. 7-50 „ 


1828 


. 11 „ 


1827 


. 7to8„ 


1817 


. 6 „ 


1812 


. 7-05,, 


1812 


• 4 „ 


1825 


. 3 „ 
■ 12 „ 






• 6 „ 



Moreau de Jonnes. 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTUEE. 

As wheat forms tlie principal nutritious food of the world, claiming 
the industrious application of labor over the greater part of 
Europe, throughout the temperate regions of Asia, along the 
northern kingdoms of Africa, and extending far into the northern 
and southern regions of the American continents ; as it has been 
cultivated from time immemorial, and has produced in various 
climates and soils many varieties ; it is surprising that so little is 
generally known of the distinct varieties best adapted to par- 
ticular climates — and that in Great Britain and the United 
States we have yet to learn the variety which will yield the 
largest and best amount of human food ! 

At the Industrial Exhibition in 1851, twenty- six premiums 
only were distributed for specimens of wheat ; of these, five were 
awarded to British farmers, three to Erance, three to E-ussia, 
three to Australia, three to the United States, and one each or 
severally to other nations. Some beautiful specimens of wheat 
were exhibited from South Australia, weighing seventy pounds a 
bushel ; which were eagerly sought after for seed wheat by our 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CrLTUEE. 



221 



farmers and tlie colonists of Canada and the United States. But 
as is well observed hj Professor Lindley, it lias no peculiar con- 
stitutional characteristics by which it may be distinguished from 
other wheats. Its superior quality is entirely owing to Iccal con- 
ditions; to the peculiar temperature, the brilliant light, the soil, 
and those other cncumstances which characterise the climate of 
South Australia. 

All kinds of wheat contain water m greater or lesser quantities. 
Its amount is greater in cold countries than in warm. In Alsace 
from 16 to 20 per cent. ; England from 14 to 17 per cent. ; United 
States from 12 to 14 per cent. ; Africa and Sicily from 9 to 11 
per cent. This accounts for the fact, that the same weight of 
southern flour yields more bread than northern, English wheat 
yields 13 lbs. more to the quarter than Scotch. Alabama flour, it 
is said, yields 20 per cent, more than that of Cincinnati. And in 
general American flour, according to one of the most extensive 
London bakers, absorbs 8 or 10 per cent, more of its own weight 
of water in being made into bread than the English. The English 
grain is fidler and rounder than the American, being puffed up 
■with moisture. 

Every year the total loss in the United States from moisture in 
wheat and flour is estimated at four to five million dollars. To 
remedy this great evil, the grain should be well ripened before 
harvesting, and well dried before being stored in a good diy 
granary. Afterwards, in grinding and in transporting, it should 
be carefully protected from wet, and the flour be kept from ex- 
posure to the atmosphere. The best precaution is kiln-drying. 
By this process the wheat and flour are passed over iron plates 
heated by steam to the boiling point. Erom each barrel of flour 
16 or 17 pounds of water are thus expelled, leaving still four or 
five per cent, in the flour, an amount too small to do injury. If 
all the water be expelled, the quality of the flour is deteriorated. 

The mode of ascertaining the amount of water in flour is this ; 
take a small sample, say five ounces, and weigh it carefully ; put 
it into a dry vessel, which should be heated by boiling water ; 
after six or seven hours, weigh it ; its loss of weight shows the 
original amount of water. 

The next object is to ascertain the amount of gluten. Griuten is 
an adhesive, pasty mass, and consists of several difterent princi- 
ples, though its constitution has not yet been satisfactorily deter- 
mined. It is chiefly the nutritious portion of the flour. The 
remaiuing principles are mostly starch, sugar and gum. On an 
average their relative amount in 100 parts are about as fol- 
lows : — 

Average. Kobanga "wheat, the best. 
Water . . . 13 . . .12 

Gluten . . . 12 . . .16 

Starch . . . 67 . . .60 

Sugar and Gum . 8 . . .8 



100 



97 



222 



STATISTICS or TVKEAT CTJLTTJEE. 



Professor Beck examined thirty-three different samples from 
yarious parts of the iTnited States and Europe, and he gives the 
preference to the Kohanga yariety from the south of Enssia. 
There Avould probably be a prejudice against it in this coimtry, 
from the natural yellowish hue of its flour and bread. 

The value of the vegetable food, grain, potatoes, rice and apples 
exported from the United States Trithin the past few years is thus 



set down : — 

Dollars. 

1847 o7,970,3o6 

18iS 25,185,647 

1849 25.642.362 

1850 15,822,273 



To this has to be added nine or ten miihon dollars more for 
tobacco, 72 million dollars for cotton, and 180,000 dollars for 
hops and other minor agricultural staples — making the value of 
the raw vegetable exports about 98 million dollars. There is 
further the value of the products of the forest, timber, ashes and 
bark, tar, &c., which are equal to nearly seven millions more, as 
shown by the following figui'es : — 



Dollars. 

1847 .. .. 5,248,928 

1848 .. .. 6,415,297 

1849 .. .. 5,261.766 

1850 .. .. 6,590,037 



It appears from an official document of the American Treasury 
Department, that the average value of the breadstuffs and provisions 
annually exported from the United States from 1821 to 1836 in- 
clusive, was^ 12,792,000 dolls. ; in 1837 and 1838, about 9.600.000 
dolls. ; from 1839 to 1846, 16,176,000 dolls. ; and for the last 
seven years as follows : — 



Dollars. 

1846 .. .. 27,701,121 

1847 .. .. 68,701,921 

1848 .. .. 37,472.751 

1849 .. .. 38,155,507 

1850 .. .. 26,051,373 

1851 .. .. 21,948,651 

1852 .. .. 25,857,027 



Out of the wheat crop in the United States in 1846 of 110 
million bushels raised, 10 millions were used for seed, starch, &c. ; 
72 consumed for food, and 28 million exported. The 460 million 
bushels of Indian corn raised, were thus disposed of; exported to 
foreign coumtries 22 million bushels : sold to and consumed by 
non-producers, 100 million ; consumed on the farms and planta- 
tions of the producers for human and animal food, seed, &c., 338 
million bushels. 

The United States now produce about 120 million bushels of 
wheat, and nearly 600 million bushels of corn. Their surplus of 
wheat, for export, may be taken at 20 million bushels, and of Indian 
corn an almost unlimited quantity. They export about one and a 
quarter million barrels of flour, and about one million of bushels 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CrLTUEE. 



223 



of wheat to other markets besides those of Great Britain or her 
Xorth American colonies, viz., to Europe, Asia, Africa, the Yv^ est 
Indies and South America, California and Australia, manufactured 
flour being the article requii-ed for these latter markets, ^s'early 
four million bushels of Indian corn, and 300,000 barrels of corn 
meal, are exported from the United States to the West Indies 
and other foreign markets. 

From the abstracts of statistical retimis prepared at the Ame- 
rican Census office, it appears that Pennsylvania, in 1850, was 
the largest wheat producing State of the Union. I have had the 
curiosity to compare the most prominent States in respect to 
this crop, and give them below, with the crop of each, as shown 
by the returns : — 

Bushels. 

PennsvlYania 15,482,191 

Ohio " 14,967,056 

Yiro-inia 14,516,900 

KewYork 13,073,000 > 

Michigan 4,918,000 

Maryland 4,494,680 

That the United States could export 6,000.000 bushels of wheat, 
and its equivalent in flour in 1845 ; 13.000,000 in 1848, 26,000,000 
in 1847, and then feU back to 13,000,000 in 1848, and 6,000,000 
in 1849, with their production of wheat constantly increasing 
throughout this period, shows a wonderful elasticity, and exten- 
sive home market. If the price of wheat is higher in proportion 
than for corn, the Americans export the former and consume the 
latter ; if the demand for corn be also great, they kill their hogs 
and export corn, for the pork will keep. If there be no great 
demand for either, they eat their surplus wheat, feed their hogs 
with the corn, and export pork as having the greatest value in 
the least bulk. 

DESTIXATIOX OF FLOrR SHIPPED FROM THE UNITED STATES. 



WHEEE TO. 

Swedish West Indies 

Danish ditto 

Dutch East Indie«i 
Dutch West Indies 
Holland and Belgium . . 

England 

Gibraltar 

British East Indies 
British AVest Indies 
British American Colonies 

France 

French West Indies 

Hayti 

Cuba 

Sp.anishWest Indies 

Madeira 

Cape de Yerds 



1849 



1850 



7,366 
52,150 
1,150 
11,387 
73,871 
2,475,076 
23,974 
3,034 
320,363 
272,299 
612,641 
28,966 
40,257 
50,046 
17,780 
4,856 
1,634 



7,573 
49,568 
4,625 
17,221 
727 
953,815 
6.265 
791 
303,551 
294,891 

5,554 
10,903 
7,154 
6,429 
4,358 
501 i 



8,757 
44,802 

1,600 
18,354 

1,177 
369,777 

2,543 

1,646 
250,776 
244,072 

5,480 
31,504 
5,584 
7,074 
5,321 
455 



1851 



5.315 
50,102 
1,873 
19,217 
594 
1,004,783 
195 
1,600 
294,731 
252,380 



7,902 
43,867 
5,511 
2,2i85 
7,006 
838 



224 STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTURE. 



Table continued. 



VfHEIlE TO. 


1847 


1849 


1850 


1851 


Central America 

Brazil 

Argentine Eepnblic 

Chili 

South America 

North-west Coast . . 
Other ports 


5,928 
30.686 
550 
39,403 
270,473 
10,684 
5,977 
2,128 
4,902 
25,728 
764 
29,866 


11,633 
4,125 
4,180 

32,251 
328,129 
6,599 
5,129 

3,984 
4,617 
1,180 
35,017 


9,736 
4,725 
746 
41,072 
295,415 
4,901 
2,848 
40 
1,702 
5,524 
858 
18,949 


14,964 
5,912 
2,573 

47,477 
374,711 

22,612 
4,327 
200 
4,079 
5,430 
2,593 

19,158 


Total — Barrels . . 


4,382,496 


2,108,013 


1,385,448 


2,202,335 


Average price 


5-95 


5-35 


5-00 


4-77 



Wheat, where the soil and the climate are adapted to its growth, 
and the requisite progress has been made in its culture, is deci- 
dedly preferred to all other grains, and, next to maize, is the most 
important crop in the United States, not only on account of its 
general use for bread, but for its safety and convenience for ex- 
portation. It is not known to what country it is indigenous, any 
more than any other cultivated cereals, all of which, no doubt, have 
been essentially improved by man. By some, wheat is considered 
to have been coeval with the creation, as it is known that upwards 
of a thousand years before our era it was cultivated, and a superior 
variety had been attained. It has steadily followed the progress 
of civilisation from the earliest times, in all countries where it 
would grow. In 177 6 there was entailed upon America an en- 
during calamity, in consequence of the introduction of the Hessian 
or wheat fly, which was supposed to have been brought from 
Grermany in some straw, employed in the debarkation of Howe's 
troops on the west end of Long Island, From that point the 
insect gradually spread in various directions, at the rate of twenty 
or thirty miles a year, and the wheat of the entire regions east of 
the Alleghanies is now more or less infested with the larva, as well 
as in large portions of the States bordering on the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi, and on the great Lakes ; and so great have been the ravages 
of these insects that the cultivation of this grain has in many; 
places been abandoned. 

The geographical range of the wheat region in the Eastern Con- 
tinent and Australia, lies principally between the 30th and 60th 
parallels of north latitude, and the 30th and 40th degrees south, 
being chiefly confined to France, Spain, Portus;-al, Italy, Sicily, 
G-reece, Turkey, Eussia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland, 
Prussia, Netherlands, Belgium, Grreat Britain, Ireland, Northern 
and Southern Africa, Tartary, India, China, Australia, Van 
Diemen's Land, and Japan. Along the Atlantic portions of tlie 
Western Continent, it embraces the tract lying between the SOtli 



STATISTICS or WHEA.T CULTURE. 



225 



and 50tli parallels, and in the country westward of the Kocky 
Mountains, one or two more degrees further north. Along the 
west coast of South America, as well as in situations within the 
torrid zone, sufficiently elevated above the level of the sea, and 
properly irrigated by natural or artificial means, abundant crops 
are often produced. 

The principal districts of the United States in which this im- 
portant grain is produced in the greatest abundance, and w^here it 
forms a leading article of commerce, embrace the States of New York, 
IS'ew Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, 
Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, "Wisconsin, and 
Iowa. The chief varieties cultivated in the Northern and Eastern 
States are the white fiint, tea, Siberian, bald, Black Sea, and the 
Italian spring wheat. In the middle and Western States, the 
Mediterranean, the Virginia white May, the blue stem, the In- 
diana, the Kentucky white bearded, the old red chafet, and the 
Talavera, The yield varies from ten to forty bushels and upwards 
per acre, weighing, per bushel, from fifty-eight to sixty-seven 
pounds. 

It appears that on the whole crop of the United States there was 
a gain during the ten years ending 1850, of 15,645,373 bushels. 
The crop of New England decreased from 2,014,000 to 1,078,000 
bushels, exhibiting a decline of 986,000 bushels, and indicating the 
attention of farmers has been much withdrawn from the culture 
of wheat. Grouping the States from the Hudson to the Potomac, 
including the district of Columbia, it appears that they produced, 
in 1849, 35,085,000 bushels, against 29,936,000 in 1839. In 
Virginia there was an increase of 1,123,000 bushels. These States 
embrace the oldest wheat-growing region of the country, and that 
in which the soil and climate seem to be adapted to promote the 
permanent culture of the grain. The increase of production in 
the ten years has been 6,272,000 bushels, equal to 15.6 per cent. 
The area tilled in these States is 36,000,000 acres, only thirty 
per cent, of the whole amount returned, while the proportion of 
wheat produced is forty-six per cent. In' North Carolina there 
has been an increase of 170,000 bushels, but in the Southern 
States generally there was a considerable decrease. Indiana, Illi- 
nois, Michigan, and Wisconsin contributed to the general aggre- 
gate under the sixth census only 9,800,000 bushels ; under the 
last they are shown to have produced upwards of 25,000,000 
bushels, an amount equal to the whole increase in the United 
States for the period. 

When we see the growth of wheat keeping pace with the progress 
of population in the oldest States of the Union, we need have no 
apprehension of a decline in the cultivation of this important 
crop. 

The amount of flour exported from New Jersey in 1751, was 
6,424 barrels. Prom Philadelphia in 1752, 125,960 barrels, besides 
85,500 bushels of wheat ; in 1767, 198,816 barrels, besides 367,500 
bushels of wheat; in 1771, 252,744 barrels. Prom Savannah, in 



226 



STA.TISTICS or WHEAT CULTURE. 



1771, 7,200 lbs. From Yirginia, for some yeai's amiually preced- 
ing the revolution, 800,000 bushels of wheat. The total exports 
of flour from the United States in 1791 were 619,681 barrels, be- 
sides 1,018,339 bushels of wheat ; in 1800, 653,052 barrels, besides 
26,853 bushels of wheat ; in 1810, 798,431 barrels, besides 325,924 
bushels of wheat ; in 1820-21, 1,056,119 barrels, besides 25,821 
bushels of wheat; in 1830-31, 1,806,529 barrels, besides 408,910 
bushels of wheat; in 1840-41, 1,515,817 barrels, besides 868,585 
bushels of wheat ; in 1845-46, 2,289,476 barrels, besides 1,613,795 
bushels ofAvheat; in 1846-47, 4,382,496 barrels, besides 4,399,951 
bushels of wheat ; in 1850-51, 2,202,335 barrels, besides 1,026,725 
bushels of wheat. 

In the London Exhibition very little wheat was exhibil ed equal 
to that from the United States, especially that from G-enessee 
county, in the State of New York — a soft white variety, to the 
exhibitor of which a prize medal was awarded by the Eoyal Com- 
missioners. The red Mediterranean wheat exhibited from the 
United States attracted much attention. The wheat from South 
Australia was probably superior to any exhibited, while much from 
the United States fell but little behind, and was unquestionably 
next in quality. 

From the Second Eeport on the Breadstuffs of the United 
States, made to the Commissioner of Patents, by Lewis C. Beck, 
M.D., I am induced to make some extracts. He states : — 

The analyses of several samples, the gro^rth of various foreign countries, have 
afforded me an opportunity of comparing the American and foreign wheats and 
flours. With a few exceptions of peculiar varieties, it will be seen from there- 
suits that with ordinary care the wheat of this country will compare advantage- 
ously with that of any other. Indeed, on reviewing my analyses, I question 
whether there is any part of the world where this grain is generally of a finer 
quality than it is in the United States. But all the advantages which we pos- 
sess in this respect will be of little avail so long as inferior and damaged bread- 
stuffs are shipped from our ports. 

In addition to the analyses which I have executed of the various samples of 
wheat and wheat flour according to the mode heretofore pursued, I have per- 
formed a series of experiments for the purpose of settling the important ques- 
tion in regard to the relative value of the fine flour of wheat, and the " whole 
meal." I have also consulted every work within my reach which could throw 
any light upon the different points that have presented themselves during the 
progress of the investigation. 

The large number of samples of wheat and wheat flour which have been 
placed in my hands for examination, have left me no time for the analysis of 
our other breadstuffs. 

It cannot be denied that the amount shipped to foreign ports during 1849 is 
considerably less than for the two preceding years. In the meantime, however, 
a new and important market has been opened in our territories on the Pacific. 
It may also be safely affirmed that the causes for foreign demand, and which 
must hereafter operate, still remain. These are the cheapness of land in this 
country, e nd the peculiar adaptation of our soil and climate to the growth of the 
two important cereals, wheat and maize. 

Another fact, it seems to me, is of sufficient interest in connection with this 
subject, to be here noticed. The failure of the potato crop in various parts of 
the world for several years past has engaged the attention of scientific and prac- 
tical men. Unfortunately, the nature of the blight which has seized upon this 
tuber has eluded the most careful inquiries ; but it has been shown by well- 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTTJEE. 



227 



conducted analyses that potatoes at their late prices are the most expensive 
kind of farinaceous food. This will be evident from the following statement : — 

"Potatoes contain from about seventy to seventy-nine per cent, of water, 
■while the proportion in wheat flour is from twelve to fourteen per cent ; and 
while the gluten and albumen in potatoes scarcely rise to one per cent., in 
wheat flour the range may be set down at from nine to thirteen per cent. 
Again, the non nitrogenous principles are as about seventy-five per cent, in 
wheat flour against fifteen or sixteen in potatoes. In short, whilst potatoes 
supply only twenty per cent, of heat-forming and nutritious principles, taken 
together, wheat supplies more than seventy per cent, of the former, and more 
than ten of the latter. The value of wheat to potatoes, therefore, is at least 
four to one ; or, if wheat sells at fifteen shillings sterling per cwt., potatoes to 
be equally cheap, ought to sell at between three and four shillings." 

The preceding results, for which I am principally indebted to Dr. Daubeny, 
Professor of Chemistry at Oxford,* show that unless a great change occurs in 
the culture of the p tato, there must be an increased demand for other kinds of 
farinaceous food. And it is worthy of notice that while this blight is one of 
the causes which bring to our shores the starving population of Europe, the 
raising of the cereals not only furnishes profitable employment to the emigrant, 
but enables him to make the best return to those who are still obliged to remain, 

Adaptatiftn of the soil <^.nd cUmaie of the Tniicd Stafex to the culture of the 
cereals. — That the soil and climate of many portions of the United States are 
well adapted to the cultivation of the more important cereals, is fully shown by 
the results of all the reseai'ches which have thus far been prosecuted. I have 
indeed seen it asserted that the climate of England is the best for the cultiva- 
tion of wheat, and preferable to any in our country ; its humidity being the pe- 
culiarity to which this suj^eriority is ascribed. f But this is undoubtedly the 
testimony cf a too partial witness. A recent statement by an English author is 
the result of a more correct knowledge of the facts. He acknowledges that 
there is no ground for the expectation which has been entertained concerning 
the advantageous growth of n-aize in England. "I\or is ours," says he, "the 
most favorable country for wheat, but skill in husbandry has overcome great 
difficulties." j The mistake on this subject may have originated from the oc- 
currence of a larger and plumper grain in the more huniid climate ; but analy- 
sis shows that the small grain raised in the hotter and drier air oftentimes 
greatly surpasses the former in its nutritious value, 

Russia is said to be the great rival of this country in the growth of wheat, 
but I think it doubtful whether she possesses superior natural advantages ; and 
I am sure she will find it difficult to compete with the industry and skill which 
here characterize the operations of husbandry, and the manufacture and ship- 
ment of breadstuifs. 

Export of sophisticated and damaged flour. — It is a matter of deep regi-et that 
circumstances have occurred which must have a most injurious influence upon, 
the trade in breadstuffs between this country and Great Britain. I refer to the 
mixtures of damaged, inferior, and good kinds of flour, which it appears on au- 
thentic testimony have been largely exported during the past year. Whether 
this fraudulent operation, which is said to have been principally confined to 
New Tork, is the result of the change in the inspection laws, as some assert, I 
am unable to say. But it requires no great foresight to predict that, if con- 
tinued, it will create a distr-ust of our breadstufts in foreign ports which it will 
be very difficult to remove. It caimot but excite the indignation of the many 
honorable dealers, that the unworthy cupidity of a few individuals should lead 
to such disastrous consequences. 

I have as yet been unable to obtain samples of these sophisticated flours, and 
the only information which I have in regard to them is the general fact above 
stated, and concerning the truth of which there can be little doubt. ISTo means 

* A lecture on the nn.tritiTe value of different articles of food, by C. Daubeny^ M.D., 
" Gardener'3 Chronicle" (London), January 20th, 1S49, p. 37. 

t Transactions of the Xew Tork State Agricultural Society, 1k49, p. 646. 
% A lecture " On the Geographical DistriV tiou of Com Plants," bv the Ec-v. E. Sidney- 
Proceedings of the EoTal Institution (London), Ivlay ISth, 1849. 

Q 2 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CTLTrEI 



should be left untried to devise some mode ly -vriiich. these frauds can be earily 
and certainly detected. 

Injury smtained by breadstuffs during their trm^ryyl o.r.d. si 'r-^-^nf. — I' .:: 
the past year, I have had abundant means of detemii^i r z'zr n v.vtv :: 
juries which are often sustained by our breadsturs i" :.ir:: : .5- :r- - tie 
particular districts in which, they are grown and ill: z u: : 1: : : : : : r:::ii :-r- 
cial depots, and in their shipment to foreign ports . is : : r : u- . st 

important points connected with these r^earches. I It: ; z: . - :_t :: 

its iuYestigation. From the results of numerous .1 .7= I - : 
safely asserted, that of the wheat flour which arrl-T ^ .1 Zr.r :i l_ : : ; 
ports of the United States, a large proportion is m: . . - t -r 

voyage. The same remark may be made in r^ari : _ : 7 : : _ . = : _ . 
from the "^est^em States to the city oflfew York. Tiziz r,-;,::::.^ :- - is 
considerably impaired, and without more care than r . II7 r. : is : :1t7 ire 
entirely imiit for export. 

In my former report, I adverted to one of the _ ~ : : i r a; ri: ra- 

tion which ourbr^dstu^ often suffer during tii _ _ : : . - i .iirnt. 
This was the undue proportion of the great dii:: . l ir a ; a _ a. ^ :rr. 
under the influence of what usually occurs, viz . . : ii ~ : : " : 5 

above the ordinary standard. My recent inTe=::^i.i ^.s j vr r : 
strengl^en these Tiews. There is no doubt tl a tirse : e :iir .1. : ^ 
cause "^e change of the non-nitrogen'A::; Trir ir.:: 3.ciis ^the jAcac or noe- 
tic) , while a portion of :iir ^--itrH 15 r: M5 : i. 

I have tried a serie; : rx:A r .r r. : : _ : :: the action of moisture 



npon various samples 
twelve hours in the : 
saturated sii v:: : 
deg-. Fahr, ; 



100 



After an expo?- 
increased in wei_ 

above i . :a : - 



.i H: 



..nr. "^r. 
-heat 



: : iples were placed for 
. . ; : ntainiog a boiling 
which was about 220 



12.10 
9.3o 

lO.OD 

8.55 

8.I0 



Tiiose -rir:i nA i: : a^ I-tv : rfn predicted as to the 

general result, that wL a ir. ^ - i: : i - . 1:7 than flour, yet if 
once proT'erly dried, sun:: i in Al 1,^= :: ;n- : s - : :cposure to air and 
moist =ire, 

It is n:?;- - Arrt^.in: i: :r.pv-:::;: :: - : -:i^: Vu:/ i : 7 7 : : ::on of water, 
wheat n:nr --ini:! .-i i-nuvu;: :::.::.: n:ii:r_ : '^y" .i._::. :: Irast of lactic 
fermentation. -:-li,i- — iii ::r a:^ ^: ; ■:: :i_v :: ii:i:.v" s ^n;- ios vrhen 

exposed to -^1:1: :: i_n:i.:i :i::n:.:^;. Ii.: s:.:::^ ro-\:i: —:ii ::\:-^:-: iy ::"o;r 
fromtheir careless exj : sn:: 1:: :iiv n:ii.s ::-:;":i = . Ti::: :!:- :r ; :::i::.i::i7 
the case with many of tii: :n,:r-r5 :f -iir:;": n: :: -i-:;; It: '^i ; : Z ;: :::. :_:re 

is little reason to doni:', Ti:i- i:::7 ' ::'-0 t ti.: 0: : : i_ .:n: i::" : : :iie 

English cnniate.- as tho 1a::: ::":: :- ' - :'- i . s - -:ii ::: - £: .:: - _::1. is 
the produce of tKat conr.::7- ::i :i: "ri:_i. : ^ :::".! ;:.-: :::i 

It is stated by iMr. Z ii::i : : ::1 :::. "n ^:A:i. :n E::.l:::ir. ::: " Z 
Britaanica^ that, as :i ^vn: ;:^1 ::Li :. tire L:^l:n n:Mr 1 ::i:ll7 1:1 Tire 
gluten generally wants the adhesiveness which characterizes the gluten of gorod. 
wheat." 

I have observed that, in the analyses of some of the samples of damaged 
fiour, the proportions of what is set down under the head of glucose and dex- 
trine are unusually large. This is perha^ due to the change produced in the 
starch by the action of diastase, and which may under certain circumstances 1: e 
formed in wheat flour. It would seem, according to M. Guerin, that starch ntay 
thus be acted on even at slightly elevated temperatures. In one of his experi- 



STATISTICS OP WHEAT CULTUEE. 



229 



ments, at a temperature no higher than 68 deg. Fahr., a quantity of starch, at 
the end of twenty-foiu' hours, was converted into syrup, which yielded seventy- 
seven per cent, of saccharine matter.* 

It may be thought that I have overrated the importance of this subject, but it 
is believed that a careful examination of the facts will relieve me from this 
charge. I am now satisfied that, if the proportion of water in our exported 
breadstuffs could be reduced to about five or six per cent., one of the great causes 
of complaint in regard to them would be completely removed. 

Kiln-drying of breadstuffs, and exclusion of air. — The injury which our bread- 
stuffs sustain by the large proportion of water can of course be prevented only 
by careful drying before shipment, and by the employment of barrels rendered 
as impervious as possible to the influence of atmospheric moisture. 

In my first report, I have spoken favorably of the process of drying by 
steam, according to the plan patented by Mr. J. R. Stafford. I still thinlc 
this mode possesses great advantages over those previously followed, and which 
almost always injured the quality of the grain or flour : but from some trials 
which I have made during the past year, it is inferred that the exposure to the 
heat is perhaps usually not sufficiently prolonged to answer the purpose inten- 
ded by the operation. I have often observed that samples of wheat flour, after 
being exposed to the heat of the salt water-bath oven (220 deg. Fahr.) for two 
or three hours, lost weight by a further continuance of the heat. An apparatus 
has been patented by Mr. J. H. Tower, of Clinton, N. Y., consisting of a cylin- 
der of square apartments or tubes, into which the grain or flour is introduced, 
and subjected to heat while in rapid revolution. I examined samples which 
had been subjected to this operation, and acertained that wheat floiu-, originally 
containing 14.80 per cent, of water, had the proportion reduced to 10.25 per 
cent., while in wheat the proportion of water was reduced from 14.75 to 8.55 
per cent. 

Xow it is probable that by either of the above modes, and perhaps by many 
others, the various kinds of breadstuffs may be brought to that degree of dry- 
ness which, with ordinary care, shall protect them from subsequent injiuy ; but 
in order to secure this advantage, the operation must be carefully performed, 
and experiments must be made to ascertain how long an exposure to heat is 
necessary to bring the sample to the proper degree of dryness, and to determine 
whether in any respect its quality is impaired. It has already been stated that 
absolute desiccation is not necessary, even were it attainable ; but any process 
in order to be effective should reduce the proportion of water to about six, or 
at most seven per cent. 

I have heretofore adverted to the great care employed in the drying of grain 
in various foreign countries, and to which the preservation of it for a great 
number of years is to be ascribed. 

The operation is not conducted in the hurried manner which is here thought 
to be so essential, but is continued long enough to effect the intended object. 
Thorough ventilation, as well as the proper degree of drying, and which is 
equally important, is thus secured. 

It is said that in Russia the sheaves of wheat, carried into the huts, are sus- 
pended upon poles and dried by the heat of the oven. The grain shrinks very 
much during this process, but it is supposed to be less liable to the attacks of 
insects, and preserves its nutritive qualities for many years. During the win- 
ter, it is sent to market. — (" The Czar, his Court and People." By John S. 
Maxwell, p. 272.) 

With all the necessary attention which may be paid to the proper drying of 
our breadstuffs intended for export, another point is of equal importance, viz., 
the shipment in vessels rendered as impervious as possible to the influence of 
atmospheric moisture. For however carefully and thoroughly the drying, 
especially of wheat flour or maize meal, may have been performed, it will be 
nearly useless if the shipment is afterwards made in the barrels commonly em- 
ployed.f And it is very certain that the transport and shipment of grain in 

* Boussingault's Rural Economy, American edition, pp. 85 and 86. 
t Zcnas Coffin, one of the oldest whalemen in Nantucket, states that corn meal in tight 
rum puncheons when sent to the West Indies will keep sweet, while in common flour barrels 
it win spoil. Eeport o* the Commissioner of Patents for 1847, p, 133. 



230 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CULTTJEE. 



bulk, as usually conducted, ai'e attended with great loss. This difficulty might 
"be removed at a trifling expense by adopting the plan suggested in the preced- 
ing report, and to which I would again respectfully call the attention of those 
who are engaged in this branch of trade. 

I might here adduce a mass of testimony showing the importance of the 
matters just referred to, but will only advert to the following statements, which 
although made in allusion principally to maize, are equally applicable to our 
other breadstuff's. Maize meal, if kept too long, is liable to become rancid, 
and it is then more or less unfit for use. In the shipments made to the West 
Indies, the meal is commonly kiln-dried, to obviate as much as possible this 
tendency to rancidity." When ground very fine, maize meal suffers a change 
by exposui'e to the air. It is oxygenated. It is upon the same principle that 
the juice of an apple, after a little exposure to the air, is oxygenated, and 
changes its character and taste. If the flour could be bolted in racuct, it would 
not be changed." Intelligent writers speak of the necessity of preparing com 
for exportation by kiln-drying as indispensable. Without that process, com is 
Tery liable to become heated and musty, so as to be unfit for food for either man 
or beast. The kiln-dried maize meal from the Brandywine Mills, i:c., made 
from the yellow corn, has almost monopolized the West India trade. This 
process is indispensable, if we export maize to Europe. James Candy says that 
from fifty years experience he has learned the necessity of this process with 
corn intended for exportation." " I have often found the corn from our coun- 
try when it reached irs destination, ruined by heating on the voyage. It had 
become musty and of little or no value. KiLn-di-ying is absolutely necessary 
to preserve it for exportation. We must learn and practice the best mode of 
kiln-drying it.*" 

The nutritious value of the " ivhole meaV^ of JF/ieat, as compared with tliat of 
ihe fine flour. — The question whether what is called the whole meal of wheat, 
or that which is obtained by the mixture of the bran, contains more nutritious 
matter than the fine flour, is one of great importance. In my former report, I 
adverted to the statement made in regard to it by Professor J. P. W. Johnston, 
and which seemed to be almost conclusive in favor of the value of the whole 
meal. During the past year, however (1849), M. Eng. Peligot, an eminent 
French chemist, in an elaborate article " On the Composition of Wheat," to 
which more particular reference will be made hereafter, combats the opinion 
that the bran is an alimentary substance. He observes that the difficulty of 
keeping the bran in flour intended for the manufacture of bread of good quality 
appears to result much less from the presence of the cellulose (one of the con- 
stituents of woody matter) contained in wheat than that of the fatty matter. 
This is foimd in the bran in a quantity at least triple of that which remains m 
the floui-, and the bolting separates it fi^om the ground wheat not less usefully 
than the cellulose itself." f 

M. MilLon objects entirely to the views of M. Peligot on this point, and states 
some facts which are especially worthy of consideration. He asserts that, 
according to the views of the last named chemist, the separation at mDst of one 
part of fatty matter sacrifices fifteen, twenty, and even twenty-five per cent, of 
substances which are of the highest nutritive value. This abstracts from wheat, 
for the whole amount raised in France, the enormous sum of about two 
hundred millions of pounds annually. 

It seems that in France the question whether the bolting of flour is advan- 
tageous has always been decided in the most arbitrary manner. An ordinance of 
Louis XIV., issued in 1 608, prohibited, under a very heavy penalty, there- 
grinding of the bran and its mixtui-e with the flour \ this, with the mode of 
grinding then in use, caused a loss of more than foiiy per cent. — (Comptes 
Eendus^ February 19th, 1849.) 

In large cities and elsewhere, there seems for some time to have been a grow- 
ing prejudice against the use of brown bread; and it is said that now nearly all 
the peasantry of France bolt their flour. The increase of this practice, accord- 

* Erom remarks of Col. Skinner, and others, at a meeting of the American Institute, 
held in April 184i6. Transactions of American Institute, 1846, p. 509 et feq. 

t Comptes Kendus des Seances de L'Academie des Sciences, February 5tii, 18^3. 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTURE. 



231 



ing to M. Millou, threatens the nation with an annual loss of from two to 
three hundred millions of francs. If the bran was entirely valueless, there 
would be a loss of more than one million a day. 

It is quite difficult to determine the precise amount of bran which may have 
been removed from wheat, for various samples contain such a different propor- 
tion of bran that in the one case a removal of ten per cent, leaves more bran 
in the flour than a bolting of five per cent, in another. 

The following is an analysis of bran by M. Millon ; the sample being a soft 
French wheat grown in 1848 : — 



Starch, dextrine and sugar 53.00 

Sugar of liquorice 1.00 

Gluten 14.90 

Fatty matter 3.60 

Woody matter 9.70 

Salts 50 

Water 13.90 

Incrusting matter and aromatic principles (by difference) . . 3.40 



100. 

The conclusion to be di'awn from this analysis is, that bran is an alimentary 
substance. If it contains six per cent, more of woody matter than the rough, 
flour, it has also more gluten, double that of fatty matter, besides two aroma- 
tic principles which have the perfume of honey, and both of which are wanting 
in the fine flour. Thus by bolting, wheat is impoverished in its most valuable 
principles, merely to remove a few hundredths of woody matter. 

The economical suggestion which springs from these views is, that the bran 
and coarse flour should be reground and then mixed with the fine flour. Millon 
states that he has ascertained, by repeated experiments, that bread thus made 
is of superior quality, easily worked, and not subject to the inconvenience of 
bread ma'iufactured from the rough flour, such as is made in some places, and 
especially in Belgium. 

Opinions similar to those above noticed are entertained by Professor Daubeny. 
" The great importance attached to having bread perfectly white is a prejudice," 
he says, " which leads to the rejection of a very wholesome part of the food, 
and one which, although not digestible alone, is sufiiciently so in that state of 
admixture with the flour in which nature has prepared it for our use." After 
quoting the remarks of Professor Johnston on the same side of the question, he 
adds, *' that according to the experiments of Magendie, animals fed upon fine 
flour died in a few weeks, whilst they thrived upon the whole meal bread.' ' 
Brown bread, therefore, should be adopted, not merely on a principle of econo- 
my, but also as providing more of those ingredients which are perhaps deficient 
in the finer parts of the fiour. — (" Gardeners' Chronicle," January 27th, 1849, 
p. 53.) 

The remarks of Dr. Robertson may also be here introduced. "The advan- 
tage," he observes, " of using more or less of the coverings of the grain in the pre- 
paration of bread has often been urged on economical principles. There can be 
no doubt that a very large proportion of nutritive matter is contained in the 
bran and the pollard ; and these are estimated to contain about one-fifth part 
of the entire weight of the wheat grain. It is, unquestionably, so far wasteful 
to remove these altogether from the flour ; and in the case of the majority of 
people, this waste may be unnecessary, even on the score of digestibility."* 

This subject can also be rendered apparent to the eye. If we make a cross 
section of a grain of wheat, or rye, and place it under the microscope, we per- 
ceive very distinct layers in it as we examine from without inwards. The 
outer of them belong to the husk of the fruit and seed, and ^re separated as 
bran, in grinding. But the millstone does not separate so exactly as the eye 
may by means of the microscope, not even as accurately as the knife of the ve- 
getable anatomist, and thus with the bran is removed also the whole outer layer 
of the cells of the nucleus, and even some of the subjacent layers. Thus the 

* A Treatise on Diet and Regimen, by Wm. Henry Robertson, M, D., vol. i. p. 153. 



232 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CU.LTTIEE. 



anatomical inyestigations of one of these corn grains at once explains why 
^read is so much the less nutiitious the more carefully the hran has heen se- 
parated from the meal.* 

There can therefore he little douht that the removal of the bran is a serious 
injury to the flour ; and I have presented the above array of evidence on this point 
in the hope of dkecting public attention to it here, as has been done in various 
foreign countries. 

After this, it will easily be inferred that I am not disposed to look ^ith much 
favor upon the plan proposed by Mr. Bentz for taking the outer coating or bran 
from vrheat and other grains previously to grinding. f Independently of the 
considerations which have abeady been presented, it is far from being proved, 
as this gentlemen asserts, that the mixture of the bran with the meal which 
results from the common mode of grinding is the chief cause of the souring of 
the flour in hot climates. On the contrary, the bran is perhaps as little liable 
to undergo change as the fine flour, and then the moistening to which, as I am 
imformed, the grain is subjected previously to the removal of the husk, is stilj 
further objectionable^ and must be followed by a most cai'efuUy-conducted pro_ 
cess of kiln-drying, 

jS'utritiou& properties of various articles of food. — There seems to be some dif- 
ference of opinion in regard to the nutritious properties of various kinds of food. 
It is generally, however, agreed that those which contain the largest proportion 
of nitrogenous matters are the most nutritious. It is on this account that hari- 
cots, peas, and beans, form, in some sort, substitutes for animal food. Tubers, 
roots, and even the seeds of the cereal grasses, are but moderately nutritious. 
If we see herbivorous animals f£,ttening upon such articles, it is because, from 
their peculiar organisation, they can consume them in large quantities. It is 
quite doubtful whether a man doing hard Avork could exist on bread exclusively. 
The instances which are given of countries where rice and potatoes form the sole 
articles of food of the inhabitants, are believed to be incomplete. Boussingault 
states that in Alsace, for example, the peasantry always associate their potato dish 
with a large Ciuantity of sour or cm'dled milk ; in Ireland with buttermiRc. " The 
Indians of the Upper Andes do not by any means live on potatoes alone, as some 
travellers have said they do : at Quito, the daily food of the inhabitants is lorco^ 
a compound of potatoes and a large quantity of cheese. Rice is often cited as 
one of the most nourishing articles of diet. I am satisfied, however, after having 
lived in countries where rice is largely consumed, that it is anything but a sub- 
stantial, or, for its bulk, nutritious article of sustenance." — (" Eural Economy," 
Amer. edition, p. 409.) These statements are further confirmed by the observa- 
tioris of M. Lequerri, who, during a long residence in India, paid particular at- 
tention to the manners and customs of the inhabitants of Pondicherry. " Their 
food," he states, " is almost entirely vegetable, and rice is the staple ; the inferior 
castes only ever eat meat. But all eat kari (curry), an article prepared with meat, 
fish, or vegetable, which is mixed with the rice, boiled in very little water. It is 
requisite to have seen the Indians at their meals to have any idea of the enor- 
mous quantity of rice which they will put into their stomachs. Xo European 
could cram so much at a time ; and they very commonly allow that rice alone 
will not nourish them. They very generally still eat a quantity of bread." i 

In regard to the proportion of nutritious matter contained in grains of various 
kinds, it may be remarked that the tables which have been constructed as the 
results of various experiments are liable to an objection, which will be more 
particularly adverted to under another head. For example, two substances, by 
the process of ultimate analysis, may exhibit the same proportion of nitrogenous 
matter, and still difier very materially in their value as articles of food. Much 
depends on the digestibility of the form in which this matter is presented to the 
digestive organs. A strong illustration is afforded in the case of hay, the pro- 
portion of nutritive matter of which, about 9.71, would certainly not represent 

* The Plant : a Biography ; by M. H. Schleiden, M.D., Professor of Botany in the Uni- 
Tersity of Jena. English translation, p. 54. 

t Transactions of the IS'ew York State Agricultural Society for 1847, p. 190. In this com- 
invinication, Mr. Bentz does not describe the process which he adopts, but enumerates some 
cU' its supposed advantages. 

% Quoted by BoussiugauU. Eural Economy, Amer. edition, p. 410. 



STATISTICS OP WHEAT CrLTrEE. 



233 



its poorer of affording noui'islinient to tlie human system. It is in truth, quite 
impossible to arrive at any other than, approximate results from the operations 
of chemistry, as to the amount of nutriment contained in a given quantity or 
"weight of any article of food.* 

It is perhaps not irrelevant to notice in this place some of the researches 
which have recently been made upon fermentation, and particulaily its effects 
in the manufacture of bread. It appears that when this process is brought about 
by the addition of yeast or leaven to the paste or dough, the character of the 
mass is materially altered. A larger or smaller proportion of the fLoux is rir- 
tually lost. According to Dr. William Gregory the loss amounts to the very 
large proportion of one-sixteenth part of the -whoie of the flour. He says, " To 
avoid this loss, bread is now raised by means of carbonate of soda, or ammonia 
and a diluted acid, which are added to the dough, and the effect is perfectly 
satisfactory. Equally good or better bread is obtained, and the quantity of flour 
■which -svill yield fifteen hundred loaves by fermentation, furnishes sixteen him- 
dred bv the new method, the sugar and fibrin (gluten) being saved." — (" Outlines 
of Chemistry," p. 352.) 

Another author, Dr. E. D. Thomson, states, as the results of his experiments 
upon bread produced by the action of hydrochloric acid upon carbonate of soda, 
" that in a sack of flour there was a difference in favor of the unfermented bread 
to the amount of thirty pounds thirteen ounces, or in round numbers, a sack of 
flour would produce one hundred and seven loaves of unfermented bread, and 
only one hundred loaves of fermented bread of the same weight. Hence it ap- 
pears that in the sack of flom- by the common process cf baking, seven loaves, 
or six-and-a-half per cent, of the flour are driven into the air and lost." — (" Ex- 
perimental Researches on the Food of Animals," kc, p. 183.) 

The only objection to the general introduction of this process seems to be the 
degree of care and accuracy required in properly adjusting the respective quali- 
ties and quantities of acid and alkali, and which could seldom be attained even 
by those who are largely engaged in the manufacture of bread. 

I cannot leave this subject without adverting to a practice which has prevailed 
in England and France, and perhaps also in this country, of steeping wheat 
before sowing it in solutions of arsenic, sulphate of copper, and other poisonous 
preparations. 

The result has been that injurious effects have often followed, both to those 
who are employed in sowing such grain, and to those who have used the bread 
manufactm-ed from it. The great importance of the subject led to the appoint- 
ment of a commission at Eouen, in France, in December, 1842, having for its 
object to determine the best process of preventing the smut in wheat, and to 
ascertain whether other means less dangerous than those above noticed were 
productive of equally good results. The labors of this commission extended over 
the years 18i3-'4:i-'-lo, and the experiments vrere repeated two years following 
on the farm of Mr. Fauchet, one of the commission, at Eoisquilaume, in the de- 
partment of the Seine Inferieure. 

The results arrived at by this commission are — 1st. That it is not best to sow 
seed without steeping, 2nd. That it is best to make use of the sulphate of soda 
and lime process, inasmuch as it is more simple and economical, in no way in- 
jurious to the health, and yields the soimdest and most productive wheat. 
3rd. That the use of arsenic, sulphate of copper, verdigris, and other poisonous 
preparations, should be interdicted by the government. — (''Gardeners' Chronicle," 
January 6th, 1849, pp. 10 and 11.) 

Coutjjosition of ichcat and vsheat f.our, and the various modes of determining 
their nutritive value. — In my former report it was stated that the analyses of the 
various samples of wheat, the results of which were there given, had been chiefly 
directed to the determining the amount of rough gluten which they contained. 
My reasons for adopting this plan, and the arguments in favor of its general 
accuracy, as compared with other modes of analysis, and especially that by which 
the ultimate composition is ascertained, were also detailed. A more full exami- 
nation of this subject has served only to strengthen the opinion already expressed, 
that for the great purpose to be answered by these researches, the process which 

* A Treatise on Diet and Regimen, by Wm. Henry Robertson. M.D.^ vol. i. p. 140. 



234 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CULTIJEE. 



I have adopted is, to say the least, as free from objection as any other, and if 
carefully and uniformly carried out, wiU truly represent the relative values of 
the several samples of wheat flour. As this is a matter of much consequence in 
a practical point of view, I trust I shall be excused for introducing some addi- 
tional facts in regard to it. 

The term gluten was originally applied to the gray, viscid, tenacious, and 
elastic matter, which is obtained by subjecting wheat flour to the continuous 
action of a current of water. But it appears that this is a mixtxu'e of fibrine and 
caseine, with what is now called glutine, and a peculiar oily or fatty matter. 
Now these substances may be separated from each other, but the processes em- 
ployed for this pui-pose are tedious, and to insure accuracy the various solvents 
must be entirely pure — a point which, especially in the case of alcobol and ether, 
is not ordinarily easy to be attained. This will be rendered still more evident 
by a reference to a French process, which will hereafter be noticed. 

But were it much less difficult in every case accui'ately to separate the con- 
stituents of gluten, it would not, in my opinion, be of the least practical utility. 
It is to the peculiar mechanical property of this gluten that wheat flour owes 
its superior power of detaining the carbonic acid engCEdered by fermentation, 
and thus communicating to it the vesicular spongy structure so characteristic of 
good bread.* It may also be added, that the results of more than one hundred 
trials have satisfied me that a diminution or loss of elasticity in the gluten is the 
surest index of the amount of injury which the sample of flour has sustained. 
Whether, therefore, the sample contains a certain proportion of nitrogen, or 
whether it contains albumen, fibrine, and caseine in sufficient quantity, it may 
still want the very condition which is essential to the manufacture of good 
bread. Islj objection, therefore, to the mere detennination, however accurate, 
of the proportion of niti'ogen contained in wheat flour, or of the various princi- 
ples which form the gluten, is, that it does not represent the value of the various 
samples for the only use to which they are applied, viz., the making of bread. 
The remarks of Mulder, the celebrated Dutch chemist, upon the subject of ma- 
nures, are so applicable to this point that I cannot refrain from quoting them. 
" It has," he says, " become almost a regular caistom to determine the value of 
manures by the quantity of niti'ogen they yield by ultimate analysis. This 
method is entirely erroneous ; for it is based upon the false principle, that by 
putrefaction all nitrogeneous substances are immediately converted into am- 
monia, carbonic acid, and water ! But these changes sometimes require a number 
of years. Morphine, for example, is prepared by allowing opium to putrefy ; 
and the jjrocess for preparing leucin, a si bstance which contains 10.72 of nitrogen, 
is to bring cheese into putrefaction. Cheese, therefore, does not perhaps in a 
number of years resolve itself into carbonic acid, ammonia, and water, but pro- 
duces a crystalline substance, which contains no ammonia. Hence the proportion 
of nitrogen yielded by manures is not a proper measure of their value, and there- 
fore this mode of estimating that value ought to be discontinued. "f 

"We infer, therefore, that tl'.e proportion of nitrogen furnished by food of 
various kinds is not the true measure of their nutritious value, and cannot for 
practical purposes take the place of that process by which the amount of rough 
gluten is determined. 

No better illustration can be given of the uncertainty which attends the in- 
ferences drawn, from the ultimate composition, than the fact heretofore stated in 
regard to hay, the nutritive value of which is placed in the tables containing the 
results of these analyses, at a figure nearly the same as that of ordinary wheat 
flour. + 

In the paper on the " Composition of Wheat," by M. Peligot— (" Comptes 
Eendus," February 5th, 1849) — to which I have already referred, the author gives 
the results of the various analyses which he has made, and details the process 
he adopted. 

Aware of the complex and difficult nature of the examination as conducted 
by him, he seems to doubt in regard to some of the results given in his tables _ 

* Experimental Eesearches on the Food of Animals, &c., by II. D. Thomson, M.D. p. 156. 
t Chemistry of Vegetable and Animal Physiology, translated by Prof. J. F. AV. Johnston, 

^' t See Dr. E. D. Thomson's Experimental Eesearches on the Food of Animals, &c. 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CULTTJEE. 



235 



In the fourteen samples w^hicli lie analysed, the proportion of water ranges from 
13.2 to 15.2, which is a rather higher aA'erage than is yielded by our American 
samples, especially those whi' h hare not been shipped across the Atlantic. Of 
the nitrogenous matter, soluble and insoluble, the proportions range from 9.90 
per cent, to 21.50 per cent. ; the former being from a sample of very soft F-nd 
white French wheat ; the latter from a very hard wheat with long grains, from 
Northern Africa, cultivated at Yerrieres. Another sample fi'om Egypt yielded 
20.60 per cent, of these nitrogenous matters, both of which are very remarkable 
proportions. 

In describing the process for ascertaining the amount of insoluble nitrogenous 
matters, this author adverts to their estimation either by the quantity of nitro- 
gen gas furnished, or of ammonia formed, the last being preferred for substances, 
which, like wheat, contain only a few hundredths of nitrogen. The results 
which he obtained by this method were compared with those yielded by the 
direct extraction of the gluten by softening the farina under a small stream of 
water. "These results," says he, " differ but little from each other when we 
operate upon wheat in good condition, although the gluten which we thus ob- 
tain holds some starch and fatty matter, while the starch which is carried away 
by the water contains also some gluten." The loss and gain, as I have already 
explained, and as has been proved by these and other comparisons, are nearly 
balanced, and the amount of rough gluten will therefore aflFord a fair exhibit of 
that of the insoluble nitrogenous matters in this grain. 

The salts in the samples of wheat analysed by M, Peligot, were either want- 
ing or were in small proportion ; while the amount of fatty matter ranged 
from 1- GO to 1-80 and 1-90 per cent. 

These results agree very well with those which I have obtained. But it is 
pi"oballe that the proportion is liable to great variation, inasmuch as it is in- 
ferred that the fatty matter originates from starch through its exposure to the 
general deoxidising influence which prevails in plants * 

There are also many difficulties attending the accurate determination of this 
matter, and which are probably the cause of the higher proportion often given. 
It is properly remarked by M. Peligot that the ether employed in this process 
should be free from water, and that the flour ought also to be very dry. By 
neglecting these precautions, we separate not only the fatty matter, but also a 
certain amount of matters soluble in the water, which is furnished as well by 
the wheat as by the ether. 

It would not, I think, be difficult to point out some incorrect views enter- 
tained by this chemist, and more especially those which relate to the fatty 
matter. Some of his processes for the separation of various substances, if not 
faulty, require so many conditions for success as to render the results, at least 
in other hands, exceedingly uncertain. 

But the capital error which he has committed is that concerning the bran, 
alre-ady adverted to, which he considers injurious to the flour, chiefly in con- 
sequence of the large proportion of fatty matter which it contains. 

In regard to the soluble nitrogenous matter usually called albumen, from its 
resemblance to the animal substance of the same name, I have to remark that 
in my trials the proportion has been found to be considerably less than that 
often given in tables of the composition of wheat. In one sample it was 
found to be as low as 0'15 per cont., in another it did not rise above 0-20 per 
cent. The amount was usually so inconsiderable, that I did not think it worth 
while to retard the progress of the work by following out processes which 
could add little to the utility of these investigations. 

Although much time and labor have been expended upon the analyses of the 
ash of plants, I have but slight confidence in the results heretofore given. The 
difficulties which attend the obtaining the ash in a proper condition, and the 
fact that the products of all the organs and parts of the plants have been 
analysed together, must necessarily impair the accuracy of the experiments, 
and render the inferences drawn from them of uncertain value. Much, indeed 
I may say almost everything, still remains to be done in this department of 
agricultural chemistry. 

* Mulder's Chemistry of Vegetable and Animal Physiology ; English Translation, p. 816. 



236 STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTUEE. 

Weight of wheat as an index to its value. — Mucli lias been said in regard to 
the relative weights of the bushel of wheat of different varieties or under 
different modes of culture. 

As ordinarily determined, this weight ranges from fifty-six to sixty-five or 
sixty-six pounds, being in a few cases set down somewhat higher. It is said 
also that the bushel of wheat weighs less in some years than it does in others, 
and that the difference often amounts to two, or three, or even four pounds. 
Though this may seem of comparatively little consequence for a few bushels, 
yet, for the aggegate of the wheat crop of the United States, or for a State, 
or even a county, it makes a great difference, Thus, were we to estimate the 
product of one year in the United States at one hundred and ten million 
bushels, weighing fifty-six pounds to the bushel, and another year at one hun- 
dred and eight million bushels, weighing sixty-two pounds, the difference in 
favor of the latter, though the least in quantity, would amount to five hundred 
and thirty-six million pounds in weight, or more than one million and a 
quarter of barrels of flour. — (Report of the American Commissioner of Patents 
for 1847, p. 117.) 

It may be remarked, however, that it is not after all so easy to determine 
with accuracy the weight of a bushel of wheat, nor to decide upon the circum- 
stances which have an influence in increasing the density of a grain of wheat. 
If the microscopical representations of wheat are to be relied on, it is probable 
that the increase in the density of wheat depends upon the increase in the 
proportion of gluten. I have found in several cases that, the proportion of 
water being the same, those samples of wheat which contain the largest 
proportion of gluten exhibit the highest specific gravity, or, in other words, 
will yield the greatest number of pounds to the bushel. But the weight of 
wheat will be influenced by the proportion of water which it contains ; the 
drier the grain, the greater is its density ; a fact which may account for the 
difference which has been observed in the weight of wheat in different seasons. 
If this is the cause, the calculation above given in reference to the United 
States is fallacious — but if the amount of gluten is actually, instead of re- 
latively, increased by peculiarities in seasons, it is no doubt correct. 

I have devised a series of experiments to test the accuracy of the statements 
made upon this point, but have not yet had leisure to complete them. 

General conclusions from the analyses of wheat flour. — The large number of 
analyses which I have made, and the uniformity of the processes pursued, 
enable me to draw some general conclusions which it may be useful to present 
in a connected form. 

1. In the samples from the more northern wheat-growing States, there seems 
to be little difference in the proportion of nutritive matter that can be set down 
to the influence of climate. Thus, the yield of the wheat from Michigan, 
"Wisconsin and Iowa, is scarcely inferior to that from JSTew York, Indiana, and 
Illinois, although the two latter are somewhat farther south. Local causes, 
and more especially the peculiarities of culture and manufacture, have more 
influence, within these parallels of latitude, than the difference of mean 
temperature. 

2. The samples from New Jersey, Lower Pennsylvania, the southern part of 
Ohio, Maryland (probably Delaware), Virginia, the CaroliaaS) and Georgia, * 
contain less water and more nutritive matter than those from the States pre- 
viously enumerated. That the samples from Missouri, which is included 
within nearly the same parallels of latitude as Virginia, do not exhibit so high 
an average of nutritive matter as those from the latter State, must be ascribed 
principally to a want of care in the management of the crop, and perhaps also 
in the manufacture of the flour. Virginia flour, for obvious reasons, maintains 
a high reputation for shipment. 

3. The difference in the nutritive value of the various samples of wheat 
depends greatly upon the variety, and mode of culture, independently of 
climate. The correctness of the former statement is shown by the much larger 
proportions of gluten yielded by many of the samples of hard wheat from 

* I have had no opportunity of analysing samples of flour from the South- Western 
States, and therefore cannot extend this comparison to them, 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTIJEE. 



237 



abroad, the Oregon wheat in Virginia, and a variety of Illinois wheat, &c. 
And in regard to the effect of particular modes of culture, the various analyses 
of Boussingault may be referred to, and that in my table of a sample from 
Ulster county, New York, 

4. The deterioration of many of the samples of wheat and wheat flour 
arises in most cases from the presence of a too large per centage of water. 
This is often the result of a want of proper care in the transport, and is the 
principal cause of the losses which are sustained by those who are engaged in 
this branch of business. 

5. There seems to be little doubt that a considerable portion of the wheat 
and wheat flour, as well as of other breadstuffs, shipped from this country to 
England, is more or less injured before it reaches that market. It is also shown 
that this is mostly to be ascribed to the want of care above noticed, and to the 
fraudulent mixture of good and bad kinds. The remedy in the former case is 
the drying of the grain or flour before shipment, by some of the modes pro- 
posed, and the protection of it afterwards as completely as possible from the 
effect of moisture. The frauds which are occasionally practised should be 
promptly exposed, and those who are engaged in them held up to merited 
reproach. 

6. It has been fully shown, by the results of many trials, that the flour ob- 
tained by the second grinding of wheat, or the whole meal, contains more 
gluten than the fine flour. Hence the general use of the latter, and the entire 
rejection of the bran, is wasteful, and ought in every way to be discom-aged. 

7. It cannot but be gratifying to us that the average nutritive value of the 
wheat and wheat flour of the IJuited States is shown by these analyses to be 
fully equal to, if not greater than, that afforded by the samples produced in 
any other part of the world. And it will, in my opinion, be chiefly owing to 
a want of proper care and of commercial honesty, if the great advantages 
which should accrue to this country from the export of these articles are either 
endangered or entirely lost. 



Table Exhibiting the per centage Composition of Va.riol's Samples of 
American and Foreign Wheat Flour, by Lewis C. Beck, M.D. (1849). 



Kind of "S^^leat Flour, and from 
whence obtained. 


Water. 


Gluten and 
albumen. 


Starch. 


Glucose, 
dextrine, &c. 


Bran. 


Country Mills, New Jersey 


12.75 


11.55 


65.95 


8.10 


.65 




12.80 


12.32 


69.48 


5.90 


.50 


"White Wheat, New Jersey 

Pennsvlvania Wheat 


11.55 


12.60 


66,85 


8.50 


.50 


11.90 


13.16 


66.20 


7.25 


.75 


ditto ditto 


13.35 


12.73 


66.90 


6.50 


.52 


ditto ditto (2nd grinding) . . 


13.35 


14.72 


71 


28 


.65 


Pelham Wheat, Ulster Co., N. Y 


10.79 


13.17 


67.74 


7.60 


.70 


" Pure Genesee Wheat . 


13.20 


11.05 


75 


20 


.55 


Ohio Wheat, "fine" 


12.85 


12.25 


73 


90 


1.00 


Ohio Wheat, "superfine" 


13.00 


9.10 


77 


80 


.10 


Winter Wheat, Ohio 


13.10 


11.56 


66.84 


7.90 


.60 


ditto ditto (2nd grinding) .... 


13.05 


12.69 


73 


61 


.65 


Michigan Wheat, " superfine " 


13.25 


11.10 


74 


80 


.85 


Michigan Wheat 


12.25 


10.00 


67.70 


8.75 


.75 


ditto ditto (2nd grinding) 


12.75 


11.20 


66.00 


8.50 


1.05 


Illinois Wheat 


12.73 


14.61 


65.20 


6.45 


.80 


Magnolia Mill, St. Louis, Mo 


13.13 


10.27 


69.75 


6.15 


.35 


Moimd Mill, St. Louis 


13.48 


10.53 


67.35 


8.15 


.20 


Walsh's Mill, St. Louis 


12.70 


10.63 


69.40 


6.65 


.40 


Washington Mill, St. Louis 


12.88 


11.00 


68.65 


7.27 


.20 


Missouri Mill, St. Louis 


13.00 


10.46 


67.79 


8.35 


.40 



238 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTURE. 



Table continued. 



Kiud of AVlieat Floiiv, and from 


1 


d a 




6 

o ^ 

o <^ 


- 

«■ 


wlience obtained. 




Glute: 
albui 


Stai 


o 




O'Fallan's Mill, St. Louis 


12.85 


11.25 


68.24 


7.00 


.66 


Phoenix Mill, St. Louis 


13.22 


10.10 


68.70 


7.30 


.15 


Noaantum. Mill, St. Louis 


12.10 


11.02 


68.60 


7.93 


.35 


Fianklin Mill, St. Louis .... 


12.25 


10.29 


69.85 


7.26 


.35 


Eagle Mill, St Louis 


11.00 


10.15 


69.50 


8.65 


.20 


Winter Wheat, Missouri 


14.00 


9.30 


70.05 


6.30 


.35 


Wisconsin Wheat 


12.80 


13.20 


68.90 


6.50 


.70 


ditto ditto (2nd grinding) .... 


12,80 


13 46 


72 


54 


1.20 


Maryland Wheat 


13.00 


12.30 


66.65 


7.10 


.65 


Kichmond City Mill 


11.70 


13.00 


67.50 


6.90 


.50 


Haxall and Co., Richmond, Va 


11.40 


12.80 


68.50 


6.60 


.35 


Virginia Wheat, "superfine" 


12,05 


12.95 


74 


50 


.50 


Haxall and Co., " best brand, '49" 


11.40 


13.25 


68.20 


6.25 


.60 


Haxall and Co., " 2nd brand, '49"' 


11.00 


13.20 


75 


60 


.20 


Richmond City Mill, '49 


11.90 


10.50 


70.00 


7.10 


.50 


Oregon White Wheat, Va 


12.80 


14.80 


71 


30 


1.10 


ditto ditto (2nd grinding) . . 


13.85 


14.50 


65.15 


5.90 


.60 




11.50 


13.50 


68 35 


6.00 


.65 




13 38 


10.62 


67.60 


7.75 


.65 


Ship Fanchon, Liverpool 


13.83 


11.38 


67.45 


6.34 


1.00 


Ship New World, Liverpool 


13.65 


11.60 


65.80 


7.70 


.65 


Ship Juniata, Liverpool 


12.50 


14.14 


64.20 


8.36 


.80 


Ship Stephen Lurmaa, Liverpool 


11.65 


13.18 


64.50 


9.55 


.68 


Ship Leila, Liverpool 


13.22 


13.18 


64.65 


8.00 


.95 


Ship Oxenbridge, Liverpool 


13.90 


1G.13 


68.42 


7.30 


.25 




12.94 


& bran 
10.60 


DO.OD 


7.90 




Ship West Point, Liverpool 


14.30 


12.30 


63.00 


9.45 


.95 


Ship W, H. Harbeck, Liverpool 


13.53 


19.18 


66.95 


8.80 


.30 


Ship Princeton, Liverpool 


13.40 


11.52 


65.60 


7.90 


.85 


Ship Columbus, Liverpool 


13.50 


10.45 


66.45 


8.50 


1.03 


Ship Russell Glover, Liverpool 


13.45 


10.47 


66.20 


8.83 


1.05 


Ship South Carolina, Liverpool 


13.80 


9.00 


70.80 


5.95 


.38 


ditto ditto (2nd grinding) 


13.30 


9.45 


76 


90 


.35 




14.50 


8.52 


70.60 


5.40 


.40 


ditto ditto (2nd grinding) . . 


14.10 


9.10 


70.55 


5.45 


.20 






8.47 


76 


48 


.20 




14.15 


9.00 


76 


60 


!25 


N n Ml A s;]! Knrf 7 .ivpriinnl 


13.55 


11.68 


69.22 


5.30 


.25 




12.80 


7.23 


74.12 


5.10 


.75 


ditto ditto ditto f2nd ffrindin"") 


12.60 


8.45 


78 


55 


.40 


Chilian Wheat ^ " 


12.44 


9.45 


67.80 


8.37 


1.30 


Chilian Wheat 


12.85 


8.65 


71.60 


6.10 


.60 


Valparaiso Wheat 


12.50 


& bran 
14.55 










13.20 


9.85 


69.00 


7.65 


.30 




13.50 


10.30 


68.99 


7.00 


.30 




11.33 


16.35 


63.10 


6.50 


2.30 




11.15 


15.40 


67.25 


5.70 


.60 


ditto ditto (2nd grinding) 


12.60 


18.70 


67 


00 


1.70 




10.87 


12.15 


64.38 


12.60 




ditto ditto (2nd grinding) . . 


10.00 


14.50 


60.20 


& lactic 
15.30 i 


acid. 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTURE. 



239 



There is no crop, the skilful and successful cultivation of which on the same 
soil, from generation to generation, requires more art than is demanded to pro- 
duce good wheat. To grow this grain on fresh land, adapted to the peculiar 
habits and wants of the plant is an easy task. But such fields, except in rare 
instances, fail sooner or later to produce sound and healthy plants, which are 
little liable to attacks from the malady called " rust," or which give lengthened 
ears or " heads," well filled with plump seeds. 

Having long reside.l in the best wheat-growing district in the Union, the 
writer has devoted years of study and observation to all the influences of soil, 
climate, and constitutional peculiarities, which affect this bread-bearing plant. 
It is far more liable to smut, rust, and shrink in some soils than in others. 
This is true in western New York, and every other section where wheat has 
long been cultivated. As the alkalies and other fertilizing elements become 
exhausted in the virgin soils of America, its crops of wheat not only become 
smaller on an average, but the plants fail in constitutional vigor, and are more 
liable to diseases and attacks from parasites and destructive insects. Defects 
in soil and improper nutrition lead to these disastrous results. Soils are de- 
fective in the following particulars : 

1. They lack soluble silica, or flint in an available form, with which to pro- 
duce a hard glassy stem that will be little subject to " rust." Soluble flint is 
never very abundant in cultivated soils ; and after they have been tilled some 
years, the supply is deficient in quantity. It is not very difficult to learn with 
considerable accuracy the amount of silica which rain-water as it falls on the 
earth will dissolve out of 1,000 grains of soil in the course of eight or ten days. 
Hot water will dissolve more than cold ; and water charged with carbonic acid 
more than pure water which has been boiled. The experiments of Prof. 
Rogers of the University of Virginia, as published in Silliman's Journal, have 
a direct bearing on this subject. The researches of Prof. Emmons of Albany, 
in his elaborate and valuable work on " Agriculture," as a part of the Natural 
History of New York, show that 10,000 parts of soil yield only from one to 
three parts of soluble silica. The analyses of Dr Jackson, as published in his 
Geological Survey of New Hampshire, give similar results. Earth taken from 
an old and badly exhausted field in Georgia, gave the writer only one part of 
soluble flint in 100,000. 

"What elements of crops rain water, at summer heat, will dissolve out of ten 
or twenty pounds of soil, in the course of three months, is a point in agricul- 
tural science which should be made the subject of numerous and rigid experi- 
ments. In this way, the capabilities of ditferent soils and their adaptation to 
difi"erent crops may be tested, in connection with practical experiments in field 
culture, on the same kind of earth. 

Few wheat-growers are aware how much dissolved flint an acre of good 
wheat demands to prevent its having coarse, soft, and spongy stems, which are 
anything but a healthy organization of the plant. In the Journal of the 
Royal Agricultural Society of England, vol. 7, there is an extended "Report on 
the Analysis of the Ashes of Plants, by Thomas Way, Professor of Chemistry 
at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester," which gives the result of sixty- 
two analyses of the ash of wheat, from as many samples of that grain, mostly 
grown on different soils and under difterent circumstances. 

In this report are given the quantity of wheat per acre, the weight of straw 
cut close to the ground to the acre, and also that of the chaff. These researches 
show, that from ninety-three to one hundred and fifty pounds of soluble flint 
are_ required to form an acre of wheat ; and I will add from my own investi- 
gations, that three-fourths of this silica is demanded by nature during the last 
sixty days preceding the maturing of the crop. This is the period in which 
the stem acquires its solidity and strength, and most of its incombustible earthy 
matter. The quantity of this varies from three to fifteen per cent, of the 
weight of the straw. Prof. Johnston and Sir Humphry Davy give instances 
in which more than fifteen per cent, of ash was found ; and Prof. Way gives 
cases where less than three per cent, were obtained. The mean of forty sam- 
ples was four and a half per cent. Dr. Sprengel gives three and a half as the 
mean of his analyses. M. Boussingault found an average of seven per cent. 
As flint is truly the hone of all the grass family, imparting to them strength, 



240 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTURE, 



as_ in"cane, timothy, corn,_ oats, rye, rice, millet, and the proportion of this 
mineral varies as much in wheat-straw, as bone does in very lean and very 
fat hogs or cattle. 

A young growing animal, whether a child or a colt, that is kept on food 
which lacks hone-earthy (phosphate of lime,) will have soft cartilaginous bones. 
Nature cannot substitute iron or any other mineral in the animal system, out 
of which to form hard strong bones ; nor can any other mineral in the soil per- 
form the peculiar function assigned to silica in the vital economy of cereal 
plants. To protect the living germs in the seeds of wheat, corn, oats, rye, 
barley, &c., the cuticle or bran of these seeds contains considerable flint. The 
same is true of chaff. 

The question naturally arises, — How is the farmer to increase the quantity 
of soluble silica or flint in his soil } This is a question of the highest practical 
importance. There are three principal ways in which the object named may 
be attained. First, by keeping fewer acres under the plough. Land in pas- 
ture, if well managed, will gain its fertility, and in the process accumulate 
soluble silica in the surface soil. In this way more wheat and surer crops may 
be made by cultivating a field in wheat two years than four or six. If the 
field in the mean time be devoted to wool growing, butter or cheese-making, or 
to stock-raising, particular care must be taken to make great crops of grass or 
clover to grow on the land, and have all the manure, both solid and liquid, ap- 
plied to its surface. 

There are many counties in England that yield an average of thirty-two 
bushels of wheat per acre for ten crops in succession. There are but few of 
the old counties in the United States which average the half of that quantity : 
and yet America has greater agricultural capabilities than that of Great 
Britain. 

Another way to increase soluble silica in the soil, is to grow such crops, in 
rotation with wheat culture, as will best prevent the loss of dissolved flint at 
any time by leaching and washing, through the agency of rain water. This 
remaik is intended to apply more particularly to those large districts devoted to 
cotton and. tobacco culture, plants that take up no considerable amount of 
silica, and which by the constant stirring of the earth, and the clean tillage 
which they demand, favor the leaching of the soil. To keep too much of a 
plantation of these crops, is to lessen its capabilities for producing good crops 
of corn, wheat, and barley, at a small expense. Corn plants, well managed, 
will extract more pounds of silica in three or six months from the soil, than any 
other. As not an ounce of this mineral is needed in the animal economy of 
man or beast, it can all be composted in cornstalks, blades, and cobs, or in the 
dung and urine derived from corn, and be finally reorganized in the stems of 
wheat plants. Corn culture and wheat culture, if skilfully and scientifically 
conducted, go admirably together. Of the two, more bread, more meat, and 
more money can be made from the corn than from the wheat plant in this 
country. But so soon as what is called " high farming" in England, shall be 
popular in the United States, the crops both of wheat and corn grown here will 
demonstrate how little we appreciate the vast superiority of our climate for the 
economical feeding and clothing of the human family, over that of our " mother 
country." In several counties in England, it takes from twelve to fourteen 
months to make a crop of wheat, after the seed is put into the ground. At or 
near the first of December, 1847, Mr. M. B. Moore, of Augusta, Ga., sowed a 
bushel of seed wheat on an acre and a half of ground, which gave him over 
thirty bushels by the middle of May following. This ground was then 
ploughed, and a fine crtp of hay made and cut in July. Afier tliis, a good crop 
of peas was raised, and harvested in October, before it was time to seed with 
wheat again, as was done. While the mean temperature of England is so low, 
that corn plants will not ripen, in Georgia one can grow a crop of wheat in the 
winter, and nearly two crops of corn in succession in the summer and autumn, 
before it is time to sow wheat again. No writer, to my knowledge, has done 
full justice to the vast agricultural resources of the southern portion of the 
American confederacy. But there is much of its soil which is not rich in the 
elements of bread. Nothing but the careful study of these elements, and of 
the natural laws by which they are governed, can remedy defects in wheat 
culture anywhere, but especially on very poor land. 



STATISTICS OE WHEAT CULTURE. 



241 



All alkaline minerals, sucli as potash, soda, lime, ammonia, and magnesia, 
hasten the solution of the seyeral insoluble compounds of silica in the soil. 
This fact should be remembered by every farmer. To undertake an explanation 
of the various "ways in which alkalies, oxides, and acids act and re- act upon 
each other in the surface of the earth, when subject to tillage, would be out 
of place in this outline view of wheat-growing in the United States. I may 
state the fact, however, as ascertained by many analyses, that a cubic foot of 
good wheat soil in the valley of the Genesee, contains twenty times more lime 
than do the poorest soils in South Carolina and Georgia. The quantity of gyp- 
sum, bone-earth, and magnesia, available as food for plants, varies in an equal 
degree. Xot only lime, but phosphoric acid, potash, and magnesia are lacking in 
most soils, if one desires to raise a large crop of wheat, and have the seeds of the 
grain weigh as much as the straw. In a number of the specimens of wheat 
analyzed by Prof. Way, when cut close to the roots, the dry wheat outweighed 
the dry straw. 

Having secured the growth of a bright, hard, glassy stem, the next thing is 
to develop a long, well-filled ear. To this end, available ammonia or nitrogen, 
phosphorus, potash, and magnesia are indispensable. Ammonia (spirits of 
hartshorn) is necessary to aid in forming the combustible part of the seed. 
The other ingredients named are required to assist in making the incombustible 
part of the grain. In 100 parts of the ash of wheat, there are the following 
substances, viz. : — 



The quantity of ash in wheat varies from 1 j to 2^ per cent. ; the average is 
about 1'69. The amount of phosphoric acid in any given quantity of the ash 
of wheat varies from forty to fifty per cent, of the same. 

Seeds that have a thick cuticle or bran, and little gluten, contain a smaller 
per centage of phosphoric acid, and more silica. About one-third of the ash is 
potash; in nearly all cases magnesia varies from nine to fourteen per cent.; lime 
from one and a half to six per cent. Peroxide of iron is seldom as abundant 
as in the ash above given, and the same is true of soda. Chloride of sodium 
is common salt, and exists in a small quantity. Salt is beginning to be much 
used as a fertilizer on wheat lands in western New Tork. It operates indi- 
rectly to increase the crop. 

The following may be taken as about the average composition of the ash of 
wheat-straw. It is " Specimen JN'o. 40," in the tables of Prof. Way, and I 
copy verbatim all that is said upon the subject : [Soil, sandy ; subsoil, stone 
and clay ; geological formation, silurian ; drained ; eight years in tillage ; crop, 
after carrots, twenty tons per acre; tilled December, 1845; lieavy crop ; mown, 
August 12th ; carried, August 20th ; estimated yield, forty-two bushels per 
acre ; straw long, grain good, weight sixty-two pounds to the busheh] Length 
of straw, forty-two inches. 



Silica 



2-28 
45-73 
0-32 
2-C6 
10-94 
2-04 
32-24 
4-06 
0-27 



Phosphoric acid 
Sulphuric acid 
Lime 

Magnesia . 
Peroxide of iron 
Potash 
Soda 

Chloride of sodium 



Total . . 



99-94- 



Relation of Grain^ Straw and Chaff, 



Grain 
Straw 
Chaff 



Actual quantities. 



Per centage. 



1633 lbs, 
1732 . , 
250 . . 



4515 
47-89 
6-96 



Total 



3615 lbs. 



E 



242 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CULTURE. 



Specific gravity of grain 1'396 

"Weight of grain per acre 2604 lbs, 

„ straw „ „ 2,775 3-lOths. 

„ „ chaff,, „ 4011-5th. 

Mineral Matter in an Acre. 

Wheat 44| lbs. 

Straw 113 

Chaff 47 l-5th. 



Total ... ... ... 204 7-lOths. 

Analysis of the Ash of the Grain. 

Per eentage. Eemoved from an acre. 



Silica 5-63 

Phosphoric acid 43-98 

Sulphuric acid -21 

Lime 1-80 

Magnesia 11-69 

Peroxide of iron -29 

Potash 34-51 

Soda 1-87 



lbs. 


ozs. 


2 


8 


19 


8 


0 


1 l-5th. 


0 


12 8-lOths. 


5 


3 2-lOths. 


0 


2 


15 


5 6-10thf3. 


0 


13 3-lOths. 


44 


6 l-lOths. 



Total ... 99-98 

Analysis of Straw with its proportion of Ch aff. 

Per eentage. EemoTed per acre. 

lbs. ozs. 

Silica 69-36 Ill 1 7-lOths. 

Phosphoric acid 5-24 8 6 7-lOths. 

Sulphuric acid 4-45 7 2 2-lOths. 

Lime 6-96 11 2 2-20ths. 

Magnesia 1-45 2 5 

Peroxide of iron -29 1 2 

Potash 11-79 18 14 

Soda none none. 

Chloride of sodium ,, 



Total ... 99.54 160 1 1-lOths. 

If we subtract the 111 pounds of silica from 160 pounds of minerals in the straw 
and chaff, the difference between what are left and those in wheat, is not great. 
As the stems and leaves of wheat plants grow before their seeds, if all the 
phosphoric acid, potash, and lime available in the soil is consumed before the 
organization of the seeds begin, from what source is nature to draw her supply 
of these ingredients to form a good crop of wheat If the farmer could reverse 
the order of nature, and grow a good supply of seeds fii'st, and make straw after- 
wards, then many a one would harvest more wheat and less straw. But the 
cultivator must grow the stems, roots, and leaves of wheat, corn, and cotton, 
before nature will begin to form the seeds of these several plants : and every 
one should know that the atoms in the soil, which are consumed in organizing 
the bodies of cultivated plants, are, in the main, identical in kind with those 
required to make their seeds. The proportions, however, differ very consider- 
ably. Thus, while 100 parts of the ash of wheat contain an average of 45 parts 
of phosphoric acid, 100 of the ash of the wheat straw contain an average of only 
5 parts. The difference is as 9 to 1. In magnesia the disparity is only a little 
less sti'iking. 

In what are called the organic elements of wheat (the combustible part) there 
are seven times more nitrogen in 100 pounds than in a like weight of sti-aw. 
Hence, if the farmer converts straw into manure or compost, with the %iew 
iiltimately of transforming it into wheat, it will take 7 pounds of sti-aw to yield 
nitrogen enough to form one pound of wheat. Few are aware how much labor 
and money is annually lost by the feeding of plants on food not strictly adapted 
to the peculiar wants of nature in organizing the same. It is true, that moo+ 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CULTUEE. 



243 



fanners depend on the natural fertility of the soil to nourish their crops, -with 
perhaps the aid of a little stable and barn-yard manure, given to a part of them. 
As the natural resources of the land begin to fail, the supply must be drawn from 
other quarters than an exhausted field, or its cultivator will receive a poor return 
for the labor bestowed. 

In Great Britain, where the necessity for liberal harvests and artificial 
fertilizing is far greater than in this country, the yield of wheat is said to be 
governed in a good degree by the amount of ammonia available as food for grow- 
ing plants. This opinion is founded not at all on theory, but altogether on the 
teachings of experience. But in England, limeing and manuring are so much 
matters of constant practice, that fcw soils are so improverished as many are in 
the United States. With land as naked and sterile as is much that can be found 
in the whole thirteen colonies between ]\i aine and Alabama, English farmers 
could hardly pay their tithes and poor rates, to say nothing of other taxes, rent, 
and the cost of producing their annual crops. 

The first step towards making farming permanently profitable in all the older 
States, is to accumulate in a cheap and skilful manner the raw material for 
good harvests in the soil. 

Over a territory so extensive as the United States, it is extremely difficult to 
lay down any rule that will be applicable even to a moiety of the republic. 
There are, however, many beds of marl, greensand, gypsum, limestone, saline 
and vegetable deposits available for the improvement of farming lands, in the 
Union. In addition to these, there are extraneous resources, the ocean with its 
fish, its shells, its sea-weeds, and its fertilizing salts, which will yield an 
incalculable amount of bread and meat. In the subsoil and the atmosphere, 
every agriculturist has resources which are not duly appreciated by one in a 
thousand. 

As a general rule, the soil must be deepened before it can be permanently 
improved. One acre of soil 12 inches deep is worth more to make money from, 
by cultivating it, than four acres 6 inches in depth. Thus, admit that a soil 6 
inches deep will produce 14 bushels of wheat, and that 12 bushels will pay all 
expenses and give 2 for profit. Four acres of this land will yield a net income 
of only 8 bushels. Now double the depth of the soil and the crop : making the 
latter 28 bushels, instead of 14 per acre, and the former 12 inches deep, in the 
place of 6. Fifteen bushels instead of twelve, will now pay all annual expenses, 
and leave a net profit not ot tivo but of thirteen bushels per acre. If small crops 
will pay expenses, large onf!S will make a fortune ; provided the farmer knows 
how to enrich his land in the most economical way. It is qi^ite as easy to pay too 
dear for improving lands, as to lose money at any other business whatever. 

The first thing for the operator to do is to acquire all the knowledge within 
his reach, from the experience of others who have done for their soils what he 
proposes to accomplish for his. Twenty or fifty dollars, invested in the best 
agricultural works in the English language, may save him thousands in the end, 
and double his profits jn two years. The Agricultural Journals of the United 
States abound m information most useful to the practical farmer : and the back 
volumes, if collected and bound, will form a library of great value. 

notation of Crops in connexion with Wheat Culture. — A system of tillage and 
rotation which will pay best in one locality, or on one quality of soil, and in a 
particular climate, will be found not at all adapted to other localities, different 
soils and latitudes. Hence, no rule can be laid down that will meet the peculiar 
exigencies of a farming country so extensive as the thirty States east of the Encky 
Mountains. There are soils in Western New York, known to the writer, which 
have borne good crops of wheat every other year for more than twenty years, 
and produce better now than at the beginning of their cultivation. The 
resources of the earth in supplying the elements of wheat and corn are extremely 
variable. There are friable shaley rocks in Livingstone county, N. Y., which 
crumble and slake when exposed to the air, that abound in all the earthy 
minerals necessary to form good wheat. These rocks are hundreds of feet in 
thickness, and have furnished much of the soil in the valley of the Genesee. 
The Onondaga Salt Group, and other contiguous strata, which extend into 
Canada West, form soils of extraordinary capacity for growing wheat. Indeed, 
the rocks and " drift" of a district give character to its arable surface, 

a 2 



244 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CrLTrEE. 



Xothing is more needed at this time than a good geological map of the United 
States, accompanied by an acciu'ate and popnlaiiy arranged Tvork on agTicultm-al 
geology. The Tvriter had hoped to give such a map in this report ; but it is 
thought best to devote another year to the collection of geological surveys and 
facts, and to the mating of more critical and extended reseaiches before 
publishing. 

In the matter of rotation of crops in connection with wheat culture, clover and 
corn are generally preferred in all the Xorthern, and most of the Middle States. 
In XeTV York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, ^Michigan, "Wisconsin, Northern Indiana, and 
Illinois, so far as the writer is acquainted, a crop of wheat is made in rotation, 
either every third, fourth, or fifth year. TTherever wool growing is united with 
wheat culture, clover and wheat are the staple crops of the farm. Wool and 
superfme flour are exported ; farmers taking nearly all the bran and shorts of 
the millers who purchase their wheat. 

The offal of wheat makes not a little feed with chaff and cut straw. ]\Iany 
agricultiuists grow peas, beans, turnips, beets, and carrots in large quantities, 
as well as clover, corn, oats, and barley. Peas and beans, both stems and pulse, 
when well cui'ed, are excellent feed for sheep ; and on good land they are easily 
grown. They prepare the soil well for wheat. 

All the manure derived from sheep is husbanded with extreme care by the 
farmers who are gradually eni'iching their lands. On a deep, rich, arable soil, 
quite a number of sheep may be kept per acre, if highly cultivated ; and their 
manui-e prepares the land for producing generous crops of wheat at a small 
expense. Of all business men, farmers should be the closest calculators of 
profit and loss. 

Great care should be taken to sow good and clean seed on clean land. 
Previous to putting the seed in the gi'ound (drilling is preferable to sowing 
broad-cast), wheat should be soaked five or six hours — not longer — in strong 
brine. After this, add a peck or more of recently slaked lime to each bushel, 
and shovel it over well, that the lime may cover each seed. It is now ready to 
commit to the earth. ]\Iost good farmers roll the earth after seeding : some 
before. 

In the Southern States, planters are in the habit of permitting their wheat to 
remain too long in the field after it is cradled, and in small shocks. Good bams 
are too scarce in all the planting States, and in some others. 

Simmer fcdloicing is generally abandoned, except in cases where old pastures 
and meadows, new prairie, or bushy bad fields are to be subdued. As a general 
iTile, friable soils need not be ploughed long before the intended crop is expected 
to begin to grow. Among fertilizers, wood ashes, salt, bones, lime, guano, and 
poudi'ette have been used in wheat culture "^"ith decided advantage. In Great 
Britain, manm-e derived from the consumption of turnips and other root crops 
by sheep and neat cattle, is much used in prepaiing land for wheat. Sheep, 
clover and peas, corn and hogs, rotate well to insure the economical production 
of this staple. Maniu'e is usually applied to the crop preceding wheat. 

It may be interesting to some readers to see in this place the mean result of 



several organic analyses of wheat made by M. Boussingault. '^Vheat, dried at 
230 deg- in vacuo, was found to contain: 

Carbon , 46-1 

Oxygen 43*4 

Hydi'ogen 5 "8 

Nitrogen 2*3 

Ash 2-4 



Total 100-0 

Charcoal may be regarded as a fair representative of carbon, and water as 
the representative of both oxygen and hydrogen. It will be seen by the above 



figures, that over 95 per cent, of wheat is made up of elements which greatly 
abound in nature in an available condition ; and the same is true of all other 
plants. It is doubtless owing to this circumstance, that a comparatively small 
quantity of guano and other highly concentrated fertilizers are able to produce 
crops five, ten, and fifty times greater than their own weight. Azote, or 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTUEE. 



245 



nitrogen, in the form of ammonia, or nitric acid, (aqua fortis), and the 
incombustible part of plants are the elements which least abound in soils, and 
should be husbanded yrith. the greatest care. 

The Hon. C. P. Holcomb, of Delaware, furnishes some interest- 
ing remarks on tlie wheat crop of the United States : — 

A short wheat crop in England, Mr. Webster says, aifects the exchanges of 
the civilized world. In the vast increase of population in the absence of long 
wars and famines, the importance of this staple is constant^ increasing. Its 
cultivation is the most attractive and pleasant of all descriptions of husbandry ; 
and its rewards are generally remunerating, when the soil and climate are fa- 
vorable, and the markets are not too distant. 

It is important to know what our relation is to this staple of the world, and 
what is, and what is likely to be, our contribution to the great aggregate of 
production. Beyond feeding our own great and rapidly increasing population, 
it probably will not soon, if ever, be very great. It is a mistake, I apprehend, to 
suppose our country is naturally a great wheat-producing coimtry. The wheat 
district at present, in comparison to the whole extent of our territory, is limited. 
It is confined, so far as any appreciable amount is grown, to about ten degrees 
of latitude and twenty degrees of longitude, and embracing about one half the 
number of the States. The crop of 1848 is estimated by the Commissioner of 
Patents at one hundred and twenty-six millions, and our population at twenty- 
two millions. This gives a less number of bushels, per head, to our population 
than the consumption of Great Britain, which is generally set down at one 
hundred and sixty millions, or six bushels to each inhabitant. But with us 
Indian corn is a great substitute ; so are potatoes and oats in Ireland and Scot- 
land. Still our consumption of wheat, including the black population, is un- 
doubtedly less, per head, than theirs. But in the absence of any certain data, 
to ascertain either the actual production, or our consumption, our only safe 
course is to take the actual excess, or the amount exported, after supplying our 
own wants. This, for the fiscal year 1848, being the crop of 1847, amounted, 
in flour and wheat, to twelve millions two hundivd and ninety-four thousand 
one hundred and seventy-five bushels, although Mr. Biu'ke's figures Avould 
show a surplus of some forty millions ! That there was not, and never has 
been any such surplus in the country is very evident, for the foreign demand 
was aU the time good, and drew away all we had to part with. 

The crop of 1848 was, undoubtedly, one of the best and largest we have ever 
grown; yet I have ascertained, by applicationat the registrar's office, that the 
exports for the fiscal year 1842, amounted in wheat to but 1,527,534 bushels, 
and in fiourto 2,108,013 barrels, or less by 226,676 bushels than the exports of 
1848. Twelve millions is comparatively a small surplus in a favorable season, 
for a country with a population of twenty-two millions of inhabitants. The loss 
of a small per cent, in an iinfavorable season would at once sink this excess. 

Let us now notice more in detail the different sections of our country as 
adapted to the growth of wheat. 

The Xew England States, some of them aided in their recent enterprises by 
bounties offered by the state governments, have failed to insure such success as 
is likely to encourage them to continue the culture of wheat ; or, at all events . 
to induce them to aim at increasing their product to any considerable extent, 
since, as one of their own farmers candidly states, " the attempt to grow a crop 
of wheat is an experiment." 

The States south of JSTorth Carolina, and inclusive of a part of Delaware, have 
never heretotore succeeded in growing wheat to any considerable extent, though 
there were periods in their history — before the general introduction of the cul- 
ture of cotton — when, if it had been practicable to make the cereal one of their 
staples, they would certainly have done so. Besides the common dangers from 
rust and blight, the fly, and sometimes the frost — as the past season — they have 
a most formidable enemy in the weevil. In Upper Georgia, in the Cherokee 
country in particxilar, wheat will probably be cultivated to some extent, and 
a limited ciiltivation of it by the planters for their own use will probably con- 
tinue in several of the southern states. But the cotton, rice, and sugar states, 
like the manufacturing states of New England, will not soon, if ever, add much 



246 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CULTTJEE. 



to the supply of wheat ; the rich staples of the former, and the varied husban- 
dry and grazing of the latter, suited to supply the immediate -vrants of a manu- 
facturing population, will be likely to receive their attention in preference, 

Kentucky and Tennessee, though their agricultural history dates back beyond 
the settlement of the north -western states, have already been out- stripped by at 
least two of them. In neither of these states has the culture of wheat ever been 
put forward, and regarded as one of their best staples, or as very favorably 
adapted to their soil and climate. Still, notwithstanding the formidable danger 
from rust, the production of Tennessee is estimated to be equal to nine bushels 
to each person, and Kentucky about seven and a half bushels. Missouri may 
be classed with Kentucky and Tennessee, which she much resembles in soil, 
climate, and productions, except that she raises much less wheat than either, 
her crop being placed by the Commissioner of Patents at only two millions, or 
less than four bushels to each resident of the state. But, besides that the ex- 
perience of the past discourages the idea that these fine states are likely to 
become great wheat producing states, the fact that the staple of cotton may be 
cultivated over a considerable portion of one of them, and that hemp and tobacco 
are among the valuable products of the other two ; that Tennessee is the very 
largest corn-producing state in the Union, showing her soil and climate are par- 
ticularly adapted to this description of grain, and that Kentucky and Missouri 
are unsurpassed as gTazing countries, and there is little gi-ound to suppose that 
any change in their husbandry will very greatly or suddenly augment the pro- 
duction of v/heat. Let us come now to the States of Indiana, Illinois, "Wiscon- 
sin, and Iowa, and that fahulous wheat district or territory to the west of these 
again, from which, according to the vaticinations of some, may be drawn sup- 
plies of wheat to feed the population of both Europe and America, or fill ware- 
houses that would sustain our people through a longer famine than that which 
afiiicted the people of Egypt! 1 cannot help thiiiking that, to some extent, 
this generally fertile district of country has, so far as the production of wheat is 
concerned, been " shouted forth in acclamations hyperbolical." My own im- 
pression in regard to it is, including the states last named, derived in part from 
observation, from intercourse and correspondence with intelligent agriculturists 
of these states, and from a careful examination of a geological suryey of two of 
them, that the soil and climate of this whole district of country are not particu- 
larly favorable to the production of wheat. The popular idea I know to be 
otherwise. I am not going to dwell upon it, or to examine the subject at any 
length. There is a single remark that may help to explain the reputation that 
has gone abroad in reference lo the wheat-producing qualities of these lands. 
The prairie sod, when first broken up, generally produces wheat well, often most 
abundantly, provided it escapes the rust, insect, &c. But, when this ground 
has been much furrowed, becomes complctel^^ pulverized by exposure to the at- 
mosphere, the light and friable mould, of which m^st of it is composed, 
di-enched, as a good deal of it is, at times, with surface water, fails to hold or 
sustain the roots of the plant, it is thrown out, or winter-killed ; and " winter- 
killed," " winter-killed," " winter-killed," we all know, is among the catalogue 
of disasters that almost annually reach us. Sometimes, when escaping the 
winter, the high winds of spring blow this light soil fi'om the roots, exposing 
them to such an extent, that, in a dry time in particular, the wheat often pe- 
rishes. When breaking up fresh prairies, there was much encouragement and 
promise of hope, but which, I believe, has not been, nor is likely to be, realized 
by their husbandmen, in the degree that early experiments induced them to 
look for. 

As appears by the last report of the Commissioner of Patents, the crop of Il- 
linois, in reference to population and production, is below that of Kentucky, and 
both Indiana and Illinois are beloAv that of Tennessee. The crop of Indiana is 
set down at 8,500,000, her population atl,000,000, or equal to 85 bushels a-head. 
The production of Illinois is stated at 5,400,000, her population at 800,000, or 
less than seven bushels to each inhabitant --and both these "fair and fertile 
plains" are still farther behind the old " battered moors" of Maryland and Vir- 
ginia. 

Much of their wheat, too, is spring wheat, sown often on land where the fall 
crop had winter-killed, increasing the number of bushels much more than the 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CULTUEE. 



247. 



value of the crop. I have heard it estimated that fvdl oue-third of all the wheat 
shipped from Chicago was of this description. Chicago is their great wheat 
depot. Several millions of bushels are shipped from this point, the contributions 
from x^arts of three States, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois ; and which con- 
centration of their joint product at this new western city, or something else, 
seems to have imparted to each and all these states the reputation of great 
wheat-growing states, though they are, in fact, with the advantage of a virgin 
soil, behind several of the western states, and two at least of the eastern or 
Atlantic States. The geological explorations of the Hon, Robert Dale Owen, 
undertaken under the authority of Congress, throws much light on the character 
of the soil of Wisconsin and Iowa, and the description given undoubtedly cha- 
racterizes much of that region of countiy. The specific gravity of the soil, Mr. 
Owen states to be remarkably light ; but what he represents to be a "striking 
feature in the character of the Iowa and Wisconsin soils, is the entire absence, 
in the most of the sjiecimens of clay, and in a large proportion of sikx.'" Again, 
he speaks of their being particularly adapted to the growth of the sugar-beet, 
which he truly says, " flourishes best in a loose fertile mould.'^ Again, he de- 
tected no phosphates ; but they might be there, as the virgin soil produced good 
wheat. So does the virgin soil of most of the prairie land. — " The soil was 
rich in geine," &c. But I submit that this does not describe a wheat soil, 
hardly in any one particular. Liebig tells us, that " however great the proportion 
of humus in a soil, it does not necessarily foUow it will produce wheat" — and 
cites the country of Brazil. 

Again, he adds, " how does it happen that wheat does not flourish on a sandy 
soil (which much of the soil of these states is described to be), and that a cal- 
careous soil is also unsuitable to its growth, unless it be mixed with a consider- 
able quantity of clay }" 

The late Mr. Colman, in his European Agriculture, states, that " the soil 
preferred for wheat (in England) is a strong soil with a large proportion of 
clay. But the question after all is, not whether these States cannot grow wheat, 
and in comparatively large quantities, for we know that while their lands are 
fresh, they can and do — but whether, considering the hazard of the crop from 
winter-killing, the rust, the fly — the risk from the two former being equal to a 
large per cent, premium of insurance, they are not likely to find their interest 
in grazing, in raising and feeding stock, instead of attempting to extend their 
wheat husbandry. Lord Brougham has said, that grazing countries are always 
the most prosperous, and their population the most contented and happy. The 
meat markets of Great Britain are likely to prove better and more stable for us, 
than their grain markets. 

The Hon. Henry L. Ellsworth, a distinguished citizen, and large f-irmer of 
Indiana — distinguished throughout the Union for his zeal in the cause of 
agriculture — thus expresses himself on this subject : " After a fall consideration 
of the subject, I am satisfied that stock-raising at the West is much more 
profitable than raising grain. Indeed, an examination of the north-western 
States shows a vast difference in the wealth of the grazier over those 
who crop with grain. The profits of wheat appear well in expectation 
on paper, but the prospect is blasted by a severe winter, appearance of insects, 
bad weather in harvesting, in threshing, for there are but few barns at the 
West, or transporting to market, or last, a fluctuation in the market itself." 

Such is the opinion of Mr. Ellsworth, the result of observation and experience, 
himself largely interested in ascertaining the safest and surest course to be 
pursued. The destiny he has indicated for this beautiful fertile region of 
country, will undoubtedly be fulfilled ; it will become a great pastoral, stock- 
raising, and stock-feeding country. 

Ohio stands now, as she did at the census of 1840, at the head of all the 
wheat States, in the aggregate of production; her crop of 1848 being estimated 
at 20,000,000, which is about equal to 10| bushels per head of her population. 
The geological survey of this State, and the character of the soil, as described 
in the Reports of the Board of Agriculture, in a large range of her counties, at 
a " clayey soil," " clayey loam," " clay subsoil," &c., shows Ohio to possess a 
fine natural wheat soil, if indeed, after thirty years of a generally successful 
wheat husbandry, such additional testimony or confirmation was necessary. 



248 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTUEE, 



Michigau has also been successful in the cultivation of wheat. Her burr- 
oak openings are unsurpassed in producing wheat. They are intervening 
ridges between low grounds, or marshes and bodies of water, and their location 
not generally considered very healthy. A doubt has also been suggested as to 
whether this soil, being a clayey loam, resting on a sandy and gravelly subsoil, 
is likely to wear as well as some other portions of the fertile soil of the State. 
The Commissioner of Patents puts her crop for 1848 at 10,000,000 of bushels, 
which is equal to 23f bushels to each inhabitant ! By the census of 1840, the 
population of Michigan was 212,267 ; number of bushels of wheat, 2,157,108.- 
Her population in 1848 is estimated at 412.000, While she has barely doubled 
her population, she has, according to the above estimate, more than quadrupled 
her production of wheat — increased it at the rate of about one million bushels 
a year for eight consecutive years, making the quantity she grows to each head 
of her population more than double that of any State in the Union. 

We can at least say, and appeal to the past history of the country to show it, 
that for a period of more than one hundred years, the supply of the Atlantic 
wheat States has generally been constant, and for the most part abundant. 
They have furnished the " stalf of life" to several generations of men, and 
eotemporary with it, an annual amount for export, that materially assisted in 
regulating the exchanges of the country. 

England requires for her own consumption, upon tlie average 
of years, somewliere about 32,000,000 bushels of wheat more than 
she produces. The average annual entries of foreign wheat for 
consumption in the United Kingdom, for the sixteen years ending 
with 1845, were about nine and a half million bushels. Inasmuch 
as the average number of acres in wheat crop were in 1846 
about 4,600,000, the average produce 142,200,000 bushels, or 
over 30 bushels to the acre — an improvement in the harvest to the 
extent of two bushels per acre, will destroy the demand, and a 
deficiency to that extent will double it. Now as there is an avail- 
able surplus at the neighbouring ports in Europe,' in the Baltic 
and the Black Sea, of about 18,000,000 of bushels only, whenever 
there is a demand for home consumption, for, say 20,000,000 
bushels, as was the case in each of the five years from 1838 to 1843, 
larger shipments from America will take place ; but whenever there 
are good harvests, as in the six years from 1831 to 1837, in which 
the deficiency only ranged from 230,000 to 1,000,000 bushels, the 
trade is not worth notice. It must be remarked, however, that in 
a country like Britain, where capital is abundant, consumption 
great, speculation rife, the harvest so uncertain, and the stake so 
great that a cloudy day transfers thousands from one broker to 
another, the importation cannot be closely assimilated to t) 
actual wants of the country. The ordinary yield of grain in t 
United Kingdom after deductions for seed, is about 400,000,000 
bushels, and as nearly 100,000,000 bushels of grain and meal 
were imported in 1847, there must have been a general deficiency 
of nearly twenty-five per cent. 

In the "Statistics of the British Empire," the average extent of 
land under grain culture, &c., in 1840, was estimated as follows : — 

ENGLAND AND WHALES. 

Produce per Acre. Total Produce. 

Wheat . . 3,800,000 3^ quarters. 12,350,000 

Barley and rye . 900,000 4 „ 3,600,000 

Oats and beans = 3,000,000 4^ „ ■ 13,500,000 



STATISTICS or AYHEAT CTJLTUEE. 249 

SCOTLA>-D. 

meat . . 220,000 3 „ 660,000 

Barley . . 280,000 3^ „ 980,000 

Oats . . 1,275,000 4| „ 5,737,500 



In Scotland, ten years ago, 150,000 acres were reckoned to 
be under cultivation with wheat, 300,000 with barley, and 
1,300,000 with oats, which is the great crop and chief food of 
the people. 

jNIr. Braithwaite Poole, in his " Statistics of British Commerce," 
1852, states — " The annual average production of all sorts of com 
in the United Kingdom has been estimated by competent parties 
at rather more than 60,000,000 quarters, and £80,000,000 in 
value ; but in the absence of general official returns, we cannot 
vouch for its accuracy, although, from various comparisons, there 
are reasonable grounds for assuming this calculation to be as 
nearly correct as possible. Some persons in the corn trade 
imagine the aggregate production to approach almost 80,000,000 
quarters ; but I cannot find any data extant to warrant such an 
extended assumption." 

The estimated produce of wheat, in quarters, and acreage, he 
states as follows : — 



Quarters. Acreage. 

England . . . 15,200,000 3,800,000 

Ireland . . . 1,800,000 600,000 

Scotland . . . 1,225,000 350,000 



Total 15,225,000 4,750,000 



The average price of wheat per quarter in the last thirteen years, 
in England and Wales, has been as follows : — 





s. 


d. 




s. 


d. 


1840 


. 66 


4 


1847 


. 69 


9 


1841 


. 64 


4 


1848 


. 50 


6 


1842 


. 57 


3 


1849 


. 44 


3 


1843 


. 50 


1 


1850 


. 40 


4 


1844 


. 51 


3 


1851 


. 38 


7 


1845 


. 50 


10 


1852 


. 41 


0 


1846 


. 54 


8 









The best wheat, as well as the greatest quantity, is raised in the 
midland counties. From two and a half to three AYinchester 
bushels per acre are required for seed, and the average produce 
varies from twenty-two to thirty-two bushels per acre. 

THE CONTI^'EK'T. 

The quantity of wheat raised in France in 1835 was 71,697,484 
hectolitres, of which eleven millions was required for seed. The 
average produce per hectare was stated at thirteen and a half 
hectolitres. 

The total grain and pidse raised in that year was set doAvn at 
204,165,194 hectolitres. 



250 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CTJLTrEE. 



Maslin 
Barley 
Rye 

Buckwheat 
Maize and Millet 
Oats 

Peas and Beans 



Hectolitres. 
12,281,020 
18,184,316 
32,999,950 
5,175,933 
6,951,179 
49,460,057 
3,318,691 



Oats, next to wheat is the largest crop grown in Prance, for tlie 
support of two million horses and three and a half million mules 
and asses. 

According to the " Annuaire de I'Economie Politique de la Sta- 
tistique," there were 13,900,000 hectares (each about 2|- acres) 
under cultivation with the cereals in Prance. 

The primary article of consumption is wheat. At the rate of 
three hectolitres (1 qr. J bush.) to each indiyidual, every family 
would require thirteen to fourteen hectolitres, costing 210 to 280 
francs (£8 15s. to £11 10s.) according as the price varies, be- 
tween its present value fifteen francs, and its occasional cost 
twenty francs. In the reign of Louis XYI, Arthur Young re- 
ferred with horror to the black bread eaten by the Prench. Since 
that time half a century has passed, and whilst the agricultural 
produce in Prance has tripled in value, the labourers who produce 
it continue, from custom and necessity, to eat a detestable bread 
made from rye, barley, or peas and potatoes ; and, to make the 
matter still worse, it is badly baked, without yeast, and being 
sometimes kept for weeks, it becomes covered with mould, and 
altogether presents an appearance enough to turn the stomach 
of a savage. 

According to Mr. Mc Gregor's estimate some ten or twelve 
years ago, the land under wheat culture was 13,808,171 acres, 
producing 191,000,000 bushels ; and 11,715 acres with spelt, or 
red wheat, the }deld of which was 371,000 bushels. 

The other crops were — 



Acres. Crops, bushels. 

Maslin . . . 2,251,438 32,000,000 

Eye .... 6,369,879 76,000,000 

Barley . . . 2,936,453 45,000,000 

Oats .... 7,416,297 134,000,000 

Maize . . . 1,561,372 20,000,000 



Wheat and oats are grown all over Eussia, which is the greatest 
corn land in the world. 

In Austrian Italy the peld of grain has been reckoned at three 
million quarters, but this seems rather low. About one-half of 
this is maize and rye, and a quarter wheat. 

It is reckoned that eight million quarters of grain are raised 
yearly in Denmark, but this seems doubtful. In 1839, a 
million quarters of grain, however, were shipped from that 
kingdom. 



STATISTICS OF WHEAT CULTUEE. 



251 



BEITIsn AMEEICAN PEOVINCES. 

According to the census return of 1852, the number of acres 
under grain crops, and the produce in Canada, were as follows : — 

Lower Canada — Produce. Upper Canada — Produce. 

Acres. Bushels. Acres. Bushels. 

Wheat . 427,111 3,075,868 .. 782,115 12,692,852 

Barley . 42,927 668,626 .. 29,916 625,875 

Eye . 46,007 341,443 .. 38,968 479,651 

Oats . 540,422 8,967,594 .. 421,684 11,193,844 

Buckwheat 51,781 530,417 .. 44,265 639,381 

Maize . 22,669 400,287 .. 70,571 1,666,513 

Flour may be valued at 21s. the barrel. 

The grain crops 'in Lower Canada are taken in the minot, and 
not in the bushel, except in the townships. In like manner, the 
acres are taken in arpents. An arpent is about one-seventh less 
than an acre ; and a minot about one-eighth (some say one- 
twelfth) more than a bushel. 

During the years 1850-1, "Western Canada exported upwards 
of two million barrels of flour, and three million bushels of wheat, 
being equivalent to 13,600,000 bushels of wheat. The value of 
the wheat and flour exported in 1851 was £404,033. Canadian 
flour, like that of Genessee, is of very superior quality. 

WHEAT. — UPPER CANADA. 



WTieat crop of 1841 was 
Bo. 1847 
Do. 1849 
Do. 1851 



Bushels. To each inhabitant. 
3,221,991 or 6.60 
7,558,773 „ 10-45 
9,706,082 „ 12-08 
12,692,852 „ 13-33 

The quantity of land under wheat in Upper Canada was 782,115 
acres, showing a yield of about sixteen and three quarter bushels 
to the acre. The wheat produced in 1852 was valued at nearly 
two million pounds sterling. 



LOWER CANADA. 



Wheat crop in 1843 was 
Do. 1851 



Minots. 
942,835 
!,075,868 



1-36 
3-46 



UNITED STATES. 

Biishels. 

Wheat crop in 1839 was . . 84,832,272 

Estimated by patent office 1847 114,245,500 
Crop of wheat 1849 . . 100,684,627 

In order, however, to institute a fairer comparison, I will divide 

the States into three classes, viz. : — 1st. States growing over six 
million bushels. 

Bushels. Population. 

Pennsylvania . . 15,367,691 2,311,736 

Ohio . . . 14,487,351 1,980,408 

New York . . 13,131,498 4,148,182 

Virginia . . 11,232,616 1,421,661 

Illinois . , 9,414,575 851,471 

Indiana . . 6,214,458 988,416 



4- 96 

5- 50 
4-33 



Bush, per head. 

6- 65 

7- 32 
3-16 
7-90 

11-06 
6-28 



Total. . . . 69,847,189 



11,701,924 



5-97 



252 



STATISTICS OE WHEAT CULTrEE. 



2nd. States growing 
lion "bushels. 



Miclijgan 

"Winconsin 

Maryland 

Missouri 

Kentucky 

IS". Carolina 

Tennessee 

Xew Jersey 

Iowa 

Georgia 

South Carolina 



over one million and less tlian six mil- 



Bushels. 

4,925,889 

4,286,131 

4,494,681 

2,981,652 

2,140,822 

2,130,102 

1,619,381 

1,601,190 

1,530,581 

1,088,534 

1,066,277 



Population. Bust, per head. 



397,654 
305,191 
583,031 
682,043 
982,405 
868,903 
1,002,525 
481,555 
192,214 
905,999 
668,507 



12-39 
14-04 
7-71 
4-38 
2-15 

2- 45 
1-61 

3- 27 
7-96 
1-21 
1-60 

3-93 



Total.... 27,865,240 7,078,131 
3rd. The remaining States and territories. 

2,791,470 4,466,246 0-63 

Total wheat crop in the United States, 100,503,899 bushels. 
Popnlation, 23,2i6,301. Bushels per head, 4-33. 



Increase 



-U. States, 1839 
1849 



84,823,272 bushels 
100,503,896 „ 



Or 18-49 per cent, in ten years. 

Upper Canada, 1841 
1851 



15,680,627 



3,221,991 „ 
12,692,825 „ 



),470,861 



Bush, per head. 
3-50 
1-08 
106 

Popu- 



Or nearly quadrupling itself in ten years. 

Bushels. Population. 

Pr. Ed. Island, 1847 219,787 62,678 

K"ewfoundland, 1850 297,157 276,117 

New Brunswick, 1850 206,635 193,800 

The Eastern States in 1849 raised 1,090,896 bushels, 
lation 2,668,106, or 0-41 each. 

The population of Upper Canada is 952,904, and allowing five 
bushels for each, 4,760,020 bushels ; and for seed at one and a half 
bushels per acre 1,173,173 bushels = 5,933,193 ; leaves for export 
6,761,668 bushels. More than sufficient to supply the consump- 
tion of the whole of the Eastern States. 

Were the population of Lower Canada to consume flour at the 
given rate, it would require — 

Bushels. 

890,261 at five bushels each . . . . 4,451,305 
640,000 



Grown 



5,091,305 
3,075,868 



2,015,437 

Leaving a surplus of wheat in Canada 4,746,231 bushels, or at 
four and a half bushels for each, equal to 1,054,718 barrels of 
flour. 



STATISTICS OP WHEAT CTJLTTJIIE. 



253 



Professor Jolinston in Ms report on ^^ew Brunswick, furnislies 
some valuable information as to the produce there. 

The following table of average weights indicates a capacity in the soil and 
climate to produce grain of a very superior quality : — 



COUNTIES. 



Saint John 
Westmoreland 
Albert 
Charlotte . 
King's 
Queen's . 
Sunbury . 
York 

Ca lieton . 
Kent 
N orthumberland 
Gloucester 
R estigouche 



meat. 



61 

60 

58 

59 

59i 

58i 

57 

63 

64 

63 

62 

63 

63 



Barley 



48 
50 
45 
48 
50 
55 
50 



53 
51 

48 



Oats. 



41 

35| 

34f 

38 

37 

36i 

38 

38 

38 

37 

37 

39 

42 



50 



53 
53 



Buck- 

Wheat, 

50 
48 
45 
57 
48 
43 
47 
51 
52 
50 
45 



Maize, 



The general average weights for the whole Province are, for 

Wheat ... 60 11-13 lbs. 



Barley 

Oats 

Eye 

Buckwheat 
Indian , Corn 
Potatoes 
Turnips 
Carrots 



50 
38 
52| 

48 8-11 

591 
63 
66 
63 



The annexed statement shows not only the average yield per acre of each 
description of crop, but affords an opportunity of contrasting it with the like 
products in the State of Is ew York : — • 

AVERAGE PRODUCE PER IMPERIAL ACRE. 



Wheat 
Barley 
Oats 
Eye 

Buckwheat 
Indian Corn 
Potatoes 
Turnips 



New Brunswick. 
Bushels. 
20 
29 
34 
20i 
33f 
41| 
226 
460 
If 



State of New York. 
Bushels. 
14 
16 
26 

9i 
14 
25 
90 



A possibility of error in striking the averages is suggested in the report ; 
and to guard against it the following statement of the averages derived from 
the minimum returns is given, viz. : — Wheat 17f bushels ; Barley, 27; Oats, 
33 ; Buckwheat, 28 ; Eye, 18 ; Indian Corn, 36^ ; Potatoes, 204 ; Turnips, 
389. The diminished averages scarcely affect the question of productiveness, 
as in every particular they exceed the averages for the favored Genesee Valley 
and the southern shores of Lake Ontario. 

While the productiveness of the soil is thus proven by the statements of 
most experienced farmers, the average prices appear to be equally favorable to 



254 



STATISTICS or WHEAT CULTUEE. 



the Provincial growers. The following tables of averages set this in a clear 
point of view : — 

AVERAGE PRICES OF GRAIN PER BUSHEL AND PER QUARTER. 



Per Bushel. Per Quarter. 

Wheat . . 7s. 6d. . . 60s. Od. 

Barley .. 4 2| .. 33 8 

Oats .. 2 0 .. 16 0 

Bye . . 4 10 . . 38 8 

Buckwheat . . 3 9 . . 30 0 

Indian Corn . . 4 8 . . 37 4 



ROOT CROPS AND HAT. 



Potatoes 
Turnips 
Eng. Hay 
Carrots 

Man. "Wurtzel 
Marsh Hay 



Is. lid. per bushel. 



1 

49 
2 
2 

20 



per ton. 
per bushel. 

per ton. 



av:j;rage money value of an acre of each crop. 



Wheat 
Barley 
Oats 
Rye 

Buckwheat 
Indian Corn 
Potatoes 



New Brunswick. 

£6 13 0 

5 13 

6 3 

4 7 

5 5 
8 10 



7i 

I 2 

6 
0 
0 

4 



19 11 0 



Canada West. 

.£247 

. 1 19 4i 
1 11 0 
1 5 10^ 
3 5 0 

. 2 14 4i 
6 6 0 



State of Ohio 
£2 19 0 
2 4 
1 13 
1 12 

1 16 

2 15 
6 9 



On a review of the foregoing and other tables, Professor John- 
ston has drawn the following conclusions : — 

" That grain and roots generally can be raised more cheaply in the Province 
of New Brunswick than in New York, Ohio, or Upper Canada ; and that the 
Province ought to be able to compete with those countries and drive them from 
its home markets." 

Such are the deductions of a skilful and scientific, practical 
and theoretical agriculturist, from the statements furnished by 
the most enterprising and successful of our colonists.. Never- 
theless, I cannot conceal a doubt whether all the elements of 
comparison have been duly weighed. The result, especiall}^ as 
regards wheat, is so contrary to pre-conceived opinions, that 
further investigations should be made. Is it not possible that, 
while an equality of expense in preparing the land for a wheat 
crop appears to have been assumed, the great care and expense 
necessary in ISTew Brunswick to prepare the land, and an occa- 
sional succession of minimum returns would, to a very con- 
siderable extent, account for the supposed discrepancy ? 

Wheat has, from time immemorial, been a staple crop in the 
plains of ]N'orthern India, and especially in the Punjaub. The 
climate and soil are well fitted for this cereal, but owing to 
.defects and carelessness in the agriculture and harvesting, the 
crops, though excellent, fall short of what most corn-growing 
countries produce. Further — owing to foul boats and granaries, 
and to the moist heat of the months immediately succeeding 



BARLET. 



255 



harvest, the wheat reaches England in a state too dirty and 
weevelled for market. The hard wheat is preferred by the natives 
in India to the soft, probably for no better cause than that the 
hardness of the grain more closely resembles their favorite food, 
rice. 

EAELEY. 

Oats, rye and barley, are the staple crops of northern and moun- 
tainous Europe and Asia. In England barley is grown principally 
in the eastern and some of the midland counties, and chiefly for 
malting. It is most extensively cultivated in the Himalaya and 
Thibet, replacing in many districts the wheat, and producing an 
admirable flour. 

Since the establishment of the studs at Buxar, Ghazepore, &c., 
oats have been extensively cultivated. It is a winter crop. 

Although behoved to have been indigenous to the countries 
bordering on the torrid zone, this grain possesses the remarkable 
flexibility of maturing in favorable seasons and situations on 
the eastern continent as far north as 70 deg., and flourishes well 
in lat. 42 deg. south. Along the Atlantic side of the continent 
of America, its growth is restricted to the tract lying between 
the 30th and 50th parallels of north latitude, and between 30 and 
40 deg. south. I^ear the westerly coast, its range lies principally 
between latitude 20 and 62 deg. north. The barley chiefly cul- 
tivated in the United States is the two-rowed variety which is 
generally preferred from the fulness of its grain and its freedom 
from smut. Barley has never been much imported from that 
country, as the Americans have been rather consumers than pro- 
ducers. The consumption of barley there in 1850 in the manu- 
facture of malt and spirituous liquors amounted to 3,780,000 
bushels, and according to the census returns, the quantity of 
barley raised was 4,161,504 bushels in 1840, and 5,167,213 bushels 
in 1850. In this country barley is extensively used for malting, dis- 
tilling, and making beer ; large quantities are consumed in Scot- 
land, or carried into England. 

In Prussia, about ten and a half million hectolitres of barley 
are annually raised. In the Canary Isles, about 354,000 bushels 
are annually exported. In Yan Piemen's Land in 1844, 174,405 
bushels of barley were grown on 12,466 acres. 

The quantity of barley made into malt in the United Kingdom 
in the year ending 10th October, 1850, was 5,183,617 quarters, 
of which about four million quarters were used by 8,500 maltsters. 
The quantity of malt charged with duty in the year ending 5th 
January, 1851, was 636,641 tons ; the average price per quar- 
ter, 26s. 2d. 

Barley is at present extensively cultivated in the temperate 
districts and islands of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In 
Spain, Sicily, the Canaries, Azores and Madeira, two crops are 



256 



BAELET. 



produced in a year. In I^ortli America its growth is principally 
confined to Mexico, the middle, western, and northern States of 
the Union, and to the British North American provinces. The 
introduction of barley into the American colonies may be 
traced back to the period of their settlement. By the year 1648 
it was raised in abundance in Virginia, but soon after its culture 
was suffered to decline, in consequence of the more profitable and 
increased production of tobacco. It has also been sparingly 
cultivated in the regions of the middle and northern States for 
malting and distillation, and has been employed, after being 
malted, as a substitute for rice. 

Barley, like wheat, has been cultivated in Syria and Egypt 
for more than 3,000 years, and it was not until after the Eomans 
adopted the use of wheaten bread, that they fed their stock 
with this grain. It is evidently a native of a warm climate, as it is 
known to be the most productive in a mild season, and will grow 
within the tropics at an elevation of 3,000 to 4,000 feet above the 
level of the sea. It is one of the staple crops of northern and 
mountainous Europe and Asia. It is the corn that, next to rice, 
gives the greatest weight of flour per acre, and it may be eaten 
with no other preparation than that of boiling. It requires little 
or no dressing when it is sent to the mill, having no husk, and 
consequently produces no bran. In this coimtry barley is chiefly 
used for malting and distilling purposes. In the year 1850, 
40,745,050 bushels of malt paid duty, the number of maltsters 
in the United Kingdom being from 8,000 to 9,000. About one 
and a half million quarters of barley were imported in 1849, and 
a little over a million quarters in 1850, principally from Denmark 
and Prussia. The counties in England where this grain is chiefly 
cultivated are ISTorfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Bedford, Herts, Lei- 
cester, and Nottingham. The produce of barley on land well pre- 
pared, is from thirty to fifty bushels or more per statute acre, 
weighing from 45 to 55 lbs. per bushel, according to quality. It 
is said to contain 65 per cent, of nutritive matter, while wheat 
contains 78 per cent. 

The estimated average produce of barley in this country may be 
stated as follows : — 

Acres. Crop. 

England 1,500,000 6,375,000 

Ireland 320,000 1,120,000 

Scotland 450,000 1,800,000 

2,270,000 9,295,000 

The average produce per acre, in the United Kingdom, is 41 
quarters in England, 3-| in Ireland, and 4 in Scotland. The prices 
of barley per quarter have ranged, m England, from 36s. 5d. in 
1840, to 27s. 6d. in 1842. In 1847 barley reached 44s. 2d., and 
gradually declined to 23s. 5d. in 1850. 



257 



OATS. 

Oats are principallj in demand for horses, and the extraordinary 
increase of the latter has occasioned a proportional increase in 
the culture of oats. They are grown more especially in the north 
and north-eastern counties ; in the midland coimties their culture 
is less extensive, but it is prevalent throughout most parts of 
Wales. 

]S'early twice as much oats as wheat is raised in the United 
Kingdom, but the proportion grown in Scotland is not so large 
as is supposed. The following is a fair estimate of the compara- 
tive production : — 

Acres. Produce. 

England 2,500,000 12,500,000 

Ireland 2,300,000 11,500,000 

Scotland 1,300,000 6,500,000 

Total 6,100,000 30,500,000 

"We import annually about 1^ million quarters from foreign 
countries and nearly three-fourths of a million quarters from Ire- 
land. The average produce per acre throughout the kingdom is 
five quarters. The price T\-ithin the last 10 years has ranged from 
2Ss. 7d. per quarter (the famine year) to 17s. 6d. 

The oat, when considered in connection with the artificial 
grasses, and the nourishment and improvement it afibrds to live 
stock, may be regarded as one of the most important crops 
produced. Its history is highly interesting, from the circumstance 
that in many portions of Europe it is formed into meal, and 
forms an important aliment for man ; one sort, at least, has been 
cultivated from the days of Pliny, on account of its fitness as an 
article of diet for the sick. The country of its origin is some- 
what uncertain, though the most common variety is said to be 
indigenous to the Island of Juan Pernandez. Another oat, 
resembling the cultivated variety, is also found growing ^ild in 
Oalifornia. 

This plant was introduced into the 'N'orth American Colonies 
soon after their settlement by the English. It was sown by 
Grosnold on the Elizabeth Islands in 1602 ; cultivated in New- 
foundland in 1622, and in Virginia, by Berkley, prior to 1648. 

The oat is a hardy grain, and is suited to climates too hot and 
too cold either for wheat or rye. Indeed, its flexibility is so great, 
that it is cultivated with success in Bengal as low as latitude 
twenty-five degrees North, but refuses to yield profitable crops as 
we approach the equator. It flourishes remarkably well, when 
due regard is paid to the selection of varieties, throughout the in- 
habited parts of Europe, the northern and central portions of 
Asia, Australia, Southern and JSTorthern Africa, the cultivated 
regions of nearly all North America, and a large portion of South 
America. 

s 



258 



RYE. 



In the United States the growth of the oat is confined principally 
to the Middle, Western and Xorthern States. The varieties 
cultivated are the common white, the black, the grey, the imperial, 
the Hopetown, the Polish, the Egyptian, and the potato oat. The 
yield of the common varieties varies from forty to ninety bushels 
and upwards per acre, and weighing from twenty-five to fifty 
pounds to the bushel. The Egyptian oat is cultivated south of 
Tennessee, which after being sown in autumn, and fed ofi" by 
stock in vsdnter and spring, yields from ten to twenty bushels per 
acre. In tlie manufacture of malt and spii-ituous liquors oats 
enter but lightl}-, and then' consumption for this pm-pose does not 
exceed 60,000 bushels annually in the United States. 

In 1840, Ireland exported 2,087,885 quarters of oats and 
oatmeal, but in 1846, on account of the dearth, the grain exports 
fell ofi" completely. Most of the grain grown in Ireland requires 
to be kiln-dried, and is, therefore, of loT\er value. 

The oat, like rye, never has entered much into our foreign 
commerce, as the domestic consumption has always been nearly 
equal to the quantity produced. The annual average exports from 
the United States for several years preceding 1817, were 70,000 
bushels. 

By the census retiums of 1840, the total produce of the United 
States was l'^8,07l,311 bushels ; of 1850, 116,678,879 bushels. 

In Prussia 48 million hectolitres of oats are annually raised. 

The quantity of oats imported into the United Kingdom, has 
been declining within the last few vears. In 1849, we imported 
1,267,106 quarters : in 1850, 1,154,473- in 1851, 1,209,844 ; in 
1852, 995,479. In 1844, 221,105 bushels of oats were raised in 
Van Diemen's Land on 13,864 acres. 



EYE. 

Eye (Secale cereale) is scarcely at all raised in this country for 
bread, except in Durham and Northumberland, where, liowever, it 
is usually mixed with wheat, and forms what is called "maslin," 
— a bread corn in considerable use in the north of Europe. 

G-eographically rye and barley associate with one another, and 
grow upon soils the most analogous, and in situations alike exposed. 
It is cultivated for bread in Northern Asia, and all over the Con- 
tinent of Europe, particularly in Eussia, Norway, Denmark, 
Sweden, Germany and Holland ; in the latter of which it is much 
employed in the manufacture of gin. It is also gro^vn to some 
extent m England, Scotland and Wales. AYith us it is little used 
as an article of food compared with wheat and oats, though in 
the north of Europe and in Elanders it forms the principal article 
of human subsistence, but generally mixed with wheat, and 
sometimes, also with barley ; 100 parts of the grain consist of 
65-6 of meal, 24-2 of husk,* and 10'2 of water. ' The quantity of 
rye we import seldom reaches 100,000 quarters per annum. 



BTJCKATHEAT. 



259 



The straw is solid, and the internal part, being filled with pith, 
is highly esteemed for Dunstable work, for thatching and litter, 
and it is also used to stuff horse collars. 

In Ireland there are 21,000 acres under culture with rye, pro- 
ducing 105,000 quarters. 

In Xorth America rye is principally restricted to the Middle 
and Eastern States, but its culture is giving place to more profitable 
crops. 

In Bohemia, as in most parts of Germany, rye forms the 
principal crop, the product beijig about 3,250,000 quarters 
annually. 

The three leading rarieties cultivated in the United States are 
the spring, winter, and southern; the latter differing from the 
others only from dissimilarity of climate. The yield varies from 
10 to 30 or more bushels per aere, weighing from 48 to 56 pounds 
to the bushel. The production of rye has decreased 4,457,000 
bushels in the aggregate, but in iSew York it is greater by the last 
decennial census than in 1840, by about 40 per cent. Pennsylvania, 
which is the largest producer, has fallen off from 6,613,373 to 
4,805,160 bushels. Perhaps the general diminution in the 
quantity of this grain now produced may be accounted for, by 
supposing a corresponding decline in the demand for distilling 
purposes, to which a larger part of the crop is applied in Xew York, 
This grain has never entered largely into its foreign comirerce, 
as the home consumption for a long period nearly kept pace with 
the supply. The amount exported from the United States in 1801, 
was 392,276 bushels ; in 1812, 82,705 bushels ; in 1813, 140,136 
bushels. In 1820-1 there were exported 23.523 barrels of rye 
flour; in 1830-1, 19,100 barrels; in 1840-1 44,031; in 18i5-6, 
38,530 barrels; in 1846-7, 48,892 barrels; in 1850-1, 44,152 
barrels. During the year ending June 1, 1850, there were con- 
sumed of rye about 2,144,000 bushels in the manufacture of 
malt and spirituous liquors. 

According to the American census returns of 18 tO, the product of 
the country was 18,645,567 bushels ; in 1850, 14,188,637 bushels. 
"We imported 246,843 quarters of rye and rye meal, in 1849, equiva- 
lent to 49,368 tons ; but in 1850 the imports were only 94,078 quar- 
ters, and in 1851 they were but 26,323 quarters. About 20,000 acres 
are under cultivation with rye in Ireland, the produce of which is 
100,000 quarters. 



BUCKWHEAT, 

Buckwheat belongs to the temperate and arctic climates, and 
is cultivated in Northern Eui'ope, Asia, and America for the fari- 
naceous albumen of its seeds, which, when properly cooked, affords 
a delicious article of food to a large portion of the human race. It 
also serves as excellent fodder to milch cows, and the straw, when 

s 2 



260 



MAIZE. 



cut green and converted into hay, and tlie ripened seeds, are food 
for cattle, poultry, and swine. 

It is raised most abundantly in Central Asia and the Himalaya. 
In tlie latter country' the different varieties are grown at various 
elevations, between 4,000 and 12,000 feet. The finest samples 
exhibited in 1851 were from Canada, but some of excellent quality 
was also shown by the United States, Eussia, and Belgium. The 
comaion variety grown m^uvo^Q is t\iQ Polygonum fagopy rum, and 
P. emarginatum is grown in China and the East. In tliis country 
the produce varies from 2 to 1 quarters per acre. The quantity of 
seed sown is 5 to 8 pecks the acre. Yauquelin found 100. parts of 
its straw to contain 29"5 of carbonate of potash, 3*8 of sidphate of 
potash, 17"5 of carbonate of lime, 13'5 of carbonate of magnesia, 
16'2 of siKca, lO'o of alum, and 9 of water. 

It is believed to be a native of Central Asia, as it is supposed to 
have been first brought to Europe in the early part of the twelfth 
century, at the time of the crusades for the recovery of Syria from 
the dominion of the Saracens ; while others contend that it was 
introduced into Spain by the Moors, four hundi'ed years before. 

The cultivation of buckwheat, in one or other of its species, is 
principally confined to Grreat Britain, France, Switzerland, Italy, 
Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Eussia, China, Tartary, Japan, 
Algeria, Canada, and the middle and northern portions of the 
United States. 

In America from 30 to 45 bushels per acre may be considered 
as an average yield in favorable seasons and situations, but 60 or 
more bushels are not unfrequently produced. 

Accordiug to the census returns of 1840, the annual quantity 
raised in the United States was 7,291,743 bushels ; of 1850, 
8,950,916 bushels. 

The average annual imports of buckwheat into this country have 
not exceeded 1,000 quarters, until last year (1852), when they 
reached 8,085 quarters. X small quantity of the meal is also an- 
nually imported = 



MAIZE. 

Maize (^Zea Mays), is the common well-known Indian corn 
forming one of the most important of the grain crops, and has a 
greater range of temperature than the other cereal grasses. It 
was found cultivated for food by the Indians of both Xorth and 
South America, on the fii'st discovery of that continent, and thence 
derived its popidar name. Maize succeeds best in the hottest and 
dampest parts of tropical climates. It may be reared as far as 40 
degrees north and south latitude on the American continent; 
while in Europe it can grow even to 50 degrees or 52 degrees of 
latitude, some of the numerous varieties being hardy enough to 
ripen in the open air, in England and Ireland. It is now culti- 



MAIZE. 



261 



vated in all regions in tlie tropical and temperate zones, which are 
colonized bj Eiu-opeans. It is most largely grown, however, about 
the ^Republics bordering on the nortliern shores of South America, 
California, the United States and Canada, the West India islands 
and Guiana, on the coasts of the Mediterranean, and partially in 
India, Africa, and Australia. We see the singular fact in Mexico 
of land which, after perhaps thousands of years' culture, is so little 
exhausted, that with a very little labor bestowed on it, a bad maize 
harvest will yield two hundredfold profit, while a good crop re- 
tuims 600 fold. 

This grain adopts itself to almost every variety of climate, and 
is found growing luxui'iautly in the low countries of tropical 
Mexico, and nearly equally well on the most elevated and coldest 
regions of the table-land ; in the rich valleys of the Cordilleras or 
the Andes, and on the sandy heights of those mountains wherever 
a rill of water can be brought to nourish its roots. In short, it 
ripens under the sun of America, in every part of both continents. 

Though wheat is characterised as the most nutritious food for 
man in all quarters of the world, yet the Indian corn crop of the 
United States is not second in value to any product of the earth ; 
cultivated in the middle and Eastern States, nay, even in the rich 
cotton-groping districts, Indian corn is fast rising in importance, 
and will soon equal in value that important commercial staple. This 
indigenous grain yields to the nation an annual average of five 
hundred millions of bushels, and has, within the last five years, 
attracted much attention as a life-sustaining food, more particu- 
larly at the period of Ireland's severe suffering, in 1847, and the 
following years. Nations, as well as statesmen and farmers, have 
found it an object worthy of their consideration and esteem. 

When due regard is paid to the selection of varieties, and culti- 
vated in a proper soil, maize may be accounted a sure crop in al- 
most every portion of the habitable globe, between the 44th de- 
gree of north latitude and a corresponding parallel south. Among 
the objects of culture in the United States, it takes precedence in 
the scale of cereal crops, as it is best adapted to the soil and cli- 
mate, and furnishes the largest amount of nutritive food. Besides 
its production in the North American Bepublic, its extensive 
culture is limited to Mexico, the AYest Indies, most of the States 
of South America, France, Spain, Portugal, Lombardy, and South- 
ern and Central Europe generally. It is, however, also cultivated 
with success in Northern, Southern, and AVestern Africa, India, 
China, Japan, Australia, and the Sandwich Islands, the groups of 
the Azores, Madeii-a, the Canaries, and numerous other oceanic 
isles. 

Maize is not a favorite grain as bread-corn with the European 
nations, for although it abounds in mucilage, it is asserted to contain 
less gluten, and is not likely to be much used by those who can 
procure wheaten flour, or even rye bread. 

The large importations which were made by our Government 
dui-ing the prevalence of the potato disease, brought it into 



262 



MAIZE. 



more general use among some classes, and the imports for Lome 
consumption are still extensive, haying been as follows in the last 
few years : — 



1848. 1849. 

Indian corn, quarters . 1,582,755 . 2,249,571 

„ meal, cwts. . 233,880 . 102,181 

1850. 1851. 

Indian com, quarters . 1,286,264 . 1,810,425 
„ meal, cwts. . 11,401 



The trade in maize, or Indian corn, is totally new since 1846. 
The famine in Ireland in that year, and the potato rot in almost 
eyery successive year since, have now fully established it. Like 
the gold discoveries, the potato rot may be regarded as a provi- 
dential means of effecting a great change in the condition of 
society. Those discoveries are not without their influence in th^ 
East, and, combined with the potato rot, they have rapidly in- 
creased the commerce between the East and "West of Europe, 
while they are spreading broad paths between all Europe and the 
lands in the Southern Ocean, The imports of maize from all parts, 
in 1852, amounted to 1,550,000 quarters, of which about 1,100,000 
quarters an^ived in vessels from the Mediterranean, &c., calling at 
Queenstown or Falmouth for orders. The balance consisted of 
imports from America, Erance, Portugal, &c., and also of cargoes 
addressed direct to a port of discharge, without first calling off the 
coast for orders. The quantities received in 1851 and 1852 from 
the Mediterranean were as follows i — 





1852, 


1851. 


Eeceived from 


qrs. 


qrs. 


Galatz 


223,000 


286,067 


Ibraila 


362,600 


211,779 


Salonica 


35,640 


95,377 


Odessa 


219,170 


74,065 


Egypt 


50,960 


86,260 


Italy 


8,250 


162,544 


Constantinople, 


Malta, 





Trieste, and other 
ports in the Mediter- 
ranean , . 190,720 . . 286,358 



1,090,340 1,202,450 

Tlie various quarters from whence we derive supplies of this 
grain, are shown in the following table of the imports for the last 
three years, which I have compiled from the most recent Parlia- 
mentary returns. 



MAIZE. 



263 



INDIAN COEN AND MEAX IMPORTED 


INTO THE 


TNITEE 


KINGDOM. 






1849. 


1 

i 1850. 

i 


1851. 


PLACES. 
















Corn. 


ALeal. 


Lorn. 


Aleal. 


Corn. 


Meal. 




qrs. 


c"wrts, 


qrs. 


cwts. 


qrs. 


cwts. 


Russian Ports in Black 




- 






■ 




Sea 


25,519 




19,/21 




98,176 




Denmark 


1,300 




25C 




5 




Hanover 


1,344 












Belgium 


67 














135,115 


510 


102,978 


26 


164,128 


29 


Portugal Proper 


61,446 




67,518 


53 


21,922 




Azores and Madeira . . 


17,214 




7,794 


6 


4,356 


1 


Spain and Bahama Is- 














lands 


26,856 


48 


19,982 


48 


34,771 




Sardinian Territories . . 


13,357 




25 


2 


1,302 


1 


Tuscany 


11,481 


9o 


15,612 


94 


34,760 




Papal Territories 


8,927 




1,876 




75,588 




Kaples and Sicily- 


18 




10,066 




101,489 




Austrian Territories . . 


90,540 




45,748 




73,966 




Malta and Gozo 


18,198 




4,969 




11,002 




Ionian Islands . . 


5,390 




7,324 




5,967 




Greece 


57,520 




8,712 




3,252 




Egypt ■ • • . 


12,767 




71,808 




127,692 




Turkish, dominions, in- 














clud-'ng "Wallachia, 
^Moldavia, and Syria 














563,799 




348,456 




748,180 




Morocco 


760 












"West Coast of Africa . . 


889 




2,322 








B. A. Colonies 


l,645j 


164 


1,530 




4,377 


7 


U. S. of America 


1,170,154* 


100,859 


538,155 


11,253 


295,978 


9,522 


Brazil 


1,253 




468j 




725 




Other places 






1,756| 






1 




2,225,459 


101,683 


1,277,070 


11,482 


1,807,636| 


3,561 



(Parliamentary Paper, Xo. 14, Sess. 1852.) 



The many excellent properties of Indian corn, as a wholesome 
nutritious food, and the rich fodder obtained from the stalk and 
leaf for the nourishment of cattle, inyite more earnest attention 
from the farmer and planter in the Colonies to its better and 
extended cultivation. 

Though the average quantity of grain from each acre in the 
United States is not more than thirty or forty bushels, yet it is 
known that with due care and labor 100 to 130 bushels may be 
obtained. 

In feeding cattle little diiference is discoverable between the 
effects of Indian corn meal and oil-cake meal ; the preference 
rather preponderates in favor of the latter. 

Corn cobs, ground with the grain, have advocates, but this food 
is not relished, and swine decline it. 



264 



MAIZE. 



Indian corn contains about the same proportion of starcli as 
oats (sixty per cent.), but is more fattening, as it contains about 
nine or ten per cent, of oily or fatty ingredients. 

The following analysis of maize is given by Dr. Samuel David, 
of Massachusetts : — 



FLESH FORMLNG PRINCIPLES. 

(xluten, albumen, and casein 

FAT FORilING PRINCIPLES. 

Gum, sugar, starch, fibre, oil^ &c. 

Water ..... 
Salts ..... 



12-60 



77-09 
9-00 
1-31 



100- 



Prof. Gorham, in "Thomson's Organic Chem.," 
London in 1838, gives another analysis : — 

Fresh, grain. 
9-00 
77-00 



Water , 
Starcli . 
Grluten . 
Albumen 
Gum 
Sugar 
Lo&s 



3-00 
2-50 
1-75 
1-45 
5-30 



published in 
Dried grain. 



84-60 
3-30 
2-74 
1-92 
1-60 
5-84 



100- 



100- 



Professor J ohnston supplies a table, which, he says, exhibits the 
best approximate view we are yet able to give of the average pro- 
portion of starch and gluten contained in 100 lbs. of our common 
grain crops as they are met with in the market. 

Prom this table I extract the following : — 

Starch, gum, &c. 



Wheat flour. . 


55 


lbs. 


10 to 15 lb 


Oats . 


65 


)> 


18 lbs. 


Indian corn 


70 


n 


12 „ 


Beans . 


40 


jj 


28 „ 


Peas 


50 


J) 


24 „ 


Potatoes 


12 


jj 


9i 



The Professor remarks that the proportion of oil is, in 100 lbs. of 
Wheat flour . . . . . . 2 to 4 



Oats . 
Indian com 
Eeans and peas 
Potatoes 



5 „ 8 
5 „ 9 

Oi 



Maize is one of those plants in which potash preponderates, for 
analysis of its ashes gives the following proportions : — 

Salts of potash and soda .... 71*00 

lime and magnesia .... 6*50 

Silica ....... 18-00 

Loss ....... 4-50 



lOQ- 



MAIZE. 



265 



Dr. Salisbury lias also fiimislied the proximate analysis of five 
Tarieties of ripe maize or Indian corn : — - 



One hundred grains of each. 
Golden Sioux com, a 'bright,yenov,twelTe-ro"^ed ") 
variety, frequently having fourteen rows . j 
Large eight-roared yellow com . 
Small eight-rowed ditto 

"Wliite flint com ..... 
Ohio Dent com, one of the largest varieties of ) 
maize . . . . . . j 

COMPAEATIVE ORGANIC AXAXTSIS, 



Proportions. 



Water, 


Dry. 


15-02 


84-98 


14-00 


86-00 


14-03 


85-97 


14-00 


86-00 


14-50 


85-50 





GK)lden 
Sioux. 


Ohio 


Small 


Large 


White 




Dent 


8-rowed 


8-roTred 


Flint 




Com. 


Corn, 


Com. 


Com. 


Starch . . 


36-06 


41-85 


30-29 


49-22 


40-34 


Gluten , . 


5-00 


4-62 


5-60 


5-40 


7-69 


Oil .. .. : 


3-44 


3-88 


3-90 


3-71 


4-68 


Albumen 


4-42 


2-64 


6-00 


3-32 


3-40 


Casein . , 


1-92 


1-32 


2-20 


0-75 


0-50 


Dextrine 


1-30 


5-40 


4-61 


1'90 


3-00 


Fibre . . 


18-50 


21-36 


26-80 


11-96 


18-01 


Sugar and extract 


7-25 


10-00 


5-20 


9-55 


8-30 


Water . . 


15-02 


10-00 


13-40 


14-00 


14-00 



Large quantities of starch, are now made from this grain in 
Ohio ; an establishment near Columbus consume 20,000 bushels 
of corn annually for this piu-pose. The offal of the grain is given 
to hogs, 500 to 600 head being annuaUv fattened therewith. The 
quahty of the starch is said to be superior to that of wheat, and 
commands a higher price in Xew York. 

A corn plant, fifteen days after the seed was planted, cut on the 
3rd Jime close to the ground, gave of — 

Water ...... 86.626 

Dry matter ...... 10.374 

Ash . . . . . . . 1.354 

Ash calculated dry ..... 13.053 

By the above figures it will be seen that nearly 90 per cent, of 
the young plant is water ; and that in proportion to the dry matter, 
the amount of earthy minerals which remain, as ash, when the 
plant is burnt, is large. This excess of water continues for many 
weeks. Thus, on the 5th July, thirty- three days from planting, 
the relations stood thus : — 

Water ...... 90.518 

Dry matter ...... 9.482 

Ash . . . . . . , 1.333 

Ash calculated dry ..... 14.101 

(Ash very saline.) 

Before green succulent food of this character is fit to give to 
cows, oxen, mules, or horses, it should be partly d?ied. Plants 
that contain from 70 to 75 per cent, of water need no curing be- 



266 



MAIZE. 



fore eaten. The young stalk cut July 12, gave over 94 per cent, 
of water. Such food used for soiling without drying would be 
likely to scour an animal, and give it the cholic. 
The root at this time (J uly 12) gave of — 

Water ...... 81.026 

Dry matter ...... 18.974 

Ash ....... 2.222 

Ash calculated dry . . . . .11.711 

(Ash tastes of caustic potash.) 

Ash of the whole plant above ground, 6.77 grains. Amount of 
ash in all below ground, 3.93 grains. 

So late as July 26, the proportion of water in the stalk was 
94 per cent. ; and the ash calculated dry 17.66 per cent. The 
plant gained 21.36.98 grains in weight in a week preceding the 
6th September. This was equal to a gain of 12.72 grains per 
hour. 

The rapid growth of corn plants, when the heat, light, and 
moisture, as well as the soil are favorable, is truly wonderful. A 
deep, rich, mellow soil, in which the roots can freely extend to a 
great distance in depth and laterally, is what the corn- grower 
should provide for his crop. The perviousness of river bottoms 
contributes largely to their productiveness of this cereal. A com- 
pact clay, which excludes alike air, water, and roots, forbidding 
all chemical changes, is not the soil for Indian corn. 

When farmers sell corn soon after it is ripe, there is conside- 
rable gain in not keeping it long to dry and shrink in weight. 
Corn grown by Mr. Salisbury, which was ripe by the 18th October, 
then contained 37 per cent, of water, which is 25 per cent, more 
than old corn from the crib will yield. The mean of many experi- 
ments tried by the writer has been a loss of 20 per cent, in mois- 
ture between new and old corn. The butts of cornstalks contain 
the most water, and husks or shucks the least, when fully matured 
and not dried. The latter have about 30 per cent, of dry matter 
when chemically desiccated. 



COMPOSITION OF THE ASH OF THE LEAVES AT DIFFERENT STAGES. 





July 19. 


Aug. 2. 


Aug. 23. 


Aug. 30. 


Oct. 18 


Carbonic acid. . 


5.40 . 


2.850 


0.65 . 


. 3:50 . . 


4.050 




13.50 . 


. 19.850 


. . 34.90 . 


. 36.27 .. 


58.650 


Sulphuric acid 


. 2.16 . 


1.995 


4.92 . 


5.84* .. 


4.881 


Phosphates . 


21.60 . 


. 16.250 


. . 17.00 . 


. 13.50 .. 


5.850 


Lime ........ 


.69 . 


4.035 


2.00 . 


. 3.88 . . 


4.510 


Magnesia . . . . 


.37 . 


2.980 


1.59 . 


. 2.30 .. 


0.865 




9.98 . 


. 11.675 


. . 10.85 . 


9.15 .. 


7.333 




34.39 . 


. 29.580 


. . 21.23 . 


, 22.13 .. 


8.520 


Chlorine 


4.55 . 


. 6.020 


3.06 . 


1.63 .. 


2.664 


Organic acids . 


5.50 . 


2.400 


. 3.38 . 


2.05 .. 


2.200 




98.14 . 


97.750 


. 98.187 . 


99.83 .. 


99.334 



The above figures disclose several interesting facts. It will be 
seen that the increase of silica or flint in the leaf is steadily pro- 
gressive from 131 per cent, at July 19, to 58.65 at October 18. 



MAIZE. 



267 



Plint is substantially the lone earth of all grasses. If one were 
to analyse the bones of a calf when a day old, again when thirty 
days of age, and when a year old, the increase of phosphate of lime 
in*its skeleton would be similar to that witnessed in the leaves and 
stems of maize. In the early stages of the growth of corn, its 
leaves abound in phosphates ; but after the seeds begin to form, 
the phosphates leave the tissues of the plant in other parts, and 
concentrate in and around the germs in the seeds. On the 23rd 
of August, the ash of the whole stalk contained 19^ per cent, of 
phosphates ; and on the 18th of October, only 15.15 per cent. In 
forming the cobs of this plant, considerable potash is drawn from 
the stalk, as it decreases from 35.54 per cent. August 16, to 
24.69 October 18. When the plant is growing fastest, its roots 
yield an ash which contains less than one per cent, of lime ; but 
after this development is nearly completed, the roots retain, or 
perhaps regain from the plant above, over 4J per cent, of this 
mineral. Soda figures as high as from 20 to 31 per cent, in the 
ash obtained from corn roots. Eipe seeds gave the following re- 
sults on the analysis of their ash : — 



Silica 

Phosphoric acid 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Potash 

Soda 

Sodium 

Chlorine 

Sulphuric acid 

Organic acids 



0.850 
49.210 
0.075 
17.600 
23.175 
3.605 
0.160 
0.295 
0.515 
5.700 

99.175 



The above table shows a smaller quantity of lime than is usually 
found in the ash of this grain. It is, however, never so abundant 
as magnesia ; and Professor Emmons has shown that the best corn 
lands in the State of New York contain a considerable quantity of 
magnesia. All experience, as well as all chemical researches, go 
to prove that potash and phosphoric acid are important elements 
in the organisation of maize. Corn yields more pounds of straw 
and grain on poor land than either wheat, rye, barley, or oats ; and 
it does infinitely beter on rich than on sterile soils. To make the 
earth fertile, it is better economy to plant thick than to have the 
rows five feet apart each way, as is customary in some of the 
Southern States, and only one stalk in a hill. This gives but one 
plant to twenty-five square feet of ground. Instead of this, three 
square feet are sufficient for a single plant ; and from that up to 
six, for the largest varieties of this crop. 

Mr. Humboldt states the production of maize in the Antilles as 
300 for one ; and Mr. H. Colman has seen in several cases in the 
New England States of America, a return of 400 for one ; that is 
to say, the hills being three feet apart each way, a peck of Indian 
corn would be sufficient seed for an acre. If 100 bushels of grain 



268 



MAIZE. 



is in siicli case produced by an acre — and this sometimes happens 
— this is clearly a return oi 400 for one. 

Of the -whole family of cereals, Zea Mays is unquestionably the 
most valuable for cultivation in the United States. When the 
time shall come that population presses closely on the highest 
capabilities of American soil, this plant, which is a native of the 
New World, will be found greatly to excel all others in the quan- 
tity of bread, meat, milk, and butter which it will yield from an 
acre of land. With proper culture, it has no equal for the pro- 
duction of hay, in all cases where it is desirable to grow a large 
crop on a small surface. 

Although there has been much written on the Eastern origin 
of this grain, it did not grow in that part of Asia watered by the 
Indus, at the time of Alexander the Great's expedition, as it is not 
among the productions of the country mentioned by Nearchus, 
the commander of the fleet ; neither is it noticed by Arian, Dio- 
dorus, Columella, nor any other ancient author ; and even as late 
as 1491, the year before Columbus discovered America, Joan di 
Cuba, in his " Ortus Sanitatis," makes no mention of it. It has 
never been found in any ancient tumulus, sarcophagus, or pyramid ; 
nor has it ever been represented in any ancient painting, sculpture, 
or work of art, except in America. But in that country, according 
to Grarcilaso de la Vega, one of the ancient Peruvian historians, 
the palace gardens of the Incas, in Peru, were ornamented with 
maize, in gold and silv^er, with all the grains, spikes, stalks, and 
leaves ; and in one instance, in the " garden of gold and silver," 
there was an entire cornfield, of considerable size, representing the 
maize in its exact and natural shape; a proof no less of the 
wealth of the Incas, than their veneration for this important 
grain. 

In further proof of the American origin, it may be stated that 
this plant is still found grov^dng, in a wild state, from the Eocky 
mountains in JS^orth America, to the humid forests of Paraguay, 
where, instead of ha^dng each grain naked, as is always the case 
after long cultivation, it is completely covered with glumes or 
husks. It is, furthermore, a well authenticated fact, that maize 
was found in a state of cultivation by the aborigines, in the island 
of Cuba, on its discovery by Columbus, as well as in most other 
places in America, first explored by Americans. 

The first successful attempt to cultivate this grain in Xorth 
America, by the English, occurred on James' river, in Virginia, 
in 1608. It was undertaken by the colonists sent over by 
the Indian company, who adopted the mode then practised by 
the natives, which, with some modifications, has been pursued 
throughout this country ever since. The yield, at this time, is 
represented to have been from two himdred to more than one 
thousand fold. The same increase was noted by the early settlers 
in Illinois. The present yield, east of the Eocky Mountains, when 
judiciously cultivated, varies from 20 to 135 bushels to an acre. 

The varieties of Indian corn are very numerous, exhibiting every 



MAIZE. 



269 



grade of size, color, and conformation, between the " clinbbj reed" 
that groNvs on the shores of Lake superior — the gigantic stalks of 
the Ohio valley — the tiny ears, with flat, close, clinging grains, of 
Canada — the brilhant, rounded little pearl — the bright red grains 
and white cob of the eight-rowed hsemalite — the swelling ears of 
the big white and the yellow gourd seed of the South. Erom the 
flexibility of this plant, it may be acclimatised, by gradual cultiva- 
tion, from Texas to Maine, or from Canada to Brazil ; but its cha- 
racter, in either case, is somewhat changed, and often new varieties 
are the residt. The blades of the plant are of great value as food 
for stock, and is an article but rarely estimated sidflciently, when 
considering of the agricultural products of the Southern and South- 
"Westem States especially. 

To supply slaves on plantations with bread, including old and 
young, requires from twelve to thirteen bushels of corn each a 
vear. Taking thirteen bushels as the average consumption of 
breadstufi's by the 22,000,000 of people in the United States, the 
aggi-egate is 286,000,000 bushels per annum. 

The increase of production, from 1840 to 1850, was 214,000,000 
bushels, equal to 56 per cent. 

The production of New England advanced from 6,993,000 
to 10,377,000 bushels, showing an increase of 3,384,000 bushels, 
nearly fifty per cent. iSTew York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Delaware and Maryland, increased 20,812,000 bushels, more than 
fifty per cent. In the production of this crop no State has retro- 
graded. Ohio, which in 1840 occupied the fourth place as a corn- 
producing State, now ranks as the first. Kentucky is second, 
Illinois third, Tennessee fourth. The crop of Illinois has increased 
from 2,000,000 to 5,500,000 bushels, or at the rate of 160 
per cent, in ten years. 

Of the numerous varieties some are best adapted to the 
Southern States, while others are better suited for the Northern 
and Eastern. Those generally cultivated in the former are the 
Southern big and small yellow, the Southern big and small white 
flint, the yellow Peruvian, and the Virginian white gourd seed. 
In the more Northerly and Easterly States they cultivate the golden 
sioux, or Northern yellow flint, the King Philip, or eight-rowed 
yellow, the Canadian early white, the Tuscarora, the white flour, 
and the Ehode Island white flint. 

The extended cultivation of this grain is . chiefly confined to the 
Eastern, Middle, and AYestern States, though much more success- 
fully grown in the latter. The amount exported from South 
Carolina, in 1748, was 39,308 bushels ; from North Carolina, in 
1753, 61,580 bushels ; from Georgia, in 1755, 600 bushels ; from 
Virginia, for several years preceding the revolution, annually 
600,000 bushels ; from Philadelphia, in 1765-66, 54,205 bushels ; 
in 1771, 259,441 bushels. 

The total amount exported from America in 1770, was 573,349 
bushels; in 1791, 2,064,936 bushels, 351,695 of which were 
Indian meal ; in 1800, 2,032,435 bushels, 338,108 of which were 



270 



in meal: in ISIO, 1,M0;960 bnsheisj of which were 

meal. In 1820-21, there were exported 607.277 bushels of com, 
and 131,669 barrels of Indian meal: in 1830-31, 571,312 bushels 
of corn, and 207,604 barrels of meal; in 1840-^:1, 535,727 bnshels 
of corn, and 232,284 barrels of meal ; in 18-45-16. 1.2Sn.Of3S 
bushels of corn, and 298,790 barrels of meal ; in 1S16'47 
16.326,050 bushels of com, and 91S. 060 barrels of meal : - 1^ 30- 
51, 3,126,811 bushels of com, and 203,622 barrels of me:.:. X : : e 
than eleren millions of bushels of Indian com were cons aincG. in 
1850, in the manufacture of spiiituous liquors. 

According to the census of 1810, the com crop of the United 
States was 377,531,875 bushels ; in 1850, 592,326,612 bushels. 

The increase in the production of com in Ohio has been (in 
ten years) 66 per cent. I Jiave also before me the auditor's re- 
turns for the crop of 1850, as taien by assessors, and the number 
of acres planted, Tiie auditor's returns are : — 



SeTenty-tbree c-OTinties . , . . 55.079.374 

Darke county ...... 524. 4S4 

Twelve coxuitieB, arerag© . , . , S.4i'I'0,0'0'0 

Total . . . 64.003^ ScS 

This is an advance of 15 per cent, on the cr :" :: l-i-VJ. i: 
is known that the crop of 1850 was better:-;-! t :: 1^49. 
The number of acres planted, and the arerage producnon was : — 

Acres planted ...... 1,810,947 

Busiiels produced ...... 64,003,858 

Average per acre 35f bush. 



Considering how large a portion of hill land is planted, and how 
many fields are iU cultiTated, the average is high. Many persons 
have believed tbat taking all years and all lands into view, the 
average of com lands was not more than thirty busbels. But the 
immense fertility of hottom lands on the rivers and creeks of Ohio 
make up for bad cultivation and inferior soil. We may see some- 
thing of the differences in the production of corn, by taking the 
averages of different counties, thus ; — 



Acres. Crop. xlrerage. 

Butler ,, 62,031 .. 2,&46,353 ... 42^ 

Warren . . 42,322 . . 1,757,40.9 . . 42 

Pickaway ., 65.S60 .. 2.627.727 .. 40 

Ross ' ,, 6d.-52j ,, 2.fl5.;^55 .. 42 

Compare tlie average of these counties, which embrace some 

of the best lands in the State, with the following : — - 

Acres. Crop. Average. 

Carroll .. 10,107 .. 316,9^9 .. 32 

Jackson .. 1-5,680 .. 43i-'.S.'0 ,, 30 

iionroe . . 23,375 . . 725^242 . . 31 

Portage . . 10,426 . . 329,529 . . 32 

Yinton ., 11,413 345.470 .. 30 



The last counties contain but little bottom land, and hence the 
average of com is reduced one-fourth in amount. Of these 



MAIZE. 



271 



counties, two are full of coal and iron. The resources of the 
last are more slow to delelop, but in the end will be equally 
valuable. 

But a small quantity of the corn of Ohio is exported as grain. It is 
first manufactured into other articles, and then exported in another 
form. The principal part of these are hogs, cattle, and whiskey. 
It is difficult to say exactly how much corn is in this way exported, 
but the following is an approximation — 

Bushels. 

In Fat Cattle .... 4,000,000 
In Fat Hogs . . , . 10,000.000 

In V\ hiskey .... 2,500,000 

Total . . 16,500,000 

Taking into view the export of corn meal — about twenty millions 
of bushels — the residue goes to the support of the stock animals 
on hand, of which there are near three millions, exclusive of those 
fatted for market. 

The exported corn in the shape of cattle, hogs, and whiskey, is 
worth about thirty cents cash, while on the farm it is not worth 
twenty — thus proving that it is more profitable to consume corn 
on the farm, than to export it in bulk. This fact is well known 
to good farmers, who seldom attempt to sell corn as a merchantable 
article. 

JN'o mining in the world has ever been equal to mining in a 
fertile soil, and no treasury is so reliable as a granary of surplus 
products, 

Indian corn and meal generally find a market in the "West 
Indies, J^ewfoundland, Spain, and Portugal. It commands a good 
price, and finds a ready sale in the ports which are open to its 
reception. 

Deducting one-sixteenth for the amount exported, and one- 
tenth for seed, the quantity of maize annually consumed for food 
in the United States by a family of five persons is 85 bushels. 

Maize may be considered as tlie great staple of the agricultural 
products of the States. It is exported in large quantities, in a 
raw state, or when manufactured into meal. Before it is manu- 
factured into meal it is dried by a fire, in a kiln prepared for that 
purpose. By this process the meal is much less liable to become 
sour on the voyage, and can be preserved much longer in a warm 
chmate. No inconsiderable quantities have likewise been con- 
sumed in distillation ; and the article of kiln-dried meal for ex- 
portation is destined to be of no small account to the corn-grow- 
ing sections of that country. 

The improvement continually making in the quality of the seed 
augurs well for the productiveness of this indigenous crop, as it 
has been found that new varieties are susceptible of being used to 
great advantage. 

The following was the produce of the difierent States in the 
years named, as given in the Official Census Eetnrns : — 



272 



MAIZE, 





1 RAO 


1 RAl 
lo41. 


lo4o. 


1 nKn 
loou. 




Bushels. 


Busliels. 


Bushels. 


Bxishels. 


J1IL&III6 . . • • . . . . 




OQQ KACk 

yoojO'S'y 


i,oyu,/yy 




j-icw xxallljjtolilro 




lyi,^/ 0 


oou,y<io 




IVTci OQQ /^In 1 Qa^ii'i'a 


1 ftnQ 1 Q9 


1 QC\K 97q 

i,yuo5^ / 0 


^,o4/,40l 




E/IiocIg Islciiid. • , 


A KCi AOQ. 


4/ l,V.l^ii 


K7Q iroA 
0/0,/ 








1 si91 1Q1 

i504ijiy 1 


l,y^O,40o 




Vtrllxlvlll' ... 




1 1 fi7 91 Q 

i,io/,i^iy 


1 9<^9 ftf^Q 
l,ZOZ,oOo 




New York 




11, 441, zoo 


io,o/4,oy(j 




New J ersey . . 


4!,ooi,y / 0 


0,lo4,ooO 


DjOUO, J Zl 




X ollXl&yJ-VclIllct ••• 


1 A 94.0 A99 


1 A QfiQ A79 


10,O0/,'±OL 




Delaware 


9 AQQ 'i^Q 

^5uyy,ooy 


9 1 f?zL j;n7 


9 7Qn (iQO 

1 oy,yo^ 




AXLiXry IciLLKX s • 






90^ 9R9 




Virgin ist 


04,0 / / jOyi 


9^ Q87 
00, yo/,wOD 


40,000, / 00 




N. Carolina 


90 OQQ 7<?Q 


9/1 1 1 c 9tQ 
<54,liO,ZOO 


97 Q1 a A77 

z /,yio,u/ / 




0. ^aruiiiia • • ••• 


1 d, 799 RC\^ 


1 4. Q«^7 A7a 
i'*,yo /,4/4i 


1 S 1 Qrt Ql 




Greorgia 


OA QAC 1 09 


91 74,U 997 
^l,/4y,4i5/ 


9R QRA AC7 




Al abaiua ... • • • 


9rt Qd,7 OA/l 


91 CiQ4, Qf^/I 


OA ftl 7 AQQ 
Z4,31/,Uoy 




Mississippi 


1 ^ 1 9<i7 
10,101, i^O/ 


Qftf^i 79/1 


y,ooD,oyy 




l/OuisiaBa ... c 


K QK9 Ql 9 

Ojyo.iS,y 1.5 


c 99/L 1/17 
D,Zi5'*,14/ 


o,yo /,oy,i 


52,000,000 


Tennessee 


^fc'S'jyODj loo 


4D,^oO,OOy 


A7 Q^a A7'7 
0/, 000,4/ / 


Kentucky . . « , 


OA Q/i7 1 OA 


/I A 7Q7 1 OA 

4U, / 0/ ,1ZU 


oy, 000,100 


58,000,000 


v^nio 


£$0,000,1'*'* 


f^i^9 1 fil 
00,00^,101 


00,001, IZo 


59,788,750 


Indiana 


Zo, 100,00/ 


00. lyo, iOo 


od all 1 '71 
0D,0/ /,1 /i 


53,000,004 


Illinois 


99 fi^zL 91 1 
^^,004t,^ill 




Q9 7CiC\ A Q/l 

oZ, /OU,4.i4 


57,000,000 


Missouri 


17,332,524 


19,725,146 


27,148,608 




Arkansas 


4,846,632 


6,039,450 


8,754,204 




Micliigan 


2,277,039 


3,058,290 


3,592,482 




Florida Territory 


898,074 


694,205 


838,667 




Wisconsin 


379,359 


521,244 


750,775 




Iowa T 


1,406,241 


1,547,215 


2,128,416 




D. of Columbia ... 


39,485 


43,725 


47,837 




Total ... ... 


377,531,875 


387,380,185 


494,618,306 


500,000,000 



The Indian com crop of 1850, for the whole of the United 
States, is returned as over 500 million bushels, a gain of about 
40 millions on that of 1840. 

I give below the quantities of Indian corn and meal which were 
exported from the United States in the following years : — 





Corn, Bushels. 


Meal, Bushels. 


Yalue. 


1790 ... 


. . 1,713,241 




Dolls. 


1794 ... 


.. 1,505,977 


241,570 




1798 ... 


.. 1,218,231 


211,694 




1802 ... 


.. 1,633,283 


566,816 




1806 . . 


. . 1,064,263 


108,342 


1,286,000 


1810 ... 


. . 1,054,252 


86,744 


1,138,000 


3814 ... 


61,284 


26,438 


170,000 


1818 ... 


1,075,190 


120,029 


2,335,405 


1822 .. 


509,098 


148,288 


900,656 


1826 .. 


505,381 


158,652 


1,007,321 


1829 ... 


897,656 


173,775 


974,535 


1833 . . 


437,174 


146,678 


871,814 



— [PifTcm's Statistics of the United States^ and Setjherfs Statistical Annah,) 



MAIZE. 



273 



Sj/stem of culture pursued in the United States. — Maize, the 
corn, par excellence, of Americaj is grown in every State in the 
Union, 

Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and Indiana, are in their 
order the greatest producers of this grain. In Illinois, North 
Carolina, Greorgia, Alabama, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Caro- 
lina, New York, Maryland, Arkansas, and the New England 
States, it appears to be a very favorite crop. In Massachusetts, 
the most Northern and least favorable State on that account, 
being cold, a fair proportion is grown, the aggregate produce 
being greater there than in any of the grains, except oats ; more, 
indeed, than might be expected, were not labor somewhat cheaper 
than in more Southern States, where the climate is more congenial. 
The ordinary produce is twenty-five bushels per acre ; forty 
bushels is often raised, and in prize crops the weight has come up 
to 100 bushels per acre. In Ohio the average is lifty-five bushels 
to the acre. The eight and twelve-rowed varieties of Indian corn 
are those most usually grown in New York, and the average pro- 
duce of a good field in that State is from forty to sixty bushsls ; 
on ordinary ground twenty-five to thirty is a fair crop. The same 
returns appeared to be derived from ground in New Jersey. Mr. 
Doubleday, of Binghampton, New York, estimates the produce of 
that neighbourhood at forty bushels, and the expense of raising 
the crop as follows, estimating .the worth of the land at twenty- 
five dollars (say £5) per acre : — 

Dollars. Cents. 

The interest of which is . . . .116 

One ploughing with double team, and harrowing . 3 50 

Seed and planting . . . . 1 00 

Plaster or gypsum, and putting on tlie hill . . 0 37 

Ploughing and hoeing twice, cutting or stalking the corn 2 75 
Husking or thrashing . , . . 2 50 

11 62 

Average yield, forty bushels; cost of produce, twenty-nine 
cents. (Is. 4|d.) per bushel. 

Nothing is here put down for manure or cartage, because the 
fodder, cut up and saved, as usually adopted, is equal to the manure 
required. It is looked upon that the preparation of ground for 
corn costs less than wheat ; the approved plan is to plant on sward 
ground, ploughing at once, and turning the ground completely 
over, then harrowing longitudinally until a good tilth is obtained. 
Should the soil not be rich enough, stable manure is first spread 
on the land. 

Now suppose the corn to sell at seventy-five cents the bushel, 
the account would stand thus : — ■ 

Dollars. Cents. 

Forty bushels, at seventy-five cents . . . 30 00 

Cost . . . . . . 11 62 

Gain per acre . . . 18 38 

or £3 13s. Gd. British money profit per acre. 



274 



MAIZE. 



In LicMeld, Connecticut, the cost of produce lias been, for the 
items as stated above, eighteen dollars twenty-five cents, or the 
cost of each bushel thirty-six and one-half centg. The acre pro- 
duce was fifty bushels, so that it stood thus : — 



Fifty bushels, 
Cost . 



seventy-five cents 



Gain 



Dollars. Cents. 
. 37 50 
, 18 25 

. 19 5 



or £3 12s. per acre. 

The cost of producing maize varies somewhat in the other 
States, thus : — 



New Hampshire (Unity) the cost was 
Fayette county, Pennsylvania 
Donesville, Michigan, only 
Plymouth, Massachusetts 



Per bushel. 
Cents. 
50 

16 1-4 

17 1--2 
17 7-10 



The cost on producing this crop was small, but it appears to 
have been a small crop, and did not bring more than thirty cents 
per bushel. 

In Monroe county, the richest land in the State of New York, 
estimating the land at fifteen dollars per acre, the producing cost 
stood at : — 



Dollars. Cents. 



Interest at six per cent. 
One ploughing sward, cover or stubble 
Harrowing, furrowing, seed, and planting- 
Cultivating three times and hoeing . 
Husking on the hill 
Shelling and cleaning 



45 
00 

87 1-2 

00 
00 
00 



82 1-2 



This yielded fifty bushels, the cost of producing the bushel was 
eleven and three-fifths cents. This low cost was owing to the 
fact of no manure being used ; and while it spealis volumes as to 
the natural fertility of American soils, yet it reflects very disgrace- 
fully upon the careless system adopted there, as under such treat- 
ment no land could continue, after some years, to produce a crop 
which could come into competition with those from newer and less 
exhausted lands ; but if under a good system of tillage the ground 
was yearly renewed with manure, and those amendments which 
every soil requires, after a crop has been raised from it, added to 
the soil in top-dressing and in ploughing-in, we should never hear 
of the exhausted state of New England land, or see the sons of 
the soil moving west and cultivating newer soils, thus removing 
much of the capital and intelligence of a country away from it. 

Supposing the corn of Monroe county sold at seventy cents per 
bushel, the balance would appear thus : — • 



MAIZE. 



275 



Dollars. Cents. 

Fifty bushels, at seventy cents . . , 35 00 

Cost of produQticn . . . . 5 82 1-2 

Gain . . , . 29 18 1-2 

or £6 Is. per acre profit. 

Id Xortliern Ohio and in Illiuois the cost of production averages 
twenty cents per bushel. 

The mode of cultivation in Connecticut and the ]N"ew England 
States has been thus described to me by Mr. L. Durand, an ex- 
perienced agriculturist : — ^If the soil selected is light and mellow, 
it should be ploughed and subsoiled in the spring, first spreading 
on the coarse unfermented manure which is to be ploughed in. l^'or 
marking the rows for planting, a "corn marker" may be used to 
advantage. ' It is made by taking a piece of scantling, three inches 
square and ten to tweh e feet long, with teeth of hickory or white 
oak inserted at distances of two to four feet, according to the 
width designed for the rows. Then an old pair ^f waggon-thills 
and a pair of old plough-handles are put to it, and your marker 
is done. With a good horse to draw this implement, the ground 
may be made ready for planting A^ery rapidly. It is better to 
leave the ground flat than to ridge it, for the latter mode has no 
advantage, except when the ground is wet. The difference in the 
two modes is chiefly this : — ^AFhen the ground is ridged, the corn 
being planted between the edges of the furrows, it comes imme- 
diately in contact with the manure, springs up and grows rapidly 
the fore part of the season. When the ground is left flat, and 
the manure tiu-ned under the furrows, the corn will often look 
feeble at first, and in growth will frequently be much behind that 
on the ridges ; and the inference early in the season is, that the 
ridged ground will give the best crop, but as soon as the roots of 
the corn on the flat ground get hold of the manure (say about 
the 20th of July), the corn will shoot rapidly a-head, and the full 
force of the manure will be given to the stalk just at the time of 
forming the grain. Corn cultivated in this way, if the soil is 
deeply tilled; wuU often keep green, while that on ridges is 
dried up. 

Many farmers, at planting, shell the corn off* tlie cob, and plant 
it dry. Others soak it a few days in warm water. But when 
the seed is only treated in this way, it is very likely to be pulled 
up by birds and injured by worms. The best way to prevent this 
is to first soak the corn in a strong solution of saltpetre ; then 
take a quantity of tar, and having warmed it over a fire, pour it. 
on the corn, and stir with a stick or paddle till the grain is all 
smeared with the tar ; then add gypsum or plaster till the corn 
will separate freely, and no birds will touch the grain. 

The time of planting, in the United States, varies with the sea- 
son and the section of the country. In I^ew England it may 
generally be planted from the 15th' to the 25th May. Where 
the ground is flat, a light harrow or a cultivator is much better to 

T 2 



27G 



MAIZE. 



go between tlie rows than the plough. Formerly a great deal of 
useless labor was spent in hilling up corn ; in dry seasons this 
was worse than useless. The earth hauled round the stalk does 
not assist its growth, nor aid in holding it up ; the brace roots, 
which come out as the stalk increases in height, support it ; and 
ifc has been observed, that in a heavy storm and thunder gust, 
corn that is hilled will be broken down more than that which is 
not hilled. The ground which is kept level has also the advantage 
of more readily absorbing rain, rendering the crop less liable to 
suffer from drought. The field should have two or three regular 
hoeings, and the weeds be carefully kept under. 

In harvesting the following wdll be found a good plan : — Let two 
hands take five rows, cutting the corn close to the ground. A 
hill should be left standing to form the centre of the shock, placing 
the stalks round it, so that they may not lie on the gTound. After 
the shock is made of sufficient size, take a band of straw, and hav- 
ing turned down the tops of the stalks, bind them firmly, and the 
work is done. 

Maize may Se cut as soon as the centre of the grain is glazed, 
even if the stalks are green. There will be sufficient nutriment 
in the stalk to perfect the ear, and the fodder is much better than 
when it gets dry before it is cut. If the shocks are well put up, 
they may stand four or five weeks. The corn may then be knocked 
out, and the fodder secured for winter use. 

The report of the Ohio Board of Agriculture for 1849, contains 
many interesting statements in reference to maize culture, made 
by the officers of numerous county agricultural societies. In 
Miami county, 2,030,670 bushels were grown, at an average yield 
of fifty-five bushels per acre. Three varieties are cultivated : the 
common gourd seed, for cattle ; the yellow Kentucky, for hogs and 
distilling ; and the white, for grinding and exportation. According 
to the returns from Glreen county, which produced 1,250,000 
bushels of corn in 1849, " a regular rotation of clover, corn, w^heat, 
and clover again, is best for corn ; and no crop pays better for extra 
culture." The Harrison county Agricultural Society reports the 
pork crop at 4,800,000 pounds ; and it gave its first premium for 
corn to Mr. S. B. Lukens, whose statement is as follows : — 

" The ground had heen in meadow ten years, was ploughed six inches deep 
ahout the middle of April, was harrowed twice over on the 9th May, and 
planted on the 11th four feet by two feet. It came up well, was cultivated and 
thinned when ten inches high ; three stalks were left in a hill. About two 
weeks afterward it was again cultivated, and the suckers pulled off. About the 
last of June it was again cultivated, making three times the same way, as it 
•was laid oS but one way. 

d. c. 

Expense of cultui-e, gathering, and cribbing, was . 17 10 
Produce of 374| bushels, at 31 J cents . . . 117 10 

Profit on three acres . . . . . 100 00 

The evidence on which a premium was awarded was such ats 
should satisfy any one that 374 bushels were grown on three acres 



MAIZE. 



277 



of laud, and at a cost not exceeding 17 dollars iO cents, delivered 
in the crib. This is producing corn at less than 5 cents a bushel. 

"Whether the statement be true to the letter or not, it shows 
conclusiA'elv the great value of a rich soil for making cheap corn. 
The Board*^ of Agriculture estimates the crop of Ohio last year at 
70,000,000 of bushels. Taking the United States as a whole, pro- 
bably the crop of corn was never better than in the year 1849. 
One that has rich land needs only to plough it deep and well, plant 
in season, and cultivate the earth properly with a plough or culti- 
vator, to secure the growth of a generous crop. On poor soils the 
case is very different. 

To raise a good crop of corn on poor land, and at the least pos- 
sible expense, requires some science and much skill in the art of 
tillage. Take the same field to operate in, and one farmer will 
grow 100 bushels of corn at half the cost per bushel that another 
will expend in labor, which is money. It unfortunately happens 
that very skilful farmers are few in number, in comparison with 
those who have failed to study and practice all attainable improve- 
ments. To produce cheap corn on poor land, one needs a clear 
understanding of what elements of the crop air and water will fur- 
nish, and what they cannot supply. It should be remembered 
that the atmosphere is precisely the same over ground which yields 
100 bushels of corn per acre, that it is over that which produces 
only five bushels per acre. JSTow, the whole matter which forms 
the stems, leaves, roots, cobs, and seeds of corn, where the crop is 
100 bushels per acre, is not part and parcel of the soil. A harvest 
equal to fifty bushels per acre can be obtained without consuming 
over ten per cent, of earth, as compared with the weight of the 
crop. No plant can imbibe more of the substance of the soil in 
which it grows, than is dissolved in water, or rendered gaseous 
by the decomposition of mould. 

The quantity of matter dissolved, whether organic or inorganic, 
during the few weeks in which corn plants organise the bulk of 
their solids, is small. From 93 to 97 parts in 100 of the dry 
matter, in a mature, perfect plant, including its seeds, cob, stems, 
leaves, and roots, are carbon (charcoal) and the elements of water. 
It is not only an important, but an exceedingly instructive fact, 
that the most effective fertilisers known in agriculture are those 
that least abound in the elements of water and carbon. The un- 
leached dry excrements of dunghill fowls and pigeons, have five 
times the fertilising power on all cereal plants that the dry dung 
of a grass-fed cow has, although the latter has five times more 
carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, per 100 pounds, than the former. 
Although it is desirable to apply to the soil in which corn is to 
grow as much of organised carbon and water as one conveniently 
can, yet, where fertilisers have to be transported many miles, it is 
important to know that such of the measure as would form coal, 
if carefully burnt, can best be spared. The same is true of those 
elements in manure which form vapor or water, wlien the fertiliser 
decomposes in the ground. 



278 



MAIZE, 



Carbonic acid and nascent hydrogen evolved in rotting stable 
manure are triily valuable food for plants, and perform important 
chemical offices in the soil ; but they are, nevertheless, not so 
indispensable to the economical production of crops, as available 
nitrogen, potash, silica, magnesia, sulphur, and phosphorus. 
These elements of plants being less abundant in nature, and 
quite indispensable in forming corn, cotton, and every other 
product of the soil, their artificial supply in guano, night soil; 
and other highly concentrated fertilisers, adds immensely to 
the harvest, through the aid of a small weight of matter. In all 
sections -where corn is worth 30 cents and over a bushel, great 
benefits may be realised by the skilful manufacture and use of 
poudrette. This article is an inodorous compound of the most 
valuable constituents of human food and clothing. It is the raw 
material of crops. 

It is not necessary to restore to a corn-field all the matter re- 
moved in the crop to maintain its fertility. A part of each seed, 
however, ought to be carried back and replaced in the soil, to make 
good its loss by the harvest. 

In every barrel of meal or flour sent to market (196 pounds), 
there are not far from 186 pounds of carbon (coal), and tlie ele- 
ments of water. "When a bird eats wheat or corn, I have reason 
to believe, from several experiments, that over 80 per cent, of the 
food escapes into the air through its capacious lungs in the process 
of respiration ; and yet the 20 per cent, of guano left will re- 
produce as much wheat or corn as was consumed. Imported guano, 
which has been exposed to the weather for ages, often gives an 
increase in the crop of wheat equal to three pounds of seed to one 
of fertiliser ; while it has gi\^en a gain of seven to one of corn, and 
fifty to one of green turnips. 

Like other grains that have been long cultivated, Indian corn 
abounds in varieties. In Spain they count no less than 130, and 
in the United States the number is upwards of forty. The differ- 
ence consists in size, color, period of maturation, and hardness and 
weight of grain. Of size there exists a considerable variety, from 
Zea Curagua of Chili, and the Egyptian or chicken corn, both 
extremely diminutive, to the large white flint, and ground seed 
corn of the United States. The differences in color are the red, 
yellow, and white. The period of maturation varies, apparently, 
very considerably ; but it is questionable whether this variation 
is real, and independent of climate. In the Northern States of 
America, Indian corn ripens in a shorter period of time than it 
does in the South, owing, possibly, to the greater length of the 
summer day in those latitudes. 

In selecting varieties, some experienced and judicious farmers 
prefer that which yields the greater number of ears, vdthout regard 
to their size, or number of rows. Others prefer that which furnishes 
one or two larger ears, having from twelve to twenty-four rows. In 
the Northern States of j^merica the yellow corn bears the highest 
price in the market, and is considered the most prolific and 



MAIZE. 



279 



best suited to feed cattle and hogs. For bread, the white Diitton 
is preferred at the ISTorth, and the white ground seed is used for 
that purpose in other quarters. Preference, however, is most fre- 
quently given to white flint corn, which is unquestionably the 
heaviest, and contains the greatest proportion of farina. 

In Mississippi many varieties are grown, principally those known 
as flint and bastard flint. The gourd-seed varieties are very ob- 
jectionable in that climate, principally on account of their soft- 
ness rendering them unfit for bread, and open to the attacks of 
insects in the field and the crib. They require a grain, loJiite, hard, 
and rather flinty — u'liite because of its great consumption in bread 
and hommony, in the preparation of both of which their cooks 
greatly excel. When meal is ground for bread, the mill is set 
rather wide, that the flinty part of the grain may not be cut up too 
fine, this being sifted out for " small hommony the farinaceous 
part of the grain is left for bread. This hommony is a beautiful 
and delicious dish. On most plantations the negToes have it for 
supper, with molasses or butter-milk. A hard flinty grain is ne- 
cessary to head the weevil, with which not only the cribs but the 
heads of corn in the field are infested. These are the Calandra 
oryz(S, the true rice weevil, distinguished from his European cousin 
by the two reddish spots on each elytra or wing-cover, and known 
in America as the "black weevil;" also a little brown insect, not a 
true weevil, but a ^ylvanus. This sylvanus, and another of the 
same genus, most probably the S. surinamensis, attack the corn in 
the field before it becomes hard, causing serious damage — but no- 
thing to equal that occasioned by the black weevil. 

I know of no generally successful method of staying or even 
checking the injury caused by the insects, though much might be 
^Titten in the way of suggestion. 

In Michigan, the dent variety in dry seasons produces the best 
crops on sandy loam, as its roots rim deeper than the common eight- 
rowed yellow or white. In moist seasons the latter varieties 
usually do well. They are grown most generally in the Northern 
part of the State, while in the Southern section the Ohio dent is 
principally raised. The shuck and blade are much used as fodder 
for cattle, in the early part of winter. 

Indian corn is very liable to change of character from soil and 
climate, growing smaller the farther jNTorth it is raised. The mixing 
of the eight-rowed yellow with the Ohio dent has, so far as my ex- 
perience goes, been beneficial in increasing the yield. Sandy loam, 
or clay, is considered the soil best adapted to corn. It is usually 
planted in May, and harvested in September. The blade is not taken 

there as at the South ; some farmers cut up their corn when 
ripe, put it into shocks, and husk it late in the fall ; others cut the 
stalks, bind them in sheaves, and stack them for winter in the 
fields, or put them aAvay in barns or sheds ; while others husk the 
corn on the hill without ciitting the stalks, and late in the fall turn 
their cattle into the field to eat the fodder. Of these different 
modes the preference is usually given to cutting the stalks and 



280 



MAIZE, 



putting them iincter cover after being well cured, and husking the 
corn on the hill. The corn is thought to ripen better in this way, 
and to keep better in the cribs. The Ohio dent, having a smaller 
ear containing less moisture than other varieties, ripens quicker 
and keeps better. This crop ranges from 25 to 65 bushels per 
acre, and the difference in the yield is to be attributed to the man- 
ner of cultivation. My experience shows that a crop of 45 bushels 
per acre costs 13 cents a bushel, including interest on land. 
Corn is principally raised in Michigan for home consumption, 
and the stalks and shucks, if well cured, are worth 3 dollars per 
acre, compared with hay at 5 dollars per ton. 

As much as 134 bushels per acre have been obtained, in some 
instances, in Massachusetts ; till the last 20 years 35 bushels was 
considered an average crop, but by a due rotation of crops, and 
ploughing in long manure, at least 75 bushels to the acre are now 
raised. The kinds preferred there, are an eight-rowed variety, pro- 
cured originally from Canada ; the Cass corn, another eight-rowed 
variety, and the Dutton corn, each of which averages about 60 lbs. 
to the bushel. 

Maize is a principal crop in the Connecticut Eiver Yalley, 
"Western Yermont, and along the Lake shore ; but in the high 
dividing ridge, and in the Northern counties bordering on Canada, 
the climate is too severe for its profitable cultivation. 

" The kind mostly grown (observes Mr. Colbura, of Yermont) is the yellow 
eight-rowed, though some prefer the twelve and sixteen-rowed, known here by 
the name of the Dutton corn ; but my experience in cultivating the different kinds 
for the last twenty-four years, has forced me to the conclusion that the common 
eight-rowed, mixed with a kind called the BroAvn corn, does the best ; the kernel 
of the latter bearing upon a chocolate hue, and the mixture of these two kinds 
of seed imparting a deep rich color to the whole, when they become blended, 
and enhancing the yield whenever the soil is in high tilth. Of this kind, the 
writer has raised, the past season, upon eleven acres on the Connecticut Eiver 
alluvium, over eight hundred bushels shelled corn, four acres of which, with extra 
preparation, produced four hundred and sixteen bushels. 

It will never do to carry seed corn from South to ISTorth, as it will not mature 
in a higher or colder climate than that from which it has been taken. Even 
half a degree of latitude sensibly affects the maturing of the blade, and renders 
it an uncertain crop in our high northern latitudes. To insure an extra yield 
of this valuable grain, the soil must be highly manured, deeply ploughed, 
throroughly cultivated and hoed, and top-dressed with lime, house ashes, and 
plaster. This done, it is the most remunerative and profitable of all gi'ain crops." 

In Delaware there are many varieties, and everybody esteems his 
own kind the best. The grain varies from pure "flint " to pure 
"gourd seed" — of course the mixtures which are between these 
two varieties are most common — it inclines more to gourd seed than 
to flint. Plint weighs full standard fifty-six, the gourd seed from 
forty-nine to fifty-two pounds, and the mixtures range between. 
Elint ripens from ten days to two weeks earlier. It will not pro- 
duce as many poimds per acre as the lighter gourd seed. Soil 
exerts its influence over the character of. corn, a heavy soil tending 
to produce flint — light soil, gourd seed. 

The corn is " cut up " in the fall, and after curing in the shuck, 
is husked ; the shuck remaining on the stalk with the blades. 



281 



The average yield, on improTed land, is fifty bushels ; though 
crops of one himdred and twelve, and one hundred and sixty 
bushels per acre are reported to have been raised in the county, 
in 1849. The yield increases from year to year. A general and 
rapid improvement of the State is in progress, and in nothing is 
this seen more clearly than in the corn crop. Mossy " old sedge " 
fields, which have been laid out for years, are broken up, and will 
yield, if it be a good season, from five to ten bushels per acre ; 
fence them, lime them with twenty to thirty bushels, and seed the 
oat crop with clover, and in two years the clover sod will return 
eighteen to twenty bushels of corn. Another dressing of lime, or 
its equivalent in marl, of which there is an abundance in the lower 
half of Xewcastle County, will show thirty bushels of corn ; and of 
wheat, if the farm manure be used on it, nine to twelve bushels 
will not be too much to expect. 

In Arkansas, Indian corn is regarded as the " king of grains." 
It constitutes the chief food of every animal, from man down 
to the marauding rat, while its dried blade furnishes seven- 
tenths of the long food for working animals. The lorffe tcJiite 
is the variety most esteemed, and most generally cultivated, 
for the reasons that it yields more grain and fodder, makes, when 
ground into meal, whiter and sweeter bread, and is less liable to 
injury from the weevils. The blade is usually esteemed the best 
long food for horses, exceeding in price the best JN'orthern hay ; 
the average price may be stated at about seventy cents per cwt. 
The shuck is fed to cows and young mules, they eat it, but 
with less relish than they do the blades, which are sweeter and 
more nutritious. The former are much used for mattresses, being 
preferred to moss, as they are cleaner, and easier manufactured. 
When mixed with coarse cotton, and properly prepared, they will 
make a mattress but little inferior to curled hair ; price about 
fifty cents per cwt. The average price of this grain may be set 
down at forty cents per bushel; and the yield on upland in some 
parts of the State may be stated at thirty bushels per acre. 

Five varieties of maize are gro^Ti in Peru. One is kno^Ti by 
the name of cliancaijano, which has a large semi-transparent yel- 
low grain; another is called moroclio^ and has small yellow grain 
of a horny appearance ; amarello, or the yellow, has a large yellow 
opaque grain, and is more farinaceous than the two former varieties ; 
hlanco, white — this variety is large, and contains more farina than 
the former ; and canclia, or sweet maize. The last is only culti- 
vated in the colder climates of the mountains ; it gTows about two 
feet high, the cob is short, and the grains large and white ; when 
green, it is very bitter, but when ripe and roasted, it is particularly 
sweet, and so tender that it may be reduced to flour between the 
fingers. In this roasted state it constitutes the principal food of 
the mountaineers of several provinces. 

The natives remove the husk from the maize by putting it into 
water with a quantity of wood ashes, exposing it to a boiling heat, 



282 



MAIZE, 



and washing the grain in running water, when the husk iru- 
mediately separates from the grain. 

In Jamaica I found maize to produce two crops in the year, 
and often three. It is usually grown there on the banks or ridges 
of the cane fields. It may be planted at any time when there is 
rain, and it yields from fifteen to forty bushels per acre, accord- 
ing to the richness of the soil, and the more or less close manuer 
in which it is planted. 

In the colony of New South Wales, including the district of 
Port Phillip, there were 20,798 acres under cultivation with maize 
in 18M, the produce from which was returned at 575,857 bushels; 
27,058 bushels of maize were exported from Sydney in 1848. 

CuUure in tlie JEast Indies. — The growers on the hills of Ne- 
paul reckon three kinds of maize : a wliite grained species, which 
is generally grown on the hill sides ; a yellow grained one, grown 
in the low and hot valleys ; and a smaller one, called " Bhoteah," 
or " Murilli Makii," which is considered the sweetest of the three, 
but from being less productive is not generally grown on good 
lands. Maize thrives best on a siliceous, well- drained, rich soil. 
A correspondent in my " Colonial Magazine," vol. ii. p. 309, says the 
finest Indian corn he ever saw was in the Himalayas of the Sikim- 
range, where the soil consists of a substratum of decomposed 
onica from the under or rocky stratum, with a superstratum of 
from three to six inches of decayed vegetable matter, from leaves, 
&c., of the ancient forests. 

Throughout Hindostan, June is the usual time for so\ving. In 
Pehar, about two seers are usually sown upon a beggah ; in ]S"e- 
paul, twenty-four seers upon an English acre ; in the vicinity of 
Poonah, one and a-half seer per beggah. Before the seed is so^tl 
the land is usually ploughed tAVO or three times, and no further 
attention given to the crop than two hoeings. In Nepaul, where 
it is the principal crop cultivated, the seed is sown, after one 
delving and pulverisation of the soil, in the latter end of May 
and early part of June, in drills, the seeds being laid at intervals 
of seven or eight inches in the drills, and the drills an equal space 
apart. The drills are not raised as for turnip sowing, but consist 
merely of rows of the plant on a level surface. The seed is dis- 
tributed in this manner with the view of facilitating the weeding 
of the crop, not for the purpose of earthing up the roots, which 
seems unnecessary. The Indian corn sowing resembles that of 
the goliya (or upland) rice, in the careful manner in which it is 
performed ; the sower depositing each grain in its place, having 
first dibbled a hole for it five or six inches deep, with a small hand 
hoe, with which he also covers up the grain. 

The after-culture of this crop is performed with great care in 
the valleys, but much neglected in the hills, especially on new and 
strong lands. In the former it undergoes repeated weeding 
during the first month of its growth, the earth being loosened 
round the roots, at each weeding, with the hand hoe. After the 



EICE. 



283 



fii'st loosening of fhe soil, which is performed as soon as the plants 
are fairly above ground, a top dressing of ashes or other manure 
is given. By this mode the crop gets the immediate benefit of 
the manure, which otherwise, from the extraordinary rapidity of 
its growth, could not be obtained by it. In three months from 
the time of sowing, the seed is ripe. The crop is harvested by 
cutting off the tieads. In Nepaul these are either heaped on a 
rude scaffolding, near the cultivator's house, or, more commonly, 
they are suspended from the branches of the trees close by, where, 
exposed to wind and weather, the hard and tovigh sheath of the 
seed cones preserves the grain for many months uninjured. 

Cattle are voraciously fond of the leaves and stems, which are 
very sweet, and even the dry straw, which Dr. Buchanan sur- 
mises may be the reason why it is not more generally cultivated 
by the natives, as the dif&culty would be great to preserve the 
crop. So slow is the progress of changes in the regions of India, 
that near Kaliyachak, though the people give all other straw to 
their cattle, yet they burn that of maize as unfit for fodder. In 
Nepaul the stalks, with the leaves attached, often twelve feet long, 
cut by the sickle, are used as fodder for elephants, bedding for 
cattle, and as fuel. The maize crop within the hills of Nepaul 
suffers much from the inroads of bears, which are very numerous 
in these regions, and extremely partial to this grain. The average 
return from this crop is seldom below fifty seers, ranging frequently 
far above it. * 

Maize is increasing in cultivation in Java, and some of the 
Eastern islands. It is found to have the advantage there over 
mountain rice, of being more fruitful and hardy, and does not 
suffer from cold until the mean temperature falls to 45 deg. of 
Pahrenheit, and no heat is injurious to it. Several varieties of it 
are known, but for all practical purposes these resolve themselves 
into two kinds : one, a small grain, requiring five months to ripen, 
and a larger one, which takes seven to mature. In some provinces 
of Java it yields a return of 400 or 500 fold. Mr. Crawfurd found, 
from repeated trials, that in the soil of Mataram, in Java, an acre 
of land, which afforded a double crop, produced of the smaller 
grain 848i lbs. annually. 

EICE. 

This is one of the most extensively diffused and useful 
of grain crops, and supports the greatest number of the human 
race. The cultivation prevails in Eastern and Southern Asia, and 
it is also a common article of subsistence in various countries 
bordering on the Mediterranean. It is grown in the Japan 
Islands, on all the sea coasts of China, the Philippine and other 
large Islands of the Indian Archipelago, partially in Ceylon, Siam, 
India, both shores of the Eed Sea, Egypt, the shores of the 

- Transactions of " Agri.-Hort. Society, of Calcutta," vol. iv. p. 125, 



284 



ElCl. 



Mozambique Channel, Madagascar, some parts of Western Africa, 
Soutli Carolina, and Central America. Three species only are 
enumerated by Lindley : — Oryza sativa, the common rice, a native 
of the East ; 0. lafifolia, a species having its habitat in South 
America ; and O. J^epalensis, common in IS'epaul. But there are a 
liost of varieties known iu the East ; these, however, may for all 
practical pui'poses, be resolved into two kinds — the upland or 
mountain rice (O. JSIepalensis^ the O. mutica, of Eoxbui'gh) , and 
the lowland or aquatic species (0. sativd). 

Zizania ag^uatica is exceedingly prolific of bland, farinaceous seeds, 
which aftord a kind of rice in Canada and North- West America, 
where it abounds wild .in all the shallow streams. The seeds con- 
tribute essentially to the support of the wandering tribes of Indians, 
and feed immense fiocks of wild swans, geese, and other water 
fowl. Piukerton says, this plant seems intended to become the 
bread-corn of the North. Two other species of Zizania are common 
in the United States of America. 

Eice, the chief food, perhaps, of one-third of the human race, 
possesses the advantage attending wheat, maize, and other grains, 
of preserving plenty during the fluctuations of tirade, and is also 
susceptible of cultivation on land too low and moist for the pro- 
duction of most other useful plants. Although cultivated prin- 
cipally vrithin the tropics, it flourishes well beyond, producing 
even heavier and better filled gTain. Like many other plants in 
common use, it is now found wild [it is to be understood that 
the wild rice, or water oat {Zizania aquatica')^ already referred to, 
which grows along the muddy shores of tide waters, is a distinct 
plant from the common rice, and should not be confounded with 
it], nor is its native country known, Linnseus considers it a native 
of Ethiopia, while others regard it of Asiatic origin. 

The chief variety of this cereal is cultivated throughout the torrid 
zone, wherever there is a plentiful supply of water, and it will ma- 
ture, under favorable cii'cumstances, in the Eastern continent, as 
high as the 4:5th parallel of north latitude, and as far south as the 
38th. On the Atlantic side of the Western continent, it will 
flourish as far north as latitude 38 degrees, and to a corresponding 
parallel south. On the Western coast of America, it will gi-ow so 
far north as 40 or more degrees. Its general culture is principally 
confined to India, China, Japan, Ceylon, Madagascar, Eastern 
Africa, the South of Europe, the Southern poi-tions of the United 
States, the Spanish ]Main, Brazil, and the Yalley of Parana and 
Uruguay. 

In 1834, 29,583 bags of rice were shipped from Maranham, 
but I am not aware what have been the exports since. 

At the Industrial Exhibition in London, in 1851, there were 
displayed many curious specimens and varieties of rice, grown 
without irrigation, at elevations of three thousand to six thousand 
feet on the Himalaya, where the dampness of the summer months 
compensates for the want of artificial moisture. Among these 
American rice received not only honorable mention for its very 



EICE. 



285 



superior quality, but the Carolina rice, exhibited by E. I. Heriot, 
was pronounced by the jury '* magnificent in size, color, and clear- 
ness," and it was awarded a prize medal. The jury also admitted 
that the American rice, though originally imported from the Old 
World, is now much the finest in quality. 

This grain was first introduced into Virginia by Sir William 
Berkeley, in 1647, who received half a bushel of seed, from which 
he raised sixteen bushels of excellent rice, most or all of which 
was sown the following year. It is also stated that a Dutch brig, 
from ^Madagascar, came to Charleston in 1694, and left about a 
peck of paddy (rice in the husk), with Grovernor Thomas Smith, 
who distributed it among his friends for cultivation. Another 
account of its introduction into Carolina is, that Ashley Avas en- 
couraged to send a bag of seed rice to that province, from the 
crops of which sixty tons were shipped to England in 1698. It 
soon after became the chief staple of the colony. Its culture was 
introduced into Louisiana in 1718, by the "Company of the 
"West." 

The present culture of rice in the United States is chiefly con- 
fined to South Carolina, Greorgia, Elorida, Alabama, Mississippi, 
and Texas. The yield per acre varies from twenty to sixty bushels, 
weighing from forty-five to forty-eight pounds when cleaned. 
Under favorable circumstances as many as ninety bushels to an 
acre have been raised. 

Judge Dougherty, who resides near the borders of Henderson 
county, Texas, has raised a crop of several hundred bushels of 
upland rice. The crop averages thirty bushels to the acre. He 
thinks rice can be raised there as easily as Indian corn, and 
will be far more profitable. 

Another variety is cultivated in America to a limited extent, 
called Cochin- Chin a, dry, or mountain rice, from its adaptation to 
a dry soil, without irrigation. It will grow several degrees fur- 
ther north or south than the Carolina rice, and has been cultivated 
with success in the Xorthern provinces of Hungary, China, W est- 
phalia, Virginia and Maryland ; but the yield is much less than 
that already stated, being only fifteen to twenty bushels to an 
acre. It was first introduced into Charleston, from Canton, by 
John Brodly Blake, in 1772. 

The American crop of rice in 1848, reached 162,058 tierces in 
market, and of these 160,330 tierces were exported from South 
Caroliua. The largest rice crop grown in South Carolma for the 
past thirty years, was in 1847, when 192,462 tierces were raised ; 
140,000 to 150,000 is about the average, and it has only exceeded 
170,000 on four occasions. 

The amount of rice exported from South Carolina in 1724, was 
18,000 barrels; in 1731, 41,957 barrels; in 1740, 90,110 barrels ; 
in 1747-48, 55,000 barrels ; in 1754, 104,682 barrels ; in 1760-61, 
100,000 barrels ; from Savannah, in 1755, 2,299 barrels, besides 
237 bushels of paddy or rough rice ; in 1760, 3,283 barrels, besides 
208 bushels of paddy ; in 1770, 22,120 barrels, besides 7,064 



286 



eice; 



"bushels of paddv; from Pliilaclelpliia, in 1771, 258,375 pounds. 
The amount exported from the United States, in 1770, was 150,529 
barrels ; in 1791, 96,980 tierces ; in 1800, 112,056 tierces ; in 
1810, 131,341 tierces; in 1820-21, 88,221 tierces; in 1830-31, 
116,517 tierces ; in 1810-41, 101,617 tierces ; in 1845-46, 124,007 
tierces; in 1846-47, 144,427 tierces: in 1850-51, 105,590 tierces. 

According to the census of 1840, the rice crop of the United 
States amounted to 80,841,422 lbs. : in 1850, 215,312,710 lbs. 

nice being an aquatic plant, is best grown in low moist lands, 
that are easily inundated. 

The ground is ploughed superficially, and divided into squares of 
from twenty to thirty yards in the sides, separated from each other 
by dykes of earth about two feet in height, and suQiciently broad 
for a man to walk upon. These dykes are for retaining the water 
when it is required, and to permit of its being drawn off when 
the inundation is no longer necessary. The ground prepared, the 
water ns let on, and kept at a certam height in the several com- 
partments of the rice field, and the seedsman goes to work. The 
rice that is to be used as seed must have been kept in the husk ; 
it is put into a sack, which is immersed in the water until the 
grain swells and shows signs of germination ; the seedsman, walk- 
ing through the inundated field, scatters the seed with his hand, as 
usual ; the rice immediately sinks to the bottom, and many even 
penetrate to a certain depth in the mud. In Piedmont, where 
the sowing takes place at the beginning of April, they generally 
use about fiftj^-five pounds of seed per acre. The rice begins to 
show itself above the surface of the water at the end of a fort- 
night ; as the plant grows, the depth of the water is increased, so 
that the stalks may not bend v*T.th their own weight. About the 
middle of June this disposition is no longer to be apprehended ; 
the rice is not so flexible as it was, so that the water can be drawn 
oif for a few days to permit hoeing ; after which the water is 
again let on, and maintained to the height of the plant. In July 
it is usual to top the stalks, an operation which renders the flower- 
ing almost simultaneous. 

B-ice generally flowers in the beginning of the month of August, 
and a fortnight later the grain begins to form. It is at this period 
especially that the stalks requh^e to be supported, and this is eftec- 
tually done by keeping the water at about half their height. The 
rice field is emptied when the straw turns yellow. The harvest 
generally takes place at the end of September. In the Isle of 
Prance rice is cultivated in very damp soils, upon vrhicli a great 
deal of rain falls, but which are not flooded, as in other tropical 
countries : but the process is not so certain nor the crop so great, 
as when inundation is employed. In Piedmont the usual return 
of a rice field is reckoned at about fifty for one. At Munzo, in 
ISew Grranada, the paddy fields which are not inundated, under 
the influence of a mean temperatme of 26 deg. centi^igrade 
(7-90 deg. Pahrenheit), yield 100 for 1. — (Simmonds's " Colonial 
Magazine," vol. xi., p. 92.) 



mcE 



287 



The rice now grown abont New Orleans is as sweet, if not 
sweeter, than that imported from South Carolina, but it is deficient 
in hardness and brightness when ready for market, a defect owing 
entirely to two causes, neither of which is bej'ond the control of 
the planter. The one cause is the mode of culture, it being gene- 
rally grown without due attention to the seed — seeded at too late 
a period of the season, and allowed to become rare-inpe upon the 
stalk. The other cause is the very imperfect mode of its pre- 
paration for market : this being invariably accomplished by the 
primitive pestle and mortar, or the old-fashioned " pecker mill." 
The same seed is planted in the same soil from year to year, a 
system which, it is generally conceded, will deteriorate the quality 
and production of any grain crop. A very large proportion of the 
rice grown in Carolina is prepared for market at the steam toll-mills, 
in the vicinity of Charleston ; and a mill of this description near 
New Orleans, would remedy the greatest defect in the rice of the 
country, greatly increase the demand for the article, and undoubt- 
edly yield a large return for the investment. The toll mills at and 
around Charleston are, and always have been, prosperous. The 
mills of Mr. Lucas, in England, erected to clean "paddy," i.e. 
"rough rice," sent there in bulk from Carolina, have succeeded 
also, and have increased the consumption of the article in that 
country. The " rough rice," "paddy," or grain, as it comes from 
the ear, is composed, first, of a rough, silicioas outer covering, im- 
pervious to water, which is very useful in the neighbourhood of 
cities, for filling up low lots or pools, for horse beds, and for 
packing crockery and ice, being far better for the latter purpose 
than the saw-dust used ; second, a brown flour or bran, lying 
directly under the outer covering ; and third, of the clean or white 
rice. There is no question that, as a common diet, it is better 
adapted to the climate of Louisiana than Indian corn ; and it can 
be grown on the hitherto waste lands of tlie sugar plantations ; it 
is always substituted by the physician, when practicable, as the 
food best adapted to the laborer, in seasons of diarrhoea and 
other similar diseases, is preferred before any other grain by the 
negro ; and if the clean rice be ground and bolted, a meal is pro- 
duced which can be made up into various forms of cake and other 
bread, of unrivalled sweetness and delicacy. The outer flour, or 
brown bran, which is separated from the chafl" at the toll mill, is 
known as "rice flour," and corresponds to the " bran " of wheat, 
it is a most excellent food for horses, poultry, pigs and milcli cows, 
and would alwaj^s comm^and a ready sale in New Orleans. It is used 
extensively for these purposes at and around Charleston, and is 
shipped thence, by the cargo, to Boston and other Northern ports. 

No portion of the globe is better adapted to the growth of this 
grain than the delta of the Mississippi. The river is always " up 
and ready " to do the all-important duty of irrigation in March, 
April, May, and June, in which period of the year the crop ought 
to be made ; and I am informed, and doubt not, that iiuo cuttings 
can be obtained from the same plants, between March and the 
killing frosts of the succeeding November. 



2SS 



TvICE, 



An interesting report by Dr. E. Elliot, on the CultiTation of Eice. 
was read before the Pendleton Farmer's Soeietv. South Carolina, at 
a recent annual meeting, from which I shall make an extract. 

In " Uamsay's Histoiy of South. Carolina" it is stated : — " Landgrave Tliomas 
Smitli, who Vas GoTernor of tlie Province in 1693, had been at Madagascar be- 
fore he settled in Carolina. There he observed that rice -^as planted and grew in 
low moist ground. Having such ground in his garden, attached to his dwelling 
in East Bay, Charleston, he was persuaded that rice would grow therein, if seed 
could be procured. About this time a vessel from Madagascar, being in distress, 
came to anchor near Sullivan's Island. The master inquired for Mr. Smith, as 
an old acquaintance. An. interview took place. In the course of conversation 
Mr. Smith expressed a wish to obtain, some seed rice to plant in his garden. 
The cook being called, said that he had a small bag of rice suitable for the pur- 
pose. This was presented to Mr. Smith, who sowed it in a low spot in Longi- 
tude Lane. From this small beginning did one of the great staple commodities 
of South Caa'olina takes its rise, which soon became the ckief support of the 
colony, and its great source of opulence." 

" Such is the historical account of the introduction of rice into South Caro- 
lina ; and from that day to this, it has constituted one of her staple articles of 
production. Although the climate and soil were found admirably suited to tbe 
plant, the planters encountered incredible difficulty in preparing or dressing the 
rice for market. From the day of its introduction, to the close of the Eevo - 
lution, th.e grain was milled, or dressed, partly by hand and r .';rt-v I v animal 
power. But the processes were imperfect, very tedious, very . to the 

laborer, and very exhausting to the animal power. The planter '.l .1 a good 

crop as an equivocal blessing, for as the product was great so in proportion was 
the labor of preparing it for market. "While matters stood thus, the planters 
were released from their painful condition by a circumstance so curious tbat it 
deserves a place in the bistory of human inventions. A planter from the Santee, 
whilst walking in King-street, Charleston, noticed a small windmill perched on 
tbe gable end of a wooden store. His attention was arrested by the beauty of 
its performance. He entered the store and asked wno the maker was. He was 
told that he was a Northumbrian, then resident in the house — a man in neces- 
sitous circumstances, and wanting employment. A conference was held ; the 
planter carried the machine to the Santee, pointed out tbe difficulties under 
which tbe planters labored, and the result was the rice pounding-mill. This 
man was the first Mr. Lucas, and to his genius South Carolina owes a large 
debt of gratitude. For what the cotton planter owes to Eli "SVhitney. the rice 
planter owes to Mr. Lucas. His mills were first impelled by water, but more 
recently by steam, and though much mechanical ingenuity and much capital bave 
been expended in improving them, tlie rice potmding-niill of this day, in all^ssen- 
tial particulars, does not difier materially from the mill as it came from the hands 
of Mr. Lucas. 

This great impediment being removed, one formidable difficulty still remained 
in the way of the rice planters, and that was the threshing of the crop by flail. 
The labor requisite to accomplish this was so great, that we once heai'd a dis- 
tinguished planter say, while having one large crop threshed out by flail, that 
he would regard another large crop as a calamity. ProTious to 1S30 tkreshing 
mills had been tried by various individuals, but with no apparent success. In 
that year the attempt was renewed, and we were present and witnessed the fii'st 
trial of a thresher, constructed in XewTork, and which ? re-' 1 on Sava nn ah 
river, under the auspices of General Hamilton. Tbe rrr :r ^-.s diiven by 
apparatus similar to that employed for diiving the cotte r. _:r. ^ result was 
not very satisfactory, but there was grotmd for hox^e, and aiter an outlay of very 
large sums, and after many disappointn^ents, the happy expedient was tbought 
of, of testing the mill with steam instead of animal power. The experiment 
was completely successful, and it was manifest at once th.at the difficulties had 
not been in the imperfect construction of the thi-esher, but in the insufficiency 
of the moving power. 

It is now twenty yeai's since we witnessed the working of the small mill 
alluded to, and tbe rice tbreshing-mill, with steam-engine attached, is now a 
splendid piece of operative machinery. The rice in sheaf is taken up to the 



289 



thresher by a conreror, it is thi-eshed, the straw taken off, then thrice winno-wed 
and twice screened, and the result in some cases exceeds a thousand bushels of 
clean rough rice, the work of a short winter day. 

Humanity rejoices at these inventions — at this ti'ansfer to water and steam, of 
processes so slow and so exhausting to the human as well as to the animal frame 
— and in this feeling we are confident every planter deeply sympathises. More- 
over, the relief they have afforded in other respects has been perfectly inde- 
scribable. Previous to these improvements all the finer portions of the -winter 
were appropriated exclusively to the millicg and the thi'eshi;:g of the crop 
with the flail, yet it is manifest they added not one particle to the value of the 
property ; indeed, while going on, all other work, and all preparation for another 
crop had to be suspended, so that the condition of the plantation was not pro- 
gressive, but retrograde. 

A short recapitulation will show what has been accomplished by the enter- 
prise of our planters in the last seventy years. At the close of the Revolution 
it is believed the rice fields were poorly drained, and when broken up were chieflj 
turned with the hoe, then trenched with the hoe ; then came three or four hoe- 
ings and as many pickings. The rice was then cut with, the sickle and carried 
in on the head, then threshed with the flail, then milled and dressed, in some 
cases wholly by Imman labor, and in others by a rude machine, called a pecker 
mill. Xow, in 1852, the hoeing, the pickings, and the cutting with the sickle 
remain unchanged ; but the lands are better drained, and in the turning the 
plough has superseded the hoe ; the trenching, when, necessary, is done by 
animal power ; the rice, when cut, is carried in on a flat and wagon, then 
threshed and milled by machinery, so perfect that it is difficult to imagine how 
it can be sui-passed. 

It is one hundred and fifty-nine years since the introduction of rice into 
Carolina, and there are grounds for supposing that our peo[ le have accomplished 
more during that period, in the cultivation and preparation of this grain, than 
has been done by any of the Asiatic nations who have been conversant with its 
growth for many centm-ies. AVe had the rare opportunity, a few years since, of 
seeing a Chinese book on rice planting, which contained many engravings. The 
language we could not rea-?, but we comprehended a sufficient number of the 
engra\'ings to institute a comparison between their system and our own, and the 
result was, in our method of irrigation we were their equals, while in economy 
of cultivation, and in the preparation of the grain for market ard for use, we 
are greatly their superiors. Again, some six or seven years since the East India 
Company, of London, sent an agent to this coimtry to procm-e American cotton 
seed, gins, and overseers, for the purpose of testing the practicability of raising 
cotton by our method in India. This agent. Captain Bayles, Avhen in Savannah, 
was heard to say that he had especial directions from the Company to inform 
himself minutely of cur system of rice culture. Here, then, was an embassage 
from the banks of the Ganges, a spot where rice has been cultivated probably for 
twenty centuries, to inquire into the method of cultivation and preparation, of a 
people amongst whom the grain had no existence one hiindred and sixty 
years ago." 

The follo\Ting is the mode of culture for rice in Carolina : — 
It is so^ed as soon as it conveniently can he after the vernal 
equinox, from, which period until the middle, and even the last of 
Maj, is the usual time of putting it in the ground. It grows 
best in low marshy land, and shoidd be sowed in ftuTows twelve 
inches asunder ; it requires to be flooded, and thrives best if six 
inches under water ; the water is occasionally drained off, and 
turned on again to overflow it, for three or four times. 

When ripe the straw becomes yellow, and it is either reaped 
with a sickle, or cut down with a scythe and cradle, some time in 
the month of September ; after which it is raked and bound, or 

I' 



290 



EICE. 



got up loose, and threshed or trodden out, and winnowed in the 
same manner as wheat or barley. 

Husking it requires a different and particular operation, in a 
mill made for that purpose. This mill is constructed of two large 
flat wooden cylinders, formed like mill-stones, with channels or 
furrows cut therein, diverging in an oblique direction from the 
centre to the circumference, made of a heavy and exceedingly hard 
timber, called lightwood, which is the knots of the pitch pine. 
This is turned with the hand, like the common hand-mills. After 
the rice is thus cleared of the husks, it is again winnowed, when 
it is fit for exportation. 

A bushel of rice will weigh about sixty or sixty-six pounds, and 
an acre of middling land will produce twenty-five bushels. 

Various machines have been contrived for cleaning rice, of which 
one secured by patent to Mr. M. Wilson, in 1826, and thus de- 
scribed by Dr. Ure, may be regarded as a fair specimen : — It con- 
sists of an oblong hollow cylinder, laid in an inclined position, 
having a great many teeth stuck in its internal surface, and a 
central shaft, also furnished with teeth. By the rapid revolution 
of the shaft, its teeth are carried across the intervals of those of 
the cylinder, with the efiect of parting the grains of rice, and 
detaching whatever husks or impurities may adhere to them. A 
hopper is set above to receive the rice, and conduct it down into 
the clean cylinder. About eighty teeth are supposed to be set in 
the cylinder, projecting so as to reach very nearly the central 
shaifc, in which there is a corresponding number of teeth, that 
pass freely between the former 

The cylinder may also be placed upright, or horizontal if pre- 
ferred, and mounted in any convenient framework. The central 
shaft should be put in rapid rotation, while the cylinder receives 
a slow motion in the opposite direction. The rice, as cleaned by 
that action, is discharged at the lower end of the cylinder, where 
it falls into a shute, and is conducted to the ground. The machine 
may be driven by hand, or by any other convenient motive power,* 

The growth of rice in North America is almost wholly confined 
to two States ; nine-tenths of the whole product, indeed, being 
raised in the States of South Carolina and Georgia. A little is 
grown in North Carolina, Lousiana, and Mississippi. 

The aggregate crop, for 1843, amounted to 89,879,185 lbs., 
while in 1847 it had risen to 103,000,000 lbs. 

Besides the rice which is raised in the water, there is also the 
dry, or mountain rice, which is raised in some parts of Europe on 
the sides of the hills. It is said to thrive well in Cochin China, 
in dry light soils, not requiring more moisture than the usual 
rains or dews supply. By long culture the G-erman rice, raised 
by the aid of water, is stated to have acquired a remarkable degree 
of hardness and adaptation to the climate. The upland rice of 
the United States is thought by some to be only a modified de- 



* Diet, of Arts and Manufacture, 



RICE. 



291 



??cription of tlie swamp rice. It will grow on high and poor land, 
and produce more than Indian corn on the same land would do, 
even fifteen bushels, when the corn is but seven bushels. The 
swamp rice was originally cultivated on high land, and is not so 
now, because it is more productive in the swamp, in the propor- 
tion, as is said, of twenty to sixty bushels per acre ; and the use 
of water likewise, it is stated, makes it easier of cultivation, bj 
enabling the planter to kill the grasses. It is thought that on 
rich high land, rice may be made to produce twenty-five or thirty 
bushels to an acre in a good season. A letter from a gentleman 
in Xorth CaroHna gives the following account of some rice raised 
there. He says : — 

" I have planted it the two past years with a view to private consumption 
only; not, however, with the success of my neighhours, who are famous, 
and have the things under their own management. They make from forty 
to fifty, and some, sixty bushels to the acre, on fine land that produces 
ordinarily from ten to fifteen bushels of Indian corn or maize. It is a larger 
grain than the gold or swamp rice, and very white; hence it is commonly called 
here the ' white rice.' It is planted generally about the middle of March, or 
1st of April, in small ridges two-and-a-half feet apart, in chops at intervals 
of about eighteen inches, on the top of the ridge, ten or twelve seeds in each 
chop, A season that will make Indian corn, will, if long enough, make this 
rice ; but it requires about four or five weeks more than the corn to mature. 
It ought to be cut before quite ripe, as it threshes oft' very easily, and is liable 
to great waste. Instead of the flail, we take the sheaf in the hand, and whip 
it across a bench in a close room until the rice leaves the straw. It does not 
stand the pestle as well as the swamp rice, but breaks a good deal in the beat- 
ing ; this, however, I have heard attributed to the dry culture." 

A new variety of rice is mentioned as having been discovered 
in South Carolina, in 1838, called the big-grained rice. It has 
been proved to be unusually productive. One gentleman, in 1840, 
planted not quite half an acre with this seed, which yielded fort}^- 
nine and a half bushels of clean winnowed rice. In 1842, he 
planted 400 acres, and in 1843, he sowed his whole crop with this 
seed. His first parcel when milled, was eighty barrels, and netted 
half a dollar per cwt. over the primest rice sold on the same day. 
Another gentleman also planted two fields in 1839, which yielded 
seventy-three bushels per acre. The average crop before from the 
same fields of fifteen and ten acres, had only been thirty-three 
bushels per acre. 

The following were the returns of produce on some of the lead- 
ing estates of South Carolina, in 1848 : — 



Plantation. 


Barrels Ship- 
ped. 


Barrels 
of 

6001b3.net. 


Net 
Weight. 


Average ^Tet 
Produce, 
per barrel. 


Net In com 
Amount. 
Dollars. 


Whole. 


Half. 


1. Prospect Hill 

2. Springfijld 

3. Brook Green 

4. Longwood 

5. Alderly 


1,387 
737 
1,571 
1,113 
484 


10 

5 
15 
4 
6 


l,495i 
SOU 
1,716' 
1,2271 
533 


897,166 
480,937 
1,026,405 
736,413 
319,912 


16 08-lOOths. 
16 60-lOOths. 
16 53-lOOths. 

15 53-lOOths 

16 68-lOOths. 


24,001 
13,264 
28,261 
19,021 
8,851 


Total .... 


0,292 


40 


5,7731 


3,460,833 




93,398 



TJ 2 



292 



mcE. 



JN'os. 2 and 3 were sov>'u mth long grain rice, tiie others with 
small grain. These plantations were all on the river AYaccamaw. 
The expenses of a well supplied rice plantation may he stated at 
33 J per cent, on the net income. 

A gentleman from the United States, named Colvin, proposes to 
establish the cultivation of rice in the colony of Demerara. This is 
no new experiment, rice having been already grown with success in 
several parts of the colon}^ — for instance, in Leguan, up the Canje 
Creek, and elscTv liere ; and some of it is of superior quality, pre- 
ferable, indeed, to that imported. If Mr. Colvin' s object be not 
merely to demonstrate the practicabihty of rice being grown in 
British Guiana, but to promote its culti\'ation on such a scale 
as may tend to render it in time one of the staples of the colony, 
he is deserving of support, and I hope that his efforts will be 
crowned with complete success. 

The editor of the Gazeta, a local paper, has been shown some 
sprigs of rice raised near Matanzas, in Cuba, the smallest of which 
contains at least three hundred grains, perfectly opened, and of a 
larger size than is usually produced on the island. He observes 
that this phenomenon is not limited to a certain number of sprigs, 
but that the whole crop is similar — that this excess of production 
is to be attributed to the extraordinary abundance of rain this year. 
"Here' we have a specimen," says the editor, "of the enormous 
production that could be raised in our fields of this excellent and 
nutritious graiu, if it were cultivated in places contiguous to the 
rivers, ^^liere it could be flowed during drought." 

The experiment of cultivating rice in France appears to have suc- 
ceeded perfectly. A piece of ground of 100 hectares in extent (250 
acres) was sown v iih rice last year in the laiids of Arcachon, near 
Bordeaux, and the crop proved a highly satisfactory one. The seed 
is sown about the middle of April, and almost immediately ap- 
pears above ground. 

Eice may be kept a very long period in the rough — I believ e 
a lifetime. After being cleaned, if it be prime rice, and well 
milled, it will keep a long tune in this climate ; only vrlien about 
to be used (if old) it requii-es more careful washing to get rid of 
the must, which accumulates upon it. Some planters — the wi'iter 
among the number — prefer for table use rice a year old to the 
new. The grain is superior to any other provisions in this re- 
spect. If a laborer in the gold diggings, or elscAvhere, takes with 
him two days' or a week's provisions, in rice, and his wallet hap- 
pens to get wet, he has only to open it to the sun and air, and 
he will find it soon dries, and is not at all injured for his pur- 
pose. Bough rice may remain under water twenty-four hours 
without injury, if dried soon after. 

Passing eastward, rice begins to be found cultivated in Egypt, 
becomes more general in Northern India, and holds undisputed 
rule in the peninsulas of India, in China, Japan, and the East 
India islands — shares it in the west coast of Africa with maize, 
which, on the other liand, is the exclusively cultivated corn plant of 



Rici:. 



293 



the greatest part of tropical America, with only some uuimportaut 
exceptions. On the coast of Africa rice ripens in three months ; 
they put it under water when cut, where it keeps sound and good 
for some time. 

Eice is now the staple commodity of Bourhon, and it produces 
about 26,000 quintals annually. It forms, together with maize 
and mandioc, the principal article of food amongst the negroes and 
colored people. 

The Bhull rice lands of Lower Sind. — Like all large rivers which 
flow through an alluvial soil, for a very lengthened course, the 
Indus has a tendency to throw up patches of alluvial deposit at 
its mouth ; and these are in Sind called bhidls, and are in general 
very valuable for the cultivation of the red rice of the country. 
These bJiuIls are large tracts of very muddy swampy land, almost 
on a level vdth the sea, and exposed equally to be flooded both by 
it and the fresh water ; indeed on this depends much of the value 
of the soil, as a hhuU which is not at certain times well covered 
with salt water, is unfit for cultivation. They exist on both sides 
of the principal mouths of the Indus, in the Grorabaree and Shah- 
bunder pergunnas, which part of the province is called by the natives 
" Kukralla," and was in olden days, before the era of Groolam Shah 
Kalora, a small state almost independent of the xlmeers df Sind. 
On the left bank of the mouths of the river these hliidls are very 
numerous and form by far the most fertile portion of the surround- 
ing district. They bear a most dreary, desolate, and swampy ap- 
pearance — are intersected in all directions by streams of salt and 
brackish water, and are generally surrounded by low dykes or em- 
bankments, in order to regulate the influx and reflux of the river 
and sea. Yet from these dreary swamps a very considerable por- 
tion of the rice consumed in Sind is produced ; and the Zemin- 
dars, who hold them, are esteemed amongst the most respectable 
and wealthy in Lower Sind. 

To visit a hliull is no easy matter. Route by land there is none, 
and the only way is to go by boat, in which it is advisable to take 
at least one day's provisions and water, as the timeoc3npied in the 
inspection will be regulated entirely by the state of the tide and 
weather. Yery diflicult is it too, to land on any of these places, 
the mud being generally two or three feet deep, and it is only 
here and there that a footing can be secured, in the embankment 
surrounding the field. 

Let me now describe the mode of cultivating these anomalous is- 
lands, floating as it were in the ocean, and deriving benefit both 
from it and the mighty river itself, whose oflTspring they are. 
Should the river daring the high season have thrown up a hJiull, 
the Zemindar selecting it for cultivation, first surrounds it with a 
low bund of mud, which is generally about three feet in height. 
When the river has receded to its cold weather level, and the hJmll 
is free of fresh water (for be it remembered, that these hliulls being 
formed dnring tlie inundation, are often considerably removed from 
the river branches during the low season), he takes advantao'e of tlie 



BICE. 

first higli spring tide, opens the bund and allows the whole to be 
covered with the salt water. This is generally done in December, 
The sea water remains on the land for about nine weeks, or 
till the middle of February, which is the proper time for sowing 
the seed. The salt water is now let out, and as the ground can- 
not, on account of the mud, be ploughed, buffaloes are driven over 
every part of the field, and a few seeds of the rice thrown into 
every footmark ; the men employed in sowing being obliged to 
crawl along the surface on their bellies, with the basket of seed on 
their backs ; for were they to assume an upright position, they 
would inevitably be bogged in the deep swamp. The holes con- 
taining the seed are not covered up, but people are placed on the 
bunds to drive away birds, until the young grain has well sprung 
up. The land is not manured, the stagnant salt water remaining 
on it being sufficient to renovate the soil. The rice seed is 
steeped in water, and then in dung and earth for three or four 
days, and is not sown until it begins to sprout. The farmer has 
now safely got over his sowing, and as this rice is not as in other 
cases transplanted, his next anxiety is to get a supply of fresh 
water ; and for this he watches for the freshes which usually come 
down the river about thft middle and end of February, and if the 
river then reaches his hlmll, he opens his bund, and fills the en- 
closure with the fresh water. The sooner he gets this supply the 
better, for the young rice will not grow in salt water, and soon 
withers if left entirely dry. 

The welfare of the crop now depends entirely on the supply of 
fresh water. A very high inundation does not injure the Ihwll cul- 
tivation, as here the water has free space to spread about. In fact 
the more fresh water the better. If, however, the river remains 
low in June, July, and August, and the south-west monsoon sets 
in heavily on the coast, the sea is frequently driven over the 
IJiuUs and destroys the crops. It is in fact a continual struggle 
between the salt water and the fresh. When the. river runs out 
strong and full, the hliulls prosper, and the sea is kept at a dis- 
tance. On the other hand, the salt water obtains the supremacy 
when the river is low, and then the farmer sulfers. In this man- 
ner much hliull crop was destroyed in the monsoons of 1851 and 
1852, during the heavy gales which prevailed in those seasons. 
The rice is subject to attacks also of a small black sea crab, called 
by the natives Kookaee, and which, without any apparent cause, 
cuts down the growing grain in large quantities, and often occasions 
much loss. 

The crop when ripe, which, if all goes well will be about the 
third week in September, is reaped in the water by men, either in 
boats, or on large masses of straw rudely shaped like a boat, and 
which being made very tight and close, will float for a considerable 
time. The rice is carried ashore to the high land, where it is 
dried, and put through the usual harvest process of division, &c. : 
and the Ihull is then on the fall of the river again ready for its an- 
nual pickling. 



SICE. 



295 



The process of preparing the field for rice culture, in the Kan- 
dian coimtrj, Ceylon, is very simple. 

When the paddy is to be cultivated in mud, a piece of ground 
is enclosed in a series of squares or terraces, by ridges raised with 
mud and turf; a quantity of water is directed into the field from 
an adjacent stream or tank, and is allowed to remain on it for 
fifteen days ; at the expiration of this time the field is ploughed 
with a yoke of buftaloes, which operation is repeated at the end 
of fifteen days more, when, by the rotting of the weeds and other 
matter, the field has become manured. After another interval of 
fifteen days the field is again ploughed and the broken ridges are 
repaired. Eight days after the field is harrowed, and subsequently 
rolled or levelled ; and when the water has been let out the seed 
is sown, having in most instances been previously made to germi- 
nate, by being spread on platforms and kept wet. 

The water is turned in during night, to prevent crabs and insects 
from destroying the seedlings, and let out during the day ; and 
this they continue to do till the plants attain the height of one 
foot. Water is only retained in the field until the ears are half 
ripe, otherwise they would ripen indifierently and be destroyed 
by vermin. A variety of coast paddy, called "moottoo samboo," 
was introduced into the Kandian province in 1832, which was 
found to produce a more abundant crop, by one third, than the 
native. It is of six months growth. 

In Kashmir rice is the staple of cultivation, and the practice 
adopted there is thus described by a Avriterinmy " Colonial Maga- 
zine," vol. X. p. 180, It is sown in the begining of May, and is fit to 
cut about the end of August. The grain is either sown broadcast in 
the place where it is intended to stand till it is ripe, or thickly in 
beds, from which it is transplanted when the blade is about a foot 
high. As soon as the season will admit after the 21st of March, 
the land is opened by one or more ploughings, according to its 
strength, and the clods are broken down by blows with wooden 
mattocks, managed in general by women, with great regularity 
and address ; after which Avater is let in upon the soil, which for 
the most part of a reddish clay, or foxy earth, is converted into a 
smooth soft mud. The seed grain, put into a sack of woven grass, 
is submerged in a running stream until it begins to sprout, which 
happens sooner or later, according to the temperature of the water 
and of the atmosphere, but ordinarily takes place in three or four 
days. This precaution is adopted for the purpose of getting the 
young shoots as quicldy as possible out of the way of a small 
snail, which abounds in some of the watered lands of Kashmir, but 
sometimes proves insufiicient to defend it against the activity of 
this destructive enemy. When the farmer suspects, by the scanty 
appearance of the plants above the water in which the grain has 
been sown, and by the presence of the snail dra^vn up in the mud, 
that his hopes of a crop are likely to be disappointed, he repeats 
the sowing, throwing into the water some fresh leaves of the 
Prango.3 plant, which either poison the snails or cause them to 



296 



KICE, 



descend out of the reach of its influence. The seed is for the 
most part thrown broadcast into about four or five inches of 
water, which depth is endeavoured to be maintained. Difference 
of practice exists as to watering, but it seems generally agreed 
that rice can scarcely have too much water, provided it be not 
submerged, except for a few days before it ripens, when a dried 
state IS supposed to hasten and to perfect the maturity, whilst 
it improves the quality of the grain. In general the culture of 
rice is attended with little expense, although dearer in Kashmir 
than Hindostan, from its being customary in the former countr}'' 
to manure the rice-lands, which is never done in the latter. This 
manure, for the most part, consists of rice straw rejected by the 
cattle, and mixed with cowdung. It is conveyed from the home- 
stead to the fields by women, in small wicher baskets, and is set 
on the land with more liberality than might have been expected 
from the distance it is carried. Many of the rice lands are 
situated much higher than might be thought convenient in 
Hindostan, and are rather pressed into this species of culture 
than naturally inciting, but still yield good crops, through the 
facility with which water is brought upon them from the streams 
which fall down the face of the neighbouring hiEs. In common 
seasons the return of grain is from thirty to forty for one, on 
an average, besides the straw. 

The rice of Bengal, by the exercise of some care and skill, has re- 
cently been so far improved as nearly to equal that of the Carolinas. 
Dr. ralconer has introduced into India the numerous and fine 
varieties of rice cultivated in the Himalayas ; of these some of the 
best sorts were at his suggestion distributed to cultivators along 
the Doab canal. 

A species of hill rice grows on the edge of the Himalaya moun- 
tains. The mountain rices of India are grown without irrigation, 
at elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 feet on the Himalaya, where the 
dampness of the summer months compensates for the want of 
artificial moisture. The small reddish Assamese rices, which be- 
come gelatinous in boiling, and the large, flat-grained, soft, 
purple-black Ketana rice, of Java and Malacca, shown at the 
Great Exhibition, were curious. 

The fertility of the province of Arracan is very great, its soil being 
fit for the culture of nearly all tropical productions ; rice, however, 
is alone cultivated to any great extent ; the low alluvial soil which 
extends over the whole country, from the foot of the mountains to 
the sea, being admirably suited for its growth. About 115 square 
miles are under culture with rice. The export trade in rice of the 
district, is seen by the following statistical return ; and it gives 
employment to from 400 to 700 vessels, aggregating 60,000 to 
80,000 tons. 



HICE. 



297 



QUANTITY OF PADDY AXD KICE EXPORTED FflOM AK.YAB, THE PORT OF 
ARRACAX. 





Maunds 
of paddy. 


Maunds of 
rice. 


Total value 
Kupees. 


Average price j 
of 12 seers, 

Eice. 


er 100 baskets 
in Rupees. 

Paddy. 


1831-32 


380,600 


28,970 


130.591 


15-4 to 16-6 


8 


to 9 


1832-33 


502,740 


175,560 


232,915 


16 


17 


7-5 


8 


1833-34 


555, 540 


418,950 


430,830 


19 


20 


9 


10 


1834-35 


127,050 


260,650 


176,717 


18 


.19 


8 


9 


1835-36 


783,870 


548,460 


354,791 


10 


11 


5 


5-8 


1836-37 


1,737,841 


641,010 


666,732 


10-8 


12 


5 


6 


1837-38 


1,621,566 


248,783 


650,385 


21 


23 


9 


10-8 


1838-39 


1,364,100 


332,380 


821,168 


24 


25-1 


8-8 


1112 


1839-40 


2,033,698 


529,961 


1,121,311 


21-8 


23 


9-8 


10 


1840-41 


2,212,068 


446,941 


1,131,087 


20 


21-8 


10 


11 


1841-42 


1,265,388 


270,000 


553,014 


19 


20 


8 


9 


1842-43 


1,310,900 


393,900 


472,889 


14 


15 


7-8 


8 


1843-44 


848,922 


707,780 


633,710 


17 


18 


7 


8 



— (" Coloiiial Magazine," yol. vi., p. 348.) 



EXPORT OF RICE FROM MOULMEIX. 

Baskets. Value. 

1840 . . 67,218 . . 38,708 

1841 . . 11,175 . . 6,900 

1842 . . 64,055 . . 40,034 

1843 . . 35,635 . . 35,289 

1844 . . 71,822 . . 44,529 

1845 . . 149,815 . . 73,034 

1846 . . 193,267 . . 101,465 

-(Siinmoncls'3 " Colonial Magazine," vol. xii., p. 482.) 



Erom Tavoy and Mergui rice Avas also exported, equal in value 
to 41,000 rupees, in 1846 ; 100 baskets of 12 seers each, are equal 
to 30 Bengal maunds. The basket of rice named above, is equal 
to 55 J lbs. English. 

Paddy means rice in the husk — ^rice, the grain when unhusked 
— a distinction to be kept in mind. 

The daily average consumption of rice in a family of five, is 
rated in the Straits' settlements at three and a quarter chupahs. 

The Burmese and Siamese are the grossest consumers of rice. 
A common laboring Malay requires monthly 30 chupahs, or 56 
pounds of rice, value 3s. 9d. or 43. The Burmese and Siamese 
about 34 chupahs, or 64 pounds. 'Rice land in Penang yields a 
return vrhich cannot be averaged higher than seventy-five fold — 
or nearly thirty guntangs of paddy for each orlong (1^ acres) ; 
but it has been considered advisable to rate it here at sixty 
fold only. 

The rice land of Province Wellesley gives an average 
return of 117^ fold ; the maximum degree of productiveness 
being 600 guntangs of paddy to an orlong of well flooded, alluvial 
land, or 150 fold, equal to 300 guntangs of clean rice, weighing 
nearly 4,520 English pounds. The present average produce has 



298 



been very moderately estimated at 470 guntangs the orlong of 
paddy. The quantity of seed invariably allotted for an orlong 
of land is four gimtangs. In Siam forty fold is estimated a good 
average produce. At Tavoy, on the Tenasserim coast, the maximum 
rate of productiveness of the rice land was, in 1825, and is still 
believed to be, nearly the same as the average of Siam ; while 
their average was only twenty-fold. — (Low, on " Straits Settle- 
ments.") 

E-ice in Cochin-China is the " staff of life," and forms the main 
article of culture. There are six different sorts grown ; two on 
the u.plands, used for confectionery, and yielding only one crop 
annually ; the other sorts affording from two to five crops a year ; 
but generally two, one in April and another in October ; or three 
when the inundations have been profuse. 

The late Dr. Grutzlaff stated, at a meeting of the Statistical 
Society of London, that the population of China was about 
367,000,000, and the returns of the land subject to tax as used in 
rice cultivation there, gave nearly half an acre to each living 
person ; and he farther stated that in the southern and well 
watered provinces, it is anything but uncommon to take two 
crops of rice, one of wheat, and one of pulse, from the same land 
in a single season. Sice is the only article the Chinese ever 
offer a bounty for ; the price fluctuates according to the seasons, 
from one and three-qaarfcer dollars to eight dollars per picul. 
Siam and the Indian Islands, particidarly Bali and Lombok, 
supply the empire occasionally with large quantities. 

The price of rice in China varies according to the state of the 
canals leading to the interior ; if they are full of water the prices 
rise ; if on the contrary they are low, prices fall in proportion at the 
producing districts. The amount of consumption is controlled, in a 
considerable degree, by the cost of transit ; when this is cheap 
prices rise from the general demand ; but when land-carriage to 
any extent has to be resorted to, they fall ; it raises prices so 
much at any great distance, that rice must be used very sparingly, 
from its enhanced price. It is obvious that if the waters are 
su.ificiently high to allow a boat to pass fully loaded, she does so 
at an expense of nearly 50 per cent, less than she would do, if, 
from want of water, she could only take half the quantity ; when 
transport is cheap every one obtains a full supply ; when it is 
dear the rice districts have more than they can consume. 

At home we are so much accustomed to the facilities of transit 
offered by railroads, canal boats, &c., that we do not readily take 
into consideration, that in China, except by water, all articles are 
conveyed from one place to another on men's shoulders. Taking 
the population of Canton at the usual estimate of a million, and 
allowing to each a catty a day, the quantity of rice required for 
one day's consumption alone in that city would be 10,000 piculs, 
of 133 lbs. each= 1,340,000 lbs. 

Java is the granary of plenty for all the Eastern Archipelago ; and 
the Dutch East India Company occupies itself in this culture with 



EICE. 



299 



solicitude, "^eil persuaded that a scarcity of rice might be fatal to 
its power. Ordinances to encom-age and increase this branch of 
agriculture, have been promulgated at different times by an autho- 
rity called to watch over the physical well-being of many millions 
of inhabitants. 

As an evident proof that the culture of rice, of which it would 
be difficult to fix the quantity produced annually, increases con- 
siderablv, I mav mention that the exportation from Java, in 1840, 
was 1,488,350 piculs of 125 Dutch lbs. 

Eice is cultivated in Java in three systems. The name of sawaJi 
is given to the rice fields, which can be irrigated artificially ; tepar^ 
or tagal, are elevated but level grounds ; and gagali, or ladang, 
are cleared forest grounds. The two last only give one crop ; a 
second crop may be obtained from the saicali, which then most 
commonly consists of katjang, from whicb oil is extracted, in 
kajpiis or fine cotton, and in uhie, a kind of potato. 

There are, says ^Ir. Crawfurd, two distinct descriptions of rice 
cultivated throughout the Indian islands, one which grows without 
the help of immersion in water, and another for which that im- 
mersion is indispensably requisite. In external character there is 
very little difference between them, and in intrinsic value not 
much. The marsli rice generally brings a somewhat higher price 
in the market. The great advantage of this latter consists in its 
superior fecimdity. Two very important varieties of each are well 
known to the Javanese husbandman, one being a large productive, 
but delicate grain, which requires about seven months to ripen, 
and the other a small, hardy, and less fruitful one, which takes liltle 
more than five months. The first we constantly find cultivated in 
rich lands, where one annual crop only is taken ; and the last in 
well watered lands, but of inferior fertility, where two crops may 
be raised. 

Both of these, but particularly the marsh rice, is divided into a 
great number of sub-varieties, characterised by being awned or 
otherwise, having a long or round grain, or being in color black, 
red, or white. The most singular variety is the O. glutinosa, of 
Humphius. This is never used as bread, but commonly preserved 
as a sweetmeat. The rudest, and probably the earliest practised 
mode of cultivating rice, consists in taking from forest lands a 
fugitive crop, after burning the trees, grass, and imderwood. The 
ground is turned up with the mattock, and the seed planted by 
dibbling between the stumps of trees. The period of sowing is 
the commencement of the rains, and of reaping that of the dry 
season. The rice is of course of that description which does not 
require immersion. 

The second description of tillage consists also in growing moun- 
tain or dry land rice. This mode is usually adopted on the com- 
mon upland arable lands, whicb cannot conveniently be irrigated. 
The grain is sown in the middle of the dry season, either broadcast or 
by dibbling, and reaped in seven or five months, as the grain 
happens to be the larger or the smaller variety. 



300 



ETCE. 



The culture of rice by the aid of the periodical rains forms the 
third mode. The grain being that Mnd vrhich requires submersion, 
the process of sowing and reaping is determined ^vith precision by 
the seasons. With the first fall of the rains the lands are ploughed 
and harrowed. The seed is sown in beds, usually by strewing 
yery thickly the corn in the ear. Trom these beds the plants, 
when 12 or 1-i days old, are removed into the fields and thinly set 
by the hand. They are then kept constantly immersed in water 
until within a fortnight of the harvest, when it is drawn ofi" to fa- 
cilitate the ripening of the gTain. 

The fourth mode of cultivating rice is by forcing a crop by ar- 
tificial irrigation, at any time of the year : thus, in one field, in 
various plots, the operations of sowing, ploughing, transplanting, 
and reaping may be seen at the same period. 

The fertile, populous, and industrious countries of the Eastern 
Archipelago export rice to their ]ieighbours. The most remark- 
able of these are Java, Bah, some parts of Celebes, with the most 
fertile spots of Sumatra, and of the Malay PeniDsula. Eice 
is generally imported to the^e western countries from those farther 
east, such as the Spice Islands. Java is the principal place of 
production for the consumption of the other islands, and the only 
island of the Archipelago that sends rice ahroad. The rice of the 
eastern districts is generally superior to that of the western. The 
worst rice is that of Indramayu, which is usually discolored. The 
subdivision of the province of Cheribon, called Grabang, yields rice 
of fine white grain, equal to that of Carolina. The rice of Gressie 
preserves best. All Indian rice is classed, in commercial language, 
into the three descriptions of table rice, white rice, and cargo rice. 
From the limited demand for the first, it is only to be had in 
Java, in small quantity. For the same reason the second is not 
procurable in large quantity, unless bespoken some time before- 
hand ; but the third may be had at the shortest notice in any quan- 
tity required. Java rice is inferior in estimation to that of Bengal 
or Carolina in the markets of Europe. 

The following statistics show the extent and progress of the 
culture in J ava : — 





In 1840. 


In 1841. 


No. of Eesidencies in which rice is cultivated 


18 


18 


,, Eegencies .... 


69 


68 


,, Districts .... 


414 


414 


Desas or ^aIlages 


39,931 


36,296 


Amount of the poxmlation vrho take a part in it, 






■without distinction of caste 


6,704,797 


6,857,372 


Isumber of families, kc. 


1,466,84-5 


1,475,675 


,, families who devote themselves to the 






cultivation .... 


1,150,406 


1,146,083 


Is" umber of men bound to obligatory service 


1,321,767 


1,325,746 


Cleared grounds in boJics, of 71 decametres 


1,470,047 


1,540,054 


Upon this extent the population had cultivated for 






the government, in bakus of 71 decametres 
Extent of fields Avbich the population had culti- 


78,182 


74,277 






vated on theii' own account, in hahus, Sec. 


1,286,139 


1,381,216 



RICE, 



301 



In 1840. In 1841. 

Extent of land in fallow in ^^7/^?^5, &c. . . 105,726 84,561 
Produce in piculs of fields cultivated by the popu- 
lation on its own account . . ' . 21,273,278 23,810,573 
Arerage produce of a hahv. . . . 16i 17 
Gross amount of the land tax of 1840 . . 8,502,1 02 fl. 9,030,761 fl. 
Extent of rice fields newly cultivated in 5a7«^* . 10,328 13,561 

This comparative summary shows that the culture of rice increases 
yearly, and that the average produce of the fields is also con- 
tinually increasing. These results have been obtained by the at- 
tention paid to the proper irrigation of the soil fit for this culture ; 
and to the hydraulic works which the Grovernment executes on 
its own account in the parts of the island where rice fields can be 
established, and where they are required to feed a population whose 
number is still increasing yearly. 

I have seen, continues ]Mr. Crawfurd, lands which have pro- 
duced, from time beyond the memory of any living person, 
two yearly crops of rice. AYhen this practice is pursued, it is 
always the five-months grain which is grown. The rapid growth 
of this variety, has, indeed, enabled the Javanese husbandman, in 
a few happy situations, to urge the culture to the amount of six 
crops in two years and a half. Eice cultivated in a virgin soil, 
where the wood lias been burnt off", will, under favorable circum- 
stances, give a return of twenty-five and thirty fold. Of mountain 
rice, cultivated in ordinary upland, arable lands, fifteen fold may 
be looked upon as a good return. In fertile soils, when one crop 
only is taken in the year, marsh rice will yield a return of twenty- 
five seeds. When a double crop is taken, not more than fifteen or 
sixteen can be expected. In the fine province of Kadu, an 
Enghsh acre of good land, yielding annually one green crop and 
a crop of rice, was found to produce of the latter 6^1 lbs. of clean 
grain. In the light sandy, but well watered lands of the province 
of Mataram, Avhere it is the common practice to exact two crops 
of rice yearly without any fallow, an acre was found to yield no 
more than 285 lbs. of clean rice, or an annual produce of 570 lbs. 
— ("History of the Indian Archipelago.") 

The low estimation of Java rice is not attributable to any real 
inferiority in the grain, but to the mode of preparing it for the 
market. In husking it, it is, for the want of proper machinery, 
much broken, and, from carelessness in drying, subject to decay 
from the attack of insects and v. orms. A\1ien in the progi^ess 
of improvement more intelligent methods are pursued in pre- 
paring the grain for the market, it will equal the grain of any 
other country. Machinery must be employed for husking the 
grain, and some degree of kiln drying will be necessary to en- 
sure its preservation in a long voyage. 

I know nowhere that rice is so cheap as in Java, except in 
Siam, whence it is exported at one-third less cost. A great deal 
of rice is exported from Siam to China by the junks, and also 
occasionally a little from Java. 



302 



BICE. 



The quantity exported from Java in 1830 ^as 13^521 coyang. 

„ „ 1835 . „ . 25,577 „ 

„ „ 1839 . „ . 1,103,378 piculs 

„ „ 1841 . „ . 676,213 „ 

„ „ 1843 . „ . 1,108,774 „ 

Bice is grown to some extent in tlie Dutch portion of Celebes ; 
it yields at a niinimnm one linndred and fifty fold. The ayerage 
annual delivery of rice to the G-oyernment, from 1838 to 1S42, 
was 3,390,119 lbs. At present the GoTernment pays sixty cents 
for a measure of forty pounds. That which is sold for the con- 
sumption of the inhabitants may be procured at the public 
warehouse for a guilder the 35 1 lbs. ; and that which is sold for 
export may be had at public auction for 125 florins the coyan of 
9,000 lbs. 

The following description of some varieties of rice cultivated in 
the Philippine islands, is given by Mr. Eich, botanist to the 
United States Exploring Expedition. The varieties are very 
numerous ; the natives distinguish them by the size and shape of 
their grain : — 

Binamhang. — Leaves slightly haiiy ; glumes whitish ; gro-s\"s to the height 
of about five feet ; flowers in December : aquatic. 

Lamuyo greatly resembles the above ; is more extensively cultivated, particu- 
larly in Batangas, where it forms the principal article of food of the inhabitants 
of the coast : aquatic. 

Malagcquit. — This variety derives its name from its being very glutinous 
after bailing ; it is much used by the natives in making sweet or fancy dishes; 
and also used in making a whitewash, mixed with Kme, which is remarkable 
for its brilliancy, and for withstanding rain, &c. : aquatic. 

Bontot Cabayo. — Common in Ilocos, where it is cultivated both upland and 
loAvland ; it produces a large grain, and is therefore much esteemed, but has 
rather a rough taste. 

JDiimaU, or earUj rice. — This rice is raised in the uplands exclusively, and 
derives its name from ripening its grain three months from planting ; the seed 
is rather broader and shorter than the other varieties ; it is not extensively 
cultivated, as birds and insects are very destructive to it. 

Quinanda, with smooth leaves. — This variety is held in great estimation by 
the peoj)le of Batangas, as they say it swells more in boiling than any other 
variety ; it is sown in May, and gathered in October : upland. 

Bolohan. — This variety has very hairy glumes; it is not held in much esteem 
by the natives, but it is cultivated on account of its not being so liable to the 
attacks of insects and diseases as most of tiie other upland varieties. 

Malagcquit. — With smooth leaves, and red gliimes (all the preceding are 
whitish) ; posseisss all the qualities of the aquatic variety of the same name — that 
of being very glutinous after boiling. This rice is said to be a remedy for worms 
in horses, soaked in water, with the hulls on; it is given with honey and water. 

Tangi. — Leaves slightly hairy, glumes light violet color. This upland 
variety is held in much esteem for its fine flavor. 

435,067 arrobas of rice were exported from Manilla in 1847. 

A simple but rude mill is in use in Siam, and many parts of 
India, for huUing paddy, which is similar to those used 4,000 
years ago. It consists of two circular stones, two feet in diameter, 
resting one on the other ; a bamboo basket is wrought around the 
upper one, so as to form the hopper. A peg is firmly set into the 
face of the upper stone, half way betvreen its periphery and centre, 
having tied to it by one end a stick three feet long, extended 



303 



horizontally, and attached by the other to another stick pending 
from the roof of the shed under which the mill is placed. This 
forms a crank, by which the upper stone is made to revolve on 
the other set firmly on the ground. The motion throws the rice 
through the centre of the stone, and causes it to escape between 
the edges of the two. 

More starch is contained in this graiu than in wheat. Bra- 
connet obtained from Carolina rice 85"07, and from Piedmont 
rice 83"8 per cent, of starch. Togel procured from a di'iedriceno 
less than 98 per cent, of starch. There are several patent pro- 
cesses in existence for the manufacture of rice-starch, which are 
accomplished chiefly by digesting rice in solutions, more or less 
strong, of caustic alkali (soda), by which the gluten is dissolved and 
removed, leaving an insoluble matter composed of starch, and a 
white substance technically called fibre. Under Jones's patent, 
the alkaline solution employed contains 200 grains of real soda in 
every gallon of liquor, ami 150 gallons of this liquor are requisite 
to convert 100 lbs. of rice into starch. In manufacturing rice- 
starch on a large scale, Patna rice yields 80 per cent, of market- 
able starch, and 8'2 per cent, of fibre, the remaining ll'8per cent, 
being made up of gluten, grufi*, or bran, and a small quantity of 
light starch carried off in suspension by the solution, 

Jones's process may be thus described: — 100 lbs. of rice are 
macerated for. 24 hours in 50 gallons of the alkaline solution, and 
afterwards washed with cold water, di-ained, and ground. To 100 
gallons of the alkaline solution are then to be added 100 lbs, of 
ground rice, and the mixture stirred repeatedly during 24 hours, 
and then allowed to stand for about 70 hoiu'S to settle or deposit. 
The alkahne solution is to be drawn off", and to the deposit cold 
water is to be added, for the double purpose of washing out the 
alkali and for drawing off the starch from the other matters. 
The mixture is to be well stirred up and then allowed to rest 
about an hour for the fibre to fall down. The liquor holding 
the starch in suspension is to be drawn off and allowed to stand 
for about 70 hours for the starch to deposit. The waste liquor is 
now to be removed, and the starch stirred up, blued (if thought 
necessary), drained, dried, and finished in the usual way,* 

Eice is imported into this country in bags of 1^ cwt., and tierces 
of 6 cwt,, not only for edible purposes, but, when ground into 
flour, for cotton manufactures, in aiding to form the weaver's 
dressings for warps. Eice-meal is commonly used for feeding 
pigs. 



1843 
1844 
1845 



Imported. 
British 

Plantation. Foreign, 

Bags. Bags. 

136,319 . . 35,125 

127,876 . . 69,112 

173,794 .. 5,713 



Retained for home consump- 
tion of all kinds. 
Bags. 
60,965 
126,733 
114,933 



* Pharmaceutical Journal, toI. 3, p, 138. 



304 



MILLET. 



Tons. Tons. Tons. 

1847 . . 38,736 . . 3,033 . . 28,375 

1848 . . 21,226 . . 4,631 . . 15,468 

1849 . . 19,397 1,410 .. 14,961 

Total imported. Ee -exported. 

1849 .... 976,196 cx^ts. . . 290,732 cvts. 

„ in the husk . 31,828 qrs. 

IS^jO .... 785,451 cxvts. . . 248,136 „ 

,, in the husk . 37,150 qrs. 

1851 .... 714,847 cwts. . . 345,677 „ 
,, in the husk . 31,481 qrs. 

1852 .... 989.316 cwts. . .. 414,507 „ 
„ in the husk . 23,946 qrs. 



The quantity of rice retained for Home consumption, hj tlie 
corrected returns, in 1850, was 401,018 c^vts. and 35,119 quarters; 
in 1851, 399,170 cwts. and 31,481 quarters ; in 1852, 574,809 
cwts. and 23,946 quarters. The aggregate imports range from 
40,000 to 80,000 tons annuaUy, of wliicli about 500 to 800 tons 
are in the husk. 

Among culmiferous plants and legumes used in the East, are the 
Fanicum italicum, P. miliaceum, Eleusine coracana (the meal of 
which is baked and eaten in Ceylon under the name of Corakan 
flour), and Pasimluni of several varieties. The pigeon pea {Cytisus 
Gajaii), and a very valuable and prolific species of bean, called the 
Mauritius black beau {Mucuna utilis), growing even in the poorest 
soil, is cultivated in India and Ceylon. Sorghum vulgar e is the 
principal grain of Southern Arabia, and the stems are also used 
extensively for feeding cattle. The plant bears its Indian name 
of joar, or jim, and is cultivated throughout Western Hindostan. 
Job's tears (Q^oicc lachryma) is another cereal grass, native of the 
the East Indies.- 



MILLET. 

Millet of different kinds is met with in the hottest parts of 
Africa, in the South of Europe, in Asia Minor, and in the East 
Indies. It is a small yellowish seed, growing in dense panicles or 
clusters, the produce of a grassy plant with large and compact 
seeds, growing to the height, in India, of seven or eight feet. 

The millets, known to Europeans as petit mais, are troj)ical or 
sub-tropical crops. In India they hold a second rank to rice alone ; 
and in Egypt, perhaps, surpass all other crops in importance. In 
"Western Africa they are the staff of life. The red and white 
millets shown by Austria, Eussia, and the L'nited States, at the 
Great Exhibition, were beautiful, and Ceylon exhibited fair sam- 
ples. Turkey abounds in small grains. 

JPanicum miliaceum and P.frmnentaceum are the species grown in 
the East Indies. Loudon says there are three distinct species of 
millet ; the Polish, the common or G-erman, and the Indian. Setaria 
Germanica yields German millet. The plants are readily increased 



MILLET. 



305 



by division of the roots or by seed, aud will grow in any common 
soil. Tlie native West Indian species are P. fascisculatiim and 
oryzoides. Millet receives some attention in New South "Wales. 
In 1844 there were 100 acres of land under cultivation with it, 
and the amount grown in some years in this colony has been 
about 3,500 bushels. 

In the United States millet is chiefly gTOwn for making hay, 
being found a good substitute for clover and the ordinary grasses. 
It is a plant which will flourish weU on rather thin soils, and it 
grows so fast that when it is up and well set it is seldom much 
affected by drought. It is commonly sown there in June, but 
the time of sowing will vary with the latitude. Half a bushel of 
seed to the acre is the usual quantity, sown broadcast and har- 
rowed in. For the finest quantity of hay, it is thought advisable 
to sow an additional quantity of three or four quarts of seed. 
The ordinary yield of crops may be put at from a ton to a ton and 
a half of hay to the acre. It should be cut as soon as it is out of 
blossom ; if it stands later, the stems are liable to become too 
hard to make good hay. The variety known as German millet 
is that most common in jN'orth America. It grows ordinarily to 
the height of about three feet, with compact heads from six to 
nine inches in length, bearing yellow seed. There are some sub- 
varieties of this, as the white and purple-seeded. 

The Italian millet, Setaria italica, is larger than the preceding, 
reaching the height of four feet in tolerable soil, and its leaves are 
correspondingly larger aud thicker. The heads are sometmies a 
foot or more in length, and are less compact than the Grerman, being 
composed of several spikes slightly branching from the main stem. 
It is said to derive its specific name from being cultivated in Italy, 
though its native habitat is India. It ia claimed by some that 
this variety will yield more seed than any other, and the seed is 
rather larger, but the stalk is coarser, and would probably be less 
relished by stock. 

If the greatest amount of seed is desired from the crop, it is 
best to sow it in drills, two to two-and-a-half feet apart, using a 
seed drill for the purpose. This admits of the use of a small 
harrow or cultivator between the rows, while the plants are small, 
which keeps out the weeds. The crop will ripen more uniformly 
in this way than broadcast, and enables the cultivator to cut 
it when there will be the least waste. The seed shatters out 
very easily when it is ripe, and when the crop ripens unequally it 
cannot be cut w^ithout loss, because either a portion of it will be 
immature, or, if left till it is all ripe, the seed of the earliest falls 
out. It should be closely watched, and cut in just about the same 
stage that it is proper to cut wheat, while the grain may be 
crushed between the fingers. It may be cut with a grain cradle, 
and, when dry, bound and shocked like grain ; but it should be 
threshed out as soon as practicable, on account of its being usually 
much attacked by birds, many kinds of which are very fond of the 
seed. In particular localities they assail the crop in such uum- 

X 



306 



MILLET. 



bers, from the time it is out of the " milk," till it is harvested and 
carried off the field, that it is no object to attempt: to ripen it. 
This crop is sometimes sown in drills, when it is only intended for 
fodder, being cut and cured in bundles, as the stalks of Indian 
corn are. It is best to pass it through a cutting machine before 
feeding it to stock ; indeed, all millet hay will be fed with less 
loss in this way, than if fed to animals without cutting. 

The seed is used in various European countries as a substitute 
for sago, for which it is considered excellent. It is likewise a 
valuable food for poultry, particularly for yoang chickens, which 
from the smallness of the grain can eat it readily, and it appears 
to be wholesome for them. 

In some countries millet seed is ground into flour and converted 
into bread ; but this is brown and heavy. It is, however, useful 
in other respects, as a substitute for rice. A good vinegar has been 
made from it by fermentation, and, on distillation, it yields a strong 
spirit. Millet seed — the produce of H. saccharatum — is imported 
into this country from the East Indies for the purpose chiefly of 
puddings ; by many persons it is preferred to rice. It is cultivated 
largely in China and Cochin-China. The stalks, if subjected to the 
same process that is adopted with the sugar-cane, yield a sweet 
juice, from which an excellent kind of sugar may be made. 

Millet will grow best on light, dry soils. The ground being first 
well prepared, half a bushel of seed to the acre is ploughed in at 
the commencement of the rains, in India. The crop ripens within 
three months from the time of sowing. The usual produce is about 
16 bushels to the acre. The Canary Islands export annually about 
212,400 bushels of millet. 

Great Indian Millet, or Guinea Corn. — This is a native of India 
(the Sorghum vulgare, the Andropogon Sorghum of Eoxburgh), 
which produces a grain a little larger than mustard or millet seed. 
It is grown in most tropical countries, and has peculiar local names. 
In the West Indies, where it is chiefly raised for feeding poultry, 
it is called Gruinea corn. In Egypt it is known as Dhurra, in 
Hindostan and Bengal as Joar, and in some districts as Cush. 

In Lower Scinde joar is very extensively cultivated, as w^eU as 
bajree {H. spicatus). It is harvested in December and January; 
requires a light soil, and is usually grown in the east, after 
Cgnosurus corocanus. 

Gruinea corn is extensively cultivated in some parts of Jamaica. 
I did not, however, find it thrive on the north side of the island. 
It is best planted in the West Indies between September and 
November, and ripens in January. It ratoons or yields a second 
crop, when cut. The returns are from 30 to 60 bushels an acre, 
but the crops are uncertain. 

Mr. C. Bravo tried Gruinea corn at St. Ann's, Jamaica, as a 
green crop, sown broadcast, for fodder, and it answered admirably, 
the produce being very considerable. It was weighed, and yielded 
14 tons of fodder per acre, and was found very palateable and nu- 
tritious for cattle. It was grown on a very poor soil, which had, 



MILLET. 



307 



previously to ploughing, given nothing but marigolds and weeds. 
The luxuriant growth of the corn completely kept under the weeds. 
A great number of the stalks were measured, and they averaged 
10 feet from the root to the top of the upper leaf It had been 
planted 10 weeks, and had, therefore, grown a foot a month. 
Mr. Bravo is of opinion, that sown broadcast it would answer 
either as a grain crop, as fodder, or ploughed in to increase the 
fertility of the soil. 

Dr. Phillips, of Barbados, being of opinion that it might be ad- 
vantageously employed as human food, requested Dr. Shier, the 
analytical chemist, of Demerara, to determine in his laboratory its 
richness in protein compounds (the muscle-forming part of vege- 
table food) in comparison with Indian corn. He, therefore, caused 
a sample of each to be burned for nitrogen, when the following re- 
sults were obtained : — 

Indian com. Guinea corn. 

Water, per cent. . . 12-81 . 13-76 

In ordinary state — 
Kitrogen, per cent. . 1'83 . 1"18 

Protein compounds . ll'ol . 7'42 

In dry state-- 

Nitrogen, per cent. . 2-10 . 1"36 

Protein compounds . 13'20 . 8"60 

According to these results, the Gruinea corn is less rich in nitro- 
gen or protein compounds than Indian corn, though not much less 
so than some varieties of English wheat. 

Indian corn meal, analysed by Mr. Hereford, from two locali- 
ties, gave in the ordinary state of dryness 11*53 and 12*48 per 
cent, of protein compounds — results which come very near to that 
obtained by Dr. Shier. 

Sorghum avenacewm, or Holcus avenaceus, is a native of the Cape, 

Several species and varieties of sorghum have been introduced, 
and more or less cultivated in the United States. It is often po- 
pularly termed Egyptian corn. It is closely allied to broom corn 
{S. fsaccJiaratum) , the head bemg similar in structure, and the seed 
similar, except that in most varieties of sorghum, the outer covering 
does not adhere as in broom corn. The plant bears a strong re- 
semblance, while growing, to maize or Indian corn. There is 
also some similarity in the grain, and it is extensively used as 
food by many oriental nations. 

A variety, under the name of African purple millet, was some 
years since introduced into JSI orth America, and recommended for 
cultivation as a soiling crop ; but this, as well as other varieties, 
do not possess any advantages over Indian corn. 

The natives of Mysore reckon three kinds, known as white, 
green, and red. The red ripens a month earlier than the rest, 
or about four months from the time of sowing. Near Bengal, 
Bombay, and elsewhere, in Eastern India, sowing is performed 
at the close of May or early in June. A gallon and a third of 
seed is sown per acre, and the produce av erages 16 bushels. This 
grain, though small, and the size of its head diminutive, compen- 

X 2 



308 



BEOOM COEIS". 



&ates for this deficiency by the gTeat bulk and goodness of its 
straw, which grows usually to the height of 8 or 10 feet. It is 
sometimes sown for fodder in the beginning of April, and is ready 
to cut in July. It is said to be injurious to cattle, if eaten as 
green provender, the straw is therefore first dried, and is theii 
preferable to that of rice. 

This grain is frequently fermented to form the basis, in combina- 
tion with goor or half made sugar, of the common arrack of the 
natives, and in tlie hills is fermented into a kind of beer or 
sweet wort, drank warm. 

Holcus spicatiis, the Panicuvi s])icatinn of Eoxburgh, is culti-= 
vated in Mysore, Behar, and the provinces more to the north. 
Prom one to four seers are sown on a biggah of land, and the yield 
is about four maunds per acre. It is sown after the heavy rains 
commence, and the plough serves to cover the seed. The crop is 
i^ipe in three months, and the ears only are taken oft' at first. 
Afterwards the straw is cut down close to the surface of the soil, 
to be used for thatching, for it is not much in request as fodder. 
Being a grain of small price, it is a common food of the poorer 
class of natives, and really yields a sweet palatable flour. It is also 
excellent as a fatteniiig grain for poultry. 

The Toa Abyssinica is one of the bread-corns of Ab3'ssinia.- 
The bread made from it is called tejf, and is the ordinary food of 
the country, that made from wheat being only used by the higher 
classes. The way of manufacturing it is by allowing the dough to 
become sour, when, generating carbonic acid gas, it serves instead 
of yeast. It is then baked in circular cakes, which are whitCj, 
spongy, and of a hot acid taste, but easy of digestion. This bread, 
carefully toasted, and left in water for three or four days, furnishes 
the housa, or common beer of the country, similar to the q^uas of 
Kussia. 



BEOOM COEN. 

The production of broom corn is rapidly extending," and corn 
brooms are driving broom sedge, as an article for sweeping floors, 
out of every humble dwelling in the United States. There are 
about 1.000 acres of it under culture in one county (Montgomery) 
alone, and it brings 30 dollars per acre in the field. 

Messrs. Van Eppes, of Schenectady, have been engaged in the 
broom manufactory business about eleven years. They have a 
farm of about 300 acres, 200 of which are Mohawk flats. A large 
portion of the flats was formerly of little value, in consequence 
of being kept wet by a shallow stream which ran through it, and 
which, together with several springs that issue from the sandy 
bluff on the south side of the flats, kept the ground marshy, and 
unfit for cultivation. By deepening the channel of the stream, 
and conducting most of the springs into it, many acres, which 



BEOOM COEN. 309 

were formerly almost worthless, have been made worth 125 dollars 
per acre. They have also,- by deepening the channel, saving the 
water of the springs, and securing all the fall, made a water 
privilege, on which, they have erected an excellent mill, with 
several rim of stones, leaving besides sufficient power to carry 
saws for cutting out the handles of brooms, &c. 

They have about 200 acres of the flats in broom-corn. The 
cultivation of this article has within a few years been simplified 
to almost as great a degree as its manufacture. The seed is sown 
with a seed-barrow or drill, as early in the spring as the state of 
the ground will admit, in rows 3|- feet apart. As soon as the 
corn is above ground, it is hoed, and soon after thinned, so as to 
locive the stalks two or three inches apart. It is only hoed in the 
row, in order to get out the weeds that are close to the plants, the 
remaining space being left for the harrow and cultivator, whicli 
are run so frequently as to keep down the weeds. The cultivation 
is finished by running a small, double mould-board plough, rather 
shallow, between the rows. 

The broom corn is not left to ripen, as formerly, but is cut when 
it is quite green, and the seed not much past the milk. It was 
formerly the practice to lop down the tops of the corn, and let it 
hang some time, that the brush might become straightened in one 
direction. Xow, the tops are not lopped till the brush is ready 
to cut, which, as before stated, is while the corn is green. A set 
of hands goes forward, and lops or bends the tops to one side, and 
another set follows immediately and cuts ofi" the tops at the place 
at which they are bent, and a third set gathers the cut tops into 
carts or waggons, which take them to the factory. Here they are 
first sorted over, and parcelled out into small bunches, each bunch 
being made up into brush of equal length. The seed is then 
taken ofl^ by an apparatus with teeth, like a hatchet. The machine 
is worked by six horses, and cleans the brush very rapidly. It is 
then spread thin to dry, on racks put up in buildings designed for 
the purpose. In about a week, with ordinary weather, it becomes 
so dry that it will bear to be packed closely. 

The stalks of the corn, after the tops have been cut ofi*, are 
five or six feet high, and they are left on the ground, and ploughed 
in the next spring. It is found that this keeps up the fertility of 
the soil, so that the crop is continued for several years without 
apparent diminution. It should be observed, however, that the 
ground is overflowed every winter or spring, and a considerable 
deposit left on the surface, which is undoubtedly equivalent to a 
dressing of manure. 

This may be inferred from the fact that some of the flats have 
been in Indian corn every year for forty or fifty years, without 
manure, and with good cultivation have seldom produced less than 
sixty bushels per acre, and with extra cidtivation from eighty to 
ninety bushels have been obtained. 

In case of need, the stalks would furnish a large amount of 
good food for cattle. They are full of leaves which are nutritive, 



310 



CUENOPODITJM QUIIs^OA. 



and whether cut and dried for winter, or eaten green by stock 
turned on the ground where tliey grow, would be very valuable in 
case of deficiency of grass. 

Messrs. Yan Eppes emp^oy twenty hands during the summer ; 
and in autumn, when the brush is being gathered and prepared, 
they have nearly a hundred, male and female. They are mostly 
Germans, who come to Schenectady with their families during the 
broom corn harvest, and leave when it is over. 

The manufacture of brooms is carried on mostly in the winter 
season. The quantity usually turned out by Messrs. Van Eppes 
is 150,000 dozen per annum. — (" Albany Cultivator.") 



CHENOPODIUM QUINOA. 

About twenty-eight years ago this plant was introduced into 
Britain from Peru, where the seeds are used as food, under the 
name of petty rice. Attention was drawn to it by Loudon, in 
his " G-ardener's Magazine," in 1834, and in 1836 it was culti- 
vated on a large scale by Sir Charles Lemon. This plant and the 
lentil are two of the most promising exotics that have been recom- 
mended for field culture. There are two varieties of quinoa, the 
white and the red seeded; the red has bitter properties, and is only 
used for medicine. In North America the seeds of the former are 
used as a substitute for maize and the potato. A white meal is ob- 
tained from it, having a tinge of yellow. It contains scarcely any 
gluten, but, like oatmeal, makes very good porridge and cakes. Its 
nutritive qualities are proved by the analysis of Dr. Yoelcker 
("Journal of Agriculture of Scotland," October, 1850), which 
states it to yield 3 '66 per cent, of nitrogen, equal to 2 87 per cent, 
of protein compounds. In this respect the meal appears to be 
superior to rye, barley, rice, maize, the plantain, and potato. It 
has long furnished the food of millions in South America ; and 
in Scotland and Ireland the plant would find a congenial climate 
and rich soil. 



EUNDI OE EUNDUNGI. 

This is an hitherto undescribed species of African grain (proba- 
bly the JBaspalum exile), much cultivated and esteemed in Sierra 
Leone, and other places on the African coast, where it is known 
by the Eoulahs, Jolofi's, and other native tribes, under the local 
name of Hungry rice. It is a slender grass with digitate spikes, 
which have much of the habit of Digit aria, but which, on ac- 
count of the absence of the small outer glume existing in that 
genus, Mr. Keppist, Librarian of the Linnean Society, of London, 
refers to Fas^alwn. It produces a semi-transparent cordiform 



ruxDT on rujs"DU]S'Gi. 



311 



grain, about tlie size of a mignionette seed ; the ear consists of 
two conjugate spikes, tlie grain being arranged on the outer 
edge of either spike, and alternated ; they are attached by a 
peduncle to the husk. The epicarp, or outer membrane, is slightly 
rugous. 

The ground is cleared for its reception by burning down the 
copse wood and hoeing between the roots and stumps. It is sown 
in the months of ^Laj and June, the ground being slightly 
opened, and again lightly drawn together Over the seeds ^^ith a 
hoe. In August, when it shoots up, it is carefully weeded. It 
ripens in September, growing to the height of about 18 inches, 
and its stems, which are very slender, are bent to the earth 
by the mere weigtit of the grain. The patch of land is then 
either suffered to lie fallow, or is planted with yams or cassava 
in rotation. Experienced cultivators of this Lilliputian grain 
assert that manure is unnecessary, as it delights in light soils, 
and it is even raised on rocky situations, which are most fre- 
quent about Kissy. When cut down, it is tied up in small 
sheafs and placed in a dry situation within the hut ; for if al- 
loAved to remain on the ground and to become wet, the grains 
are agglutinated to their coverings. The grain is trodden out 
with the feet, and is then parched or dried in the sun, to allow 
the more easy removal of the chaff in the process of pounding, 
which is performed in wooden mortars. It is afterwards \^innowed 
with a kind of cane fanner or mats. 

This grain could be raised in sufficient quantities to become an 
article of commerce, and I have no doubt would prove a valuable 
addition to the list of light farinaceous articles of food in use 
among the delicate or convalescent. In preparing this delicious 
grain for food, it is first put into boiling water, in which it is 
assiduously stirred for a few minutes ; the water is then poured 
off, and the Foulahs, J oloffs, &c., add to it palm oil, butter, or 
milk ; but Europeans and negroes connected with Sierra Leone 
prepare it as follows : — To the grain cooked as above mentioned, 
fowl, fish, or mutton, with a piece of salt pork for the sake of 
flavor is added, the whole being then stewed in a close saucepan. 
This makes a very good dish, and -thus prepared resembles 
" Koiis-kous.'^ The grain is sometimes made into puddings, with 
the usual condiments, and eaten either hot or cold, with milk. By 
the few natives of Scotland in the colony, it is occasionally dressed 
as milk porridge. 

The negroes also eat it in the same way as they do rice, with 
palaver sauce. Eundi ought to be well washed in cold water, and 
afterwards rewashed in boiling water. If properly prepared it 
will be white, and perfectly free from gritty matter. 

Canary-seed, obtained from Phalaris canariensis, is grown rather 
largely in Kent, the Isle of Thanet, and other parts of the south of 
England, as much as 500 tons being annually consumed here for 
feeding singing birds. The produce is three to five quarters the 
acre, and it is sold at about £25 the ton. We receive foreign 



312 



PULSE. 



supplies of tlie seed from G-ermany and the Mediterranean, and 
the duty on imports is 2s, 6d. per busheL 



PULSE. 

There are a variety of pulses and leguminous seeds extensively 
cultivated as food for both man and cattle, and which form an 
important article in the husbandry of tropical countries. The 
importance of peas and beans is well appreciated, both by the 
horticulturists and agricidturists in Europe and our temperate 
colonies, where, however, they are comparatively of less impor= 
tance than the smaller pulses and grains are in various tropical 
countries, such as haricots in the Brazils and IVest Indies ; 
ground or earth nuts in South America, and especially in Western 
Africa ; beans of different kinds amongst the miners of Peru r gram 
{Erviim lens), and dholl (Cajamis), with innumerable varieties 
of beans and small lentils among the natives of India and Egypt ; 
and the Carob bean, or St. John's bread {Geratonia siliqua,) in the 
Mediterranean countries.— (" Jury Eeports.") 

Of leguminous gTains there are various species cultivated and 
used by the Asiatics, as the Phaseolus Miingo, P. Max and P„ 
radiatus, which contain much alimentary matter ; the earth-nut 
{AracJiis hypogaed), which buries its pods under ground after 
flowering. 

The gram {Cicer arietinuni) which is mentioned by Dr. Christie 
(" Madras Journal of Science," No. 13) as exuding oxalic acid 
from all parts of the plant. It is used by the ryots in their 
curries instead of vinegar. It is the chick pea of England, and 
chenna of Hindostan. 

Among the most commonly cultivated leguminous plants are 
the lentil {Ervum Ze??^), horse gram (DolicJws bifiorus, Linn), various 
species of Cytisics and Cajanus, &c. Many of these are grown 
in India as fodder plants ; others for their seeds, knowTi as gram, 
dholl, &c. The Cqjaniis flavus, of Decandolle {Cytisus Cajan), is 
very generally cultivated along the Western coast of Africa, and 
continues to bear for three years. Several species of dolichos are 
used as food in various countries, as 2>. ensiformus in Jamaica, 
Z>. ticberosus in Martinique, D. hulhosus and D. lignosus in the 
East Indies. 

The vessels of the North bring to Shangliae a gTcat quantity 
of a dry paste, known under the name of tanping, the residuum or 
husk of a leguminous plant called Teuss, from which the Chinese 
extract oil, and w^hich is used, after being pressed, as manui^e for 
the ground. Captain H. Biggs, in a communication to the Agri.- 
Hort. Soc. of India, in 1845, states that of the esculents a large 
white pea forms the staple of the trade of Shanghae, or nearly so, 
to the astonishing amount of two and a-half millions sterling. 
This he gives on the authority of the Eev. Mr. Medhurst, of 
Shanghae, and Mr. Thorns, British Consul at Ningpo. These 



PULSE. 



313 



peas are ground in a mill and then pressed, in a somewliat com- 
plicated, though, as usual in China, a most efficient press, by 
means of wedges driven under the outer parts of the framework 
with mallets. The oil is used both for eating and burning, more 
for the latter purpose, however, and the cake, like large Gloucester 
cheese, or small grindstones in circular shape, is distributed about 
China in every direction, both as food for pigs and buffaloes, as 
also for manure. 

We import on the average about 20,000 quarters of beans, peas, 
&c., from Ireland, 450,000 quarters of beans and 200,000 quarters 
of peas from foreign countries. 

The land under cultivation with pulse, and the crops raised, have 
been estimated as follows : — 

Acres. Qiiarters. 
England . . . 500,000 . . 1,875,000 

Ireland . . . 130,000 . . 540,000 

Scotland . . . 50,000 . . 150,000 

680,000 2,565,000 

This is of course exclusive of garden cultivation. The average 
produce of beans per acre in England is 3f quarters, 3| in Ire- 
land, and three in Scotland, 

The price of beans per quarter in the last ten years has ranged 
from 39s. to 27s. the quarter ; peas from 403. 6d. to 27s. 6d. 

Algaroha leans. — The seed pods or bean of the carob-tree 
{Ceratonia siliqua, or Frosopis pallida?) a tree common in the 
Levant and South of Europe, are used as food. The pods contain 
a large proportion of sweet fecula, and are frequently used by 
singers, being considered to improve the voice. The name of St. 
John's Head has been applied to them, from the supposition that 
, they were the wild honey spoken of in Scripture as the food of 
John the Baptist. About 40,000 quintals of these carobs are 
annually exported from Crete. During the Peninsular war, the 
horses of our cavalry were principally fed upon these algaroba 
seeds. The pods of the West India locust tree, Hymencea courharil, 
also supply a nutritious matter. 

That well known sauce. Soy, is made in some parts of the East, 
froiQ a species of the Dolichos bean {Soja Jiispida), which grows in 
China and Japan. In Java it is procured from the Phaseolus 
radiatus. The beans are boiled soft, with wheat or barley of equal 
quantities, and left for three months to ferment ; salt and water 
are then added, when the liquor is pressed and strained. Good 
soy is agreeable when a few years old ; the Japan soy is superior 
to the Chinese. Large quantities are shipped for England and 
America. The Dolichos bean is much cultivated in J apan, where 
various culinary articles are prepared from it ; but the principal 
are a sort of butter, termed mico, and a pickle called sooja. 

1,108 piculs of soy were shipped from Canton in 1844, for 
London, British India, and Singapore. 100 jars, or about 50 
gallons of soy, were received at Liverpool in 1850. The price is 
about 6s. per gallon in the London market. 



314 



THE SAGO PALMS, BEEAD-FEUIT, <^-c. 

Sago, and starchy matter allied to it. is obtained from many palms. 
It is contained in the cellnlar tissue of the stem, and is sepai'acedby 
bruising and elutriation. From the soft stem of Oijcas circinalis. a 
kind of sago is produced in the East and TVest Indies. The 
finest is, however, procured from the stems of Sagus laevis {S. 
i?iermis, of Eoxburgh), a native of Borneo and Sumatra ; and 
Arcnga saccliarifera. or Gomufus saecliarifus, of Euraphius. The 
Saguerus Bumjjldi, or JUefroxyJon Sagus, which is found in the 
Eastern Islands of the Indian Ocean, yields a feculent matter. 
After the starchy substance is washed out of the stems of these 
palms, it is then granulated so as to form sago. The last-mentioned 
palm also furnishes a lai'ge supply of sugar. Sago as well as sugar, 
and a kind of palm wine, are procured fi'om Ca'-gota urens. 

In China sago is obtained from Bliapis flahelliformis. a dwarhsh 
palm ; and some sago is made from it for native use in Travan- 
core, Mysore, and Wynaad, and the jungles in the East Indies. 

The trunli of the sago palm is five or six feet round, and it grows 
to the height of about 20 feet. It can only be propagated by 
seed. It fLouiishes best in bogs and swampy mar-iie? : a good 
plantation being often a bog, knee deep. The pit!i producing 
the sago is seldom of use till the tree is fourteen or fifteen years 
.old; and the tree does not live longer than thu'ty years. ]\Ir. 
Crawfurd says there are four varieties of this palm ; the cultivated, 
the wild, one distinguished by long spines on the branches, and a 
foui'th destitute of these spines, and called by the natives female 
sago. This and the cultivated species afiord the best farina ; the 
spiny variety, which has a slender trimk, and tlie wild tree, yield 
but an inferior quality of sago. The farinact- ous matter afibrded 
by each plant is very considerable, 500 lbs. being a frequent 
quantity, while 300 lbs. may be taken as the common average 
produce of each tree. 

Supposing the plants set at a distance of ten feet apart, an acre 
would contain 435 trees, which, on coming to maturity in fifteen 
years, would yield at the before-mentioned rate 120,500 lbs. 
annually of farinaceous matter. The sago meal, in its raw state, 
will keep good about a month. The Malays and natives of the 
Eastern Islands, with whom it forms the chief article of sustenance, 
partially bake it in earthenwai^e moulds into small hard cakes, 
which will keep for a considerable time. In Java the word " saga " 
signifies bread. Tlie sago palm {Aletroxylon Sagus) is one of the 
smallest of its tribe, seldom reaching to more than 30 feet in 
height, and grows only in a region extending west to Celebes 
and Borneo, north to Mindanao, south to Timor, and east to 
Papua. Coram is its chief seat, and there large forests of it are 
found. The edible farina is the central pith, which varies con- 
siderably in difterent trees, and as to the time requu^ed for its attain- 
ing proper maturity. It is eaten by the natives in the form of 



THE SAGO PALMS, BREAD-rPtriT, &C. 



315 



pottage. A farina of an inferior kind is snpplied b}' the Gomuti 
palm (^JBorassus gomutus), another tree peculiar to the Eastern 
Archipelago growing in the vallejs of hilly tracts. 

At so great a distance it is difficult to decide as to ^Yhich of these 
trees really produce the ordinary sagos of commerce, for there are 
several kinds. Planche, in an excellent memoir on the sagos, has 
described six species, which he distinguishes by the names of the 
places from which they come. Preferring to classify them accord- 
ing to their characters, M. Mayet distinguishes only tliree 
species. 

The first he denominates Ancient sago, which comes from 
different parts, and varies much in color. It comprehends — 
1st, Maldivian sago of Planche, in spherical globules, of two 
or three millimetres in diameter, translueid, of an unequal 
pinkish white color, very hard and insipid. 2nd. New Gruiuea 
sago, of Planche, in rather smaller globtdes, of a bright 
red color on one side, and white on the other. 3rd. Grrey 
sago of the Moluccas or brown sago of the English ; of unequal 
globules, from ore to three millimetres in diameter, opaque, of 
a dull grey color on one side, and whitish on the other. 
This grey color probably arises from long keeping and humidit}^ 
4th, Large grey sago of the Moluccas, exactly resembling !No. 3, * 
only that the globules are from four to eight millimetres in 
diameter. 5th. Fine white sago of the Moluccas ; entirely 
resembling No. 3, only that it is purely white, owing to the com- 
plete edulcoration of the fecula of wliich it is made. 

Whatever may be the places of origin of these sagos, they all 
possess the following characters — 

Bounded globules, generally spherical, all isolated, very hard, 
elastic, and difficult to break or powder. The globules put into 
water, generally swell to twice their original size, but do not 
adhere together. 

Second sago. — This species corresponds with the pinkish sago 
of the Moluccas of Planche. It is in very small globules, less 
regular than those of the " first sago," and sometimes stuck 
together to the number of two or three. Soaked in water, it 
swells to double its volume. 

Third Species. — Tapioca sago. — This name has been applied 
to a species of sago now abtindant in commerce, because it bears 
the same relation to the ancient or first sago, and even to the 
preceding sago, that tapioca bears to " Moussache," which is the 
fecula of the manioc, Janijjlia maniliot (ManiJwt ufilissima). 

Whilst the two preceding species of sago, whatever may have 
been stated to the contrary, have been neither baked nor submitted 
to any heating process, as is proved by the perfect state of nearly 
all their grains of fecula, this species has been subjected to the 
action of heat while in a state of a moist paste. This sago is not 
in spherical globules, like the two preceding species, or at least 
there are but few of the globules of that form ; it is rather in the 
form of very small irregular tubercular masses, formed by the ad- 



316 



THE SAGO PALMS, BEEAD-FEriT, &C = 



herence of different numbers of tlie primary globules. The facility 
with which this sago swells and is divided by water, has occasioned 
it to be preferred as an article of food to the ancient sago. It 
has been described by Pianche under the name of the white sago 
of the Moluccas, and by Dr. Pereira under the name of pearl 
sago. 

Bennet, in his work on " Ceylon and its Capabilities," (1843), 
states that sago is procured from the graniilated pith of the 
talipot palm, Corypha umhraculifera. 

The Sagus RiLmpTiii^ Willdenow, and *S'. farinifera, G-aertner. — 
Before maturity, and previous to the formation of the fruit, the 
stem consists of a thin hard wall, about two inches thick, and of 
an enormous volume of tissue (commonly termed the medulla or 
pitli), from which the farina or sago is obtained. As the fruit 
forms, the farinaceous medulla disappears, and when the tree 
attains full maturity, the stem is no more than a hollow shell. 
Sago occurs in commerce in two states, pulverulent and granu- 
lated. 1. The meal or flour as imported in the form of a fine 
amylaceous powder. It is whitish, with a buffy or reddish 
tint. Its odor is faint, but somewhat unpleasant and musty. 
2. Granulated sago is of two kinds, pearl and common brown, 
• The former occurs in small hard grains, not exceeding in size that 
of a pin's head, inodorous, and having little taste. They have 
a brownish or pinkish yellow tint, and are someAvhat translucent. 
By the aid of a solution of chloride of lime they can be bleached, 
and rendered perfectly white. The dealers, it is said, pay £7 
per ton for bleaching it. Common sago occurs in larger grains, 
about the size of pearl barley, which are brownish white. 

Sago is an article of exportation to Etirope, and is also shipped 
to India, principally Bengal, and to China. It is in its granulated 
form that it is usually sent abroad. The best sago is the produce 
of Siak, on the north coast of Sumatra, This is of a light brown 
color, the grains large, and not easily broken. The sago of Borneo 
is the next in value ; it is whiter, but more friable. The produce 
of the Moluccas, though greatest in quantity, is of the smallest 
estimation. The cost of granulated sago, from the hands of the 
grower or producer, was, according to Mr. Crawfurd, only a 
dollar a picul. It fetches in the London market — common pearl, 
20s. to 26s. the cwt., sago flour, 20s. the cwt. The Chinese of 
Malacca and Singapore have invented a process by which they 
refine sago, so as to give it a fine pearly lustre, and it is from 
thence we now principally derive our supplies of this article. 
The exports from Singapore in 1847 exceeded 6^ million pounds, 
but are now much larger. 

The following is a description of the manufacture of this impor- 
tant article of commerce : — The tree being cut down, the exterior 
bark is removed, and the heart, or pith of the palm, a soft, white, 
spongy and mealy substance is gathered ; and for the purpose of 
distant transportation, it is put into conical bags, made of plan- 
tain leaves, and neatly tied up. In that state it is called by the 



THE SAGO PALMS, BEEAD-rRTJIT, <^C. 



317 



Malays Sangoo tampin, or bundles of sago ; each bundle weighs 
about 30 lbs. 

On its arrival at Singapore it is purchased by the Chinese 
manufacturers of sago, and is thus treated : — Upon being carried 
to the manufactory, the plantain-leaf covering is removed, and the 
raw sago, imparting a strong acid odor, is bruised, and is put 
into large tubs of cold spring water, where it undergoes a process 
of purification by being stirred, suflered to repose, and again 
re-stirred in newly-introduced water. When well purified thus, 
it is taken out of the tubs by means of small vessels ; and being- 
mixed with a great deal of water, the liquid is gently poured 
upon a large and slightly inclined trough, about ten inches in 
height and width ; and in the descent towards the depressed 
end, the sago is deposited in the bottom of the trough, whilst 
the water flows into another large tub, where what may remain 
of sago is finally deposited. As the strata of deposited sago 
increases in the trough, small pieces of slates are adjusted to 
its lower end to prevent the escape of the substance. When 
by this pouring process the trough becomes quite full of sago, it 
is then removed to mahe room for a fresh one, whilst the former 
one is put out into the air, under cover, for a short time ; and on 
its bemg well dried, the sago v^ithin is cut into square pieces and 
taken out to be thoroughly dried, under cover, to protect it from 
the sun. It has then lost the acid smell already noticed, and has 
become quite white. After one day's drying thus, it is taken into 
what may be called the manufactory, a long shed, open in front 
and on one side, and closed at the other and m the rear. H ere the 
lumps of sago are broken up, and are reduced into an impalpable 
flour, which is passed through a sieve. The lumps which are re- 
tained by the sieve are put back to be re-bruised, whilst that por- 
tion which has passed is collected, and is placed in a long cloth bag, 
the gathered ends of which, like those of a hammock, are attached 
to a pole, which pole being suspended to abeam of the building by 
a rope, one end of it is sharply thrown forward with a particular 
jerk, by means of which the sago within is shortly granulated 
very fine, and becomes what is technically termed "pearled." It 
is then taken out and put into iron vessels, called quallies, fcr 
the purpose of being dried. These quallies are small elliptical 
pans, and resemble in form the sagar coppers of the West Indies, 
and would each hold about five gallons of fluid. They are set a 
little inclining, and in a range, over a line of furnaces, each one 
having its own fire. Before putting in the sago to be dried, 
a cloth, which contains a small quantity of hog's-lard, or some 
oily substance, is hastily passed into the qually, and the sago is 
equally quickly put into it, and a Chinese laborer who attends it, 
commences stirring it with a pallit, and thus continues his labor 
during the few minutes necessary to expel the moisture contained 
in the substance. Thus each qually, containing about ten pounds 
of sago, requires the attendance of a man. The sago, on being taken 
off" the lu-e, is spread out to cool on large tables, after which it is fit 



318 



THE SAGO PALMS, BREAD-FEUIT, &C 



to be packed in boxes, or put into bags for sliipment; and is 
known iu commerce under the name of " pearl sago." Thus the 
labor of fifteen or twenty men is required to do that which, with the 
aid of simple machinery, might be done much better by three or 
four laborers. A water-wheel would both work a stirring machine 
and cause an inclined cylinder to revolve over a fire, for the pur- 
pose of drying the sago, in the manner used for corn, meal, and 
flour in America, or for roasting coffee and chicory in England. 
But the Chinese have no idea ot substituting artificial means, 
when manual ones are obtainable. 

A considerable quantity of sago is exported from Singapore in 
the state of flour. The whole quantity made and exported there 
exceeds, on the average, 2,500 tons annually. The quantity 
shipped from this entrepot is shown hy the annexed returns, nearly 
all of which was grown and manufactured in the settlement. 
The estimated value for export is set down at 14s. per picul of 
li cwt. 

EXPORTS FKOM SINGAPORE. 

Piculs. 

1840- 41 . . Pearl sago 41,146 

„ . . Sago flour 33,552 

1841- 42 . . Pearl sago 46,225 

,, .. Sago flour 7,447 

1842- 43 .. Pearl sago 25,306 

. . Sago flour 4,838 

1843- 44 . . Pearl sago 14,266 

„ . . Sago flour 14,067 

1844- 45 . . Pearl sago 18,472 

. . Sago flour 36,141 

1845- 46 . . Pearl sago 19,333 

„ . . Sago flcur 26,925 

1848-47 . . Pearl sago 40,765 

„ . . Sago flour 9,025 

Imports of sago into the United Kingdom, and quantity re- 
tained for home consumption : — 

Imports. Home consumption. 

Cwts. Cwts. 

1826 9,644 2,565 

1830 2,677 3,385 

1834 25,763 13,827 

1838 18,627 28,396 

1842 45,646 50,994 

1846 38,595 45,671 

1848 65,000 

1849 83,711 72,741 

1850 89,884 83,954 



THE BPEAD-FEUIT TREE, 

Artocarpiis incisa. — This tree is less cultivated than would 
be supposed from its useful properties. In tlie West Indies and 
the Indian Islands, where it has been introduced from its native 
place, the South Sea Islands, it is held in very little considera- 
tion, the graminea, tuberous roots, and farinaceous plants being 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



319 



more easily and readily cultivated. There are two or three varie- 
ties kuowTi in the Asiatic regions. The properties of this tree 
are thus enumerated by Hooker: — The fruit serves for food; 
clothes are made from the fibres of the inner bark ; the wood is 
used for building houses and making boats ; the male catkins are 
employed as tinder ; the leaves for table cloths and for wrapping 
provisions in ; and the viscid milky juice alfords birdlime. 

A. integrifolia is the Jack or Jacca, the fruit of which attains a 
large size, sometimes weighing 30 lbs., but is inferior in quality 
to the bread-fruit. 

The nuts or fruit of Brosimum Alicastrum, an evergreen shrub, 
native of Jamaica, are nutritious and agreeable articles of food. 
AVhen boiled with salt fish, pork or beef, they have frequently been 
the support of the negroes and poorer sorts of white people in 
times of scarcity, and proved a wholesome and not unpleasant 
food ; when roasted it eats something like our common chesnut, 
and is called bread-nut. 

Kafir Bread. — According to Thunberg, the Hottentots being 
very little acquainted with agriculture, or with the use of the 
cerealia, and subsisting principally upon wild bulbs and fruits, 
obtain food also from Encephalartos caffer, a species of Zamia, with 
a cyHndrical trunk, the thickness of a man's body, and about seven 
feet high. Haviog cut down a tree, they took out the pith, that 
nearly fills its trunk, and which abounds in mucilage and an amy- 
laceous fluid; after keeping this for some time buried under 
ground in the skin of an animal, they reduced it by pounding and 
kneading into a kmd of paste ; and then baked it in hot ashes, 
in the form of round cakes, nearly an inch thick. The Dutch 
colonists, in consequence of this practice of the natives, called 
the plant brood-boon, which signifies literally bread tree. 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 

The several varieties of the edible plantain which are known 
and cultivated throughout the West Indies, Africa, and in tiie 
East are all reducible to two classes, viz., the Plantain and the 
Banana (Mitsa Paradisiaca smd. sapie?ihcm). The difibrence be- 
tween these two plants is even so slight as to be scarcely specific ; 
it is therefore most probable that there was originally but one 
stock, from which they have, b}^ cultivation and change of locality, 
been derived. 

The tiger plantain (M. maculafa) and the black ditto (M. syl- 
vestris) are cultivated in Jamaica. The 'ivhole of the species and 
varieties of the tribe are what are called polygamous monoscious 
plants, each individual tree bearing the male and female organs 
of reproduction. 

The plantain and its varieties invariably bear male, female 
and hermaphrodite flowers within the same spathe, all of 



320 



THE PLAIfTAIIf AKD BAXAFA, 



them being imperfect and consequently unproductive of seed. 
An individual may, even from excess of culture, moisture, &c., be 
entirely incapable of flowering. During the prevalence of a 
disease or blight among the plantain walks of Demerara in the 
years 18ii and 1845, it was seriously proposed to introduce male 
plantains, or obtain fresh stock by seed. 

It is, therefore, necessary to determine with exactness, if pos- 
sible, whether the Plantain or Banana, (whichever be the parent 
stock) exists anywhere at present, or has been known to have 
existed as a perfect plant, that is bearing fertile seeds ; or, whether 
it has always existed in the imperfect state, that is, incapable of 
being procreated by seed, the only state in which it at present 
exists in our colonies. 

Whether LinuaBus be right in his conjecture (Spec. Plant, 1763) 
that the " Bihai " {Jleliconia himilis), a native of Caraccas, which 
produces fertile seeds, is the stock plant of the plantain, it is 
almost impossible to ascertain; but the absence of any description 
of a wild seed-bearing plantain, renders it highly probable that 
the cultivated species are hybrids produced long ago. The banana, 
from time immemorial, has been the food of the philosophers and 
sages of the East, and almost all travellers throughout the tropics 
have described these plants exactly as they are known to us, 
either as sweet fruit eaten raw, or a farinaceous vegetable roasted 
or boiled. It is remarkable that the plantain and banana shoid-d 
be indigenous, or at all events cultivated for ages both in the Old 
and JSTew World. Numerous South American travellers describe 
some one of these plants as being indigenous articles of food 
among the natives, thus showing (if the plantain and its varieties 
be hybrids) a communication between the tropics of America, 
Asia and Africa, long before the time of Columbus. The older 
writers on the colony of Gruiana, as Hartsinck, Bellin and others, 
consider the plantain to be a native. It is remarkable that Sir 
R. Schomburgk, during his travels, found a large species of edible 
plantain far in the interior. It appears, therefore, from all the in- 
vestigations that have been made, that the plantain is either a 
hybrid, or its power of production from seed has been destroyed 
long ago by cultivation, and that it is not known to exist any- 
where in a perfect state ; in which case any attempt to improve 
the present stock by the introduction of suckers from elsewhere, 
must be totally futile. Mr. A. Qarnett recommends the following 
system of cultivation, as calculated to prevent the blight. The 
walk or plantation is to be formed into beds 36 feet wide, divided 
by open drains 30 inches deep. Two rows of plantains to be 
planted upon each bed at 18 feet distance, both between and 
along the rows, to afford a clear ventilation to the enlarging 
plants, and so soon as the plantation has been established, the 
space of land between each row to be shovel-ploughed 12 inches 
deep ; the same to be repeated annually, and upon the interspace 
may be planted maize, yams, sugar cane, or eddoes, and the whole 
kept clear at all times. Thus, with the conjoined principles of 



THE PLANTAiy AXD BA.>'AXA. 



321 



good tillage, free ventilation, and mixed crops, the blight may yet 
be successfully combated. 

A great diminution in the cultivation of the plantain has been 
occasioned in British Gruiana by this blight or disease, which first 
made its destructive appearance in Essequibo, upwards of thirt}'- 
years ago, where its ravages increased with such fatal intensitv as 
to render the profitable growth of the plant almost hopeless ; and 
up to this hour no one has been able to discover the immediate or 
remote cause of this extraordinary vegetable endemic ; whether 
arising from the action of insects among the sheathes of the 
petioles of the leaves, or in the soil, or from organic decay of the 
plant, remains without solution. The last-named cause seems to 
be rejected, by the fact that the fructification of the plant is as 
healthy and abundant in parts of the colony where the blight 
does not prevail, both in number and size of the fruit upon the 
spike, as at any former period. On the east coast of Demerara, 
both the plantain and banana have been grown for more than 
twenty years upon the same laud, without any attack of the 
disease, and without any extraneous manure or even lime having 
been applied, and the plants still exhibit great luxuriance, and 
produce their former weight of fruit. 

The foliage of the plantain affords food and bedding, and is 
used for thatch, making paper, and basket making ; and from its 
petioles is obtained a fine and durable thread. The tops of the 
young plants are eatea as a delicate vegetable ; the fermented 
juice of the trunk produces an agreeable wine. 

The abundance and excellence of the nutritive food which the 
plants of this valuable genus supply are well known ; but of 
the numerous uses to which they are apiplied I may mention 
the following : — 

The fruit is served up both raw and stewed ; slices fried are also 
considered a delicacy. Plantains are sometimes boiled and eaten 
with salt meat, and pounded and made into puddings, and used in 
various other ways. In their ripe state these fruits contain much 
starchy matter. Prom their spurious stems, the fibres of the 
spiral vessels may be pulled out in such quantity as to be used for 
tinder. M. textilis yields a fibre which is used in India in the manu- 
facture of fine muslins, and the coarser woody tissue is exported 
in large quantities from 3Ianila, under the name of white rope or 
Manila hemp. Horses, cattle, swine, and other domestic animals 
are fed upon the fruit, leaves, and succulent trunks. 

The same extent of ground which in wheat would only main- 
tain two persons, will yield sustenance under the banana to fifty. 
That eminent naturalist and elegant writer, the Baron Yon Hum- 
boldt, states (" Political Essay on Xew Spain," vol. ii.) that an 
acre of land cultivated with plantains produces nearly twenty times 
as much food as the like space sown with corn in Europe. He 
refers to a place in Venezuela, where the most careful tillage was 
rendered to a piece of land, yielding produce supporting a hum- 
ble population residing in huts, each placed in the centre of an 

T 



322 



THE PLASTAIX A>'D BAXAXA. 



enclosure, groTving tlie sugar cane, Indian corn, the Papaw tree, 
and the ]\Iusa — a tropical garden I — npoa the elaborate culture 
of which a whole family relied for subsistence. 

Although from the extensive plantain walks in our colonies— 
which are seldom cultivated with a a-arden-like care — so large an 
average proportion may not be obtained as twenty times the 
production of wheat in Europe, yet I have had practical experience 
of the prodigious quantity of farinaceous matter obtainable from 
an acre of tolerably well-cultivated plantains, and no esculent plant 
requires less labor in its culture upon land suitable for its pro- 
duction. They are readily increased by suckers, which the old 
plants produce in abundance. 

Lindley enumerates ten species of Musa, some of which grow 
to the height of 25 or 30 feet, but that valuable species J/. Caven- 
disliii, does not grow more than four or five feet high. 

The bananas of the family of the ^lusacese, appear to be natives 
of the southern portion of the Asiatic continent (E. Erown, 
"Bot, oi Congo," p. 51). Transplanted at an unknovrn epoch into 
the Indian Archipelago and Africa, they have spread also into the 
ISTew AVorld, and in general into all intertropical countries, some- 
times before the arrival of Europeans. 

According to Humboldt it aftords. in a given extent of ground, 
forty-four times more nutritive matter than the potato, and 133 
times more than wheat. These figures must be con>idered as only 
approximative, since nothing is more ditiicult than to estimate the 
nutritive qualities of diff"erent aliments. 

JIusa paradisiaca is cultivated in Syria, to latitude 31 deg. 
Humboldt says it ceases to yield fruit at a height of 3,000 feet, 
where the mean annual temperature is 68 deg., and where, pro- 
bably, the heat of summer is deficient. 

The banana seems, however, to be found no higher than 4,600 
feet in a state of perfection. 

IS'o fruit is so easily cultivated as are the varieties of the plan- 
tain. There is hardly a cottage in the tropics that is not partly 
shaded by them ; and it is successfully grown under other fruit 
trees, although it is independent of shelter. Its succulent roots 
and dew-attractni^^ leaves render it useful in keeping the ground 
moist during the greatest heats. The plantain may be deemed 
the most valuable of fruits, since it will, in some measure, supply 
the place of gi^ain in time of scarcity. To the negroes in the 
"West Indian Islands the plantain is invaluable, and, like bread 
to the Europeans, is with them denominated the stafi" of life. 
' In Jamaica, Demerara, Trinidad, and other principal colonies, many 
thousand acres are planted vrith these trees. 

The vegetation of this tree is so rapid that if a line of thread 
be drawn across, and on a level with the top of one of the leaves, 
■when it begins to expand, it "will be seen, in the course of an hour, 
to have grown nearly an inch. The fruit when ripe is of a pale 
yellow, about a foot in length and two inches thick, and is pro- 
duced in bunches so large as each to weigh 40 lbs. and upwards. 



THE PLi3'TAI>' A^'D Bi.>'AXA. 



323 



The soil best suited to the growth of the plantain is found in 
the virgin land most recently taken in from the forest, having a 
formation of clay and decomposed vegetable substances. A large 
portion of organic matter is required, as well as clay or other 
ponderous strata, to afford the greatest production of fruit. I 
have known good plantains produced in the West Indies, upon 
land considerably exhausted by the culture of cotton, but which 
was enriched by the application of a quantity of the decomposed 
seed of that shrub near the roots of the young plantains. 

In the Straits' settlements of the East, the following are the most 
approved varieties : — The royal plantain, which fruits in eight 
months ; one which bears in a year, tlie milk plantain, the downy 
plantain, and the golden plantain or banana. A species termed 
gindy has been lately imported from Madras, where it is in great 
request. It has this advantage over the other kinds, that it can be 
stewed down like an apple while they remain tough. 

The Malays allege that they can produce new varieties, by 
planting three shoots of different sorts together, and by cutting 
the shoots down to the ground three successive times, when they 
have reached the height of nine or ten inches. 

About 14-li suckers of the plantain are set on an orlong {\.\ acres), 
each of which spreads into a group of six or eight stems, of about six 
inches to one foot in diameter, which yield each a bunch of fruit, 
and are then cut down, when fresh shoots succeed. In very rich 
soils the plant will continue to bear for twenty years, but other- 
wise it is dug up after the seventh or eighth year. The cost of 
cultivating 100 orlongs of land exclusively with plantains, will be 
nearly 2,000 Spanish dollars until produce be obtained. About 
43,200 bunches may be had afterwards yearly, which might give 
a return of 2,160 dollars, or, deducting the cost of cultivation 
and original expenses, a profit per annum of 1,450 doUars. 

The plantain has frequently been suggested as an article of 
export from our colonies. A few bunches are occasionally brought 
over by the Koyal "West India Mail Company's steamers running 
to Southampton, but more as a curiosity than as articles of 
commerce. 

In its ripe state no unexceptionable and sufficiently cheap 
method of preserving it has yet been suggested. 

In some districts of Mexico it is, indeed, dried in the sun, and 
in this state forms a considerable article of internal commerce un- 
der tffe name of " plantado pasado." 

It is sometimes so abundant and cheap in Demerara, Jamaica, 
Trinidad, and other of our colonies, that it might, if cut and dried, 
in its green state, be exported with advantage. 

It is in the unripe state that it is so largely used by the pea- 
santry of the colonies as an article of food. It has always been 
believed to be highly nutritive, but Dr. Shier states that, in any 
sample of the dried plantain which he analysed, he could not find a 
larger amount than 88 per cent of nitrogen, which corresponds with_ 
about o\ per cent, of proteine compounds. 

X 2 



324 



THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA. 



When dried, and reduced to the state of meal, it cannot, like 
wheat flour, be manufactured into maccaroni or vermicelli, or at least 
the maccaroni made from it falls to powder when pnt into hot 
w^ater. The fresh plantain, however, when boiled whole, forms a. 
pretty dense firm mass, of greater consistency and toughness than 
the potato. The mass, beaten in a mortar, constitutes the foo-foo of 
the negToes. The plantain meal cannot be got into this state 
unless by mixing it up with water to form a stiff dough, and then 
boiling it in shapes or bound in cloths. 

Plantain meal is prepared by stripping off the husk of the 
plantain, slicing the core, and drying it the sun. When thoroughly 
dry it is powdered and sifted. It is known among the Creoles of 
the West Indies under the name of OonquJn iay. It has a fragrant 
odour, acquired in drying, somewhat resembling fresh hay or tea. 
It is largely employed as the food of infants, children, and invalids. 
As food for children and convalescents, it would probably be much 
esteemed in Europe, and it deserves a trial on account of its 
fragrance, and its being exceedingly easy of digestion. In respect 
of nutritiveness, it deserves a preference over all the pure starches 
on account of the proteine compounds it contains. 

The plantain meal would probably be best and freshest were 
the sliced and dried plantain cores exported, leaving the grinding 
and sifting to be done in Europe. The flavor of the meal depends 
a good deal on the rapidity with which the slices are dried ; hence 
the operation is only fitted for dry weather, unless indeed, when 
there was occasion for it, resource were had to a kiln or stove. Above 
all, the plantain must not be allowed to approach too closely to 
yellowness or ripeness, otherwise it becomes impossible to diy 
it. The color of the meal is injured when steel knives are used 
in husking or slicing, but silver or nickel blades do not injure 
the color. On the large scale a machine, on the principle of the 
turnip slicer, might be employed. The husking could be greatly 
facilitated by a very simple machine. Vf ere the plantain meal 
to come into use in England, and bear a price in any way ap- 
proaching to that of Bermuda arrowroot, it would become an ex- 
tensive and very profitable export. Eull-sized and well-filled 
bunches give 60 per cent, of core to 40 of husk and top-stem, but 
in general it would be found that the core did not much exceed 50 
per cent., and the fresh core will yield 40 per cent, of dry meal, so 
that from 20 to 25 per cent, of meal is obtained from the pl^^tain, 
or 5 lbs. from an average bunch of 25 lbs. ; and an acre of 
plantain walk of average quality, producing during the year 450 
such bunches, would yield a ton and 10 lbs. of meal, which, at the 
price of arrowroot, namely, Is. per lb., would be a gross return of 
£112 10s. per acre. A new plantain walk would give twice as 
much. Even supposing the meal not to command over half the price 
of arrowroot, it would still form an excellent outlet for plantains 
whenever, from any cause, the price in the colony sank unusually 
low. 

In respect of the choice of a situation for establishing a plantain 



THE PLANT.1TI^ a:S^D BANAJfA. 



325 



v^alk, Tvitli a mill, boiling-house and drying ground, it will be 
necessary to fix upon new land with plenty of moisture, and flat if 
possible, in order that there may be no difficidty in makiDg roads 
to carry the trees ; Avhilst a deep river traversing the land, where 
there is no tide or danger of salt water — where facility would be 
afforded in making the basins wherein to wash the fibre ; where a 
sea port would be near at hand for shipping the produce — where 
workmen, provisions, and fuel would be readily obtained, and 
where the climate is particularly healthy, should be especially 
sought after. 

The plantain grows in profusion between the tropics in all parts 
of the world ; but as it is an object to have the London market 
available for the prepared fibre, the following places may be men- 
tioned as best calculated to produce a good and constant supply, 
viz : — the AYest India Colonies, the British Colonies in Africa, the 
South xlmerican Eepublics, along the Mosquito shore, and other 
places on the Continent of America, includmg Porto Kico, Hay ti, 
and Cuba. The advantages to the paper manufacturer in employ- 
ing the prepared fibre instead of rags, will be numerous, for the 
fibre is equal in texture, clean, and aromatic ; whilst rags are dirty, 
full of vermin, and very often pestilential. 

A large stock of the plantain can always be secured, without 
fear of its being injured by keeping. The paper will be superior 
to that made of rags, and the process of making it will be more 
economical, inasmuch as the sorting of the material will not be re- 
quired. Another advantage is, that a new article of commerce 
will be opened for the benefit of the colonial shipping interests, 
and a stimulus wdl be given to the cultivation of a fruit which is 
the favorite food of large masses of the population. 

The following is a "specification" of articles requisite for 
making three tens of prepared fibre in a day : — 

Four wooden boilers lined with lead, in the form of coolers, 7 
feet deep by 6 in diameter. One hydraulic press, from 400 to 500 
tons. One stout screw press, to compress the fibre before it is sub- 
mitted to the hydraulic press. One iron mill wdth horizontal 
cylinders. Six waggons ; twenty mules. Utensils, such as spatulas, 
cutlasses, hoe9,rakes, &c. &c. One lever, to take out the fibre from 
the boilers. One steam boiler, equal to 12-horse power, to steam 
the four wooden boilers. 

It being very desirable that the works should be in the im- 
mediate neighbourhood of a river, the machinery should be worked 
by water-power ; but if this mode should be inconvenient, a steam 
engine in addition must be obtained, of about 8 or 10-horse 
power ; or if one steam engine of 20-horse power were employed, 
it would be sufiicient for all purposes. Thirty men are required 
to make three tons of fibre in a day. 

Buildings. — A store, 100 feet long by 25 feet broad, in wood, 
covered with straw, to contain the dried fibre and the presses. One 
open shed of the same dimensions, covered vvith straw for the 
boilers. 



826 



THE PLA^sTAIK XlsB BXlsAJ^A.. 



Capital required. — It is ascertained that tlie follo^^iving outlay 



will be sufficient : — ■ 

The materials will cost . . . £2,000 

Buildings ..... 500 

Purchase of land .... 1,500 

Working capital . . . . 1,000 



£5,000 

^The estimated expense in cultivating one quarree, or 5 l-5tli 
English acres, in plantains, will be £30, as the work can be 
easily performed by one laborer in 300 days, at 2s. sterling 
per day. 

A quarree will produce 18 tons of mill fibre, the cost of the pre- 
paration of which is as follows : — 

For workmen's wages, soda, lime, and fuel, at £3 per ton £54 

Freight to Eui-ope at £4 per ton ... 72 

Managers ...... 30 

Duty, insurance, office fees, &c., at £\ per ton . 18 

£174 

Thus, making the total expense of producing 18 tons of fibre 
£174, or £9 13s. 4d. per ton. In 1848 Manila rope, or plan- 
tain fibre of good quality, was worth £38 per ton. 

A correspondent in Jamaica, who has devoted much attention 
to the subject, has furnished me with some very valuable detailed 
information, the most complete and practical that has ever yet 
appeared : — 

Cultivation. — The first care of a planter in superintending the cultivation of 
the banana tree, with the two-fold object of collecting both fibre and fruit, will 
be to study the nature of the tree to which he will give the preference. A 
number of experiments have been made upon difi'erent species of the banana 
with a view of obtaining therefrom the largest quantity and the best color of 
fibre, as well as the finest fruit. Those experiments were very tedious and 
minute, but were absolutely necessary, in order to arrive at the most economical 
and advantageous method of rendering the fibre into a state fit for shipment to 
Europe. At the same time, it was of the utmost importance to find out the 
best description of tree, for producing the strongest, the most abundant, and the 
most silky fibre — for containing the least quantity of juice, for producing the 
color sufficiently white to facilitate the operation of bleaching, for bearing fruit 
of the most esteemed quality, and, therefore, the most favorable for general 
consumption. 

A banana tree, which seemed at first sight to possess all those good qualities — 
being of a large size, with whitish or flaxen colored fibre, and producing very 
savoury fruit, only gave 2 per cent, of fibre after preparation ; that is to say, 
100 lbs. in its raw state, only gave two pounds of fibre after it was boiled. In en- 
deavoring to find out the cause of such a small result, it wa? discovered that this 
specimen of banana (commonly called the " pig banana,") contained a larger pro- 
portion of water than of fibre, compared with other sorts — that the heart was too 
large, and that the inside leaves were so tender that they almost dissolved in the 
process of boiling. These were the greatest inconveniences cf this species of 
tree. There was also another disadvantage, in the quality of its fruit, which 
was yellow in color, and not so useful as those descriptions of banana which are 
generally eaten as a sul)stitute for bread. The results of several experiments 
made upon various descriptions of banana, demonstrated the properties of each 
species, both as regarded fibre and fruit. The most profitable in both respects 



THE PLANTAIif A^'D 



327 



is undoubtedly the yellovr banana, or common plantain. This tree grows to the 
height of about fifteen feet, it is nine or ten inches in diameter, its fibre is firni 
and ab-indint, and its fruit is used both in a green and ripe state. Thispbmtain 
abounds on the continent of Spanish America and between the tropics, where the 
natives cultivate it as producing the most nutricious fruit of its kind. Cargoes 
of the fruit are frequently exported from Surinam and Demerara. On the Spanish 
part of the American continent, land is measured by fanegas, each fanega con- 
taining twelve quarrees, and each quarree five and one-fifth English acres. A 
quarree measures one himdred geometrical paces, or three hundred square feet. 
In the first instance, the suckers of the plantain (the tree being propagated 
by cuttings or suckers which shoot up from the bulb), should be set at ten feet 
distance from each other ; this proposition gives 300 plants on one line of trees, 
or 900 on the surface of one quarree of land. Each plant propagates itself and 
gives upon an average ten trees of the same size and bearing. On one quarree 
of land, therefore, there would be 9,000 trees, yielding four pounds of fibre and 
one bunch of fruit each, which is 9,000 bunches of fruit, and 36,000 lbs. nett 
of fibre, in the whole. In good ground the same plant will last fifteen years 
without any further trouble. Flat lands ought to be cultivated in preference to 
any other. The plantain thrives with the root in the water, and the head to 
the sun. On the borders of the river Orinoco it grows to the height of twenty 
feet, is one foot in diameter, and the stalks of the branches are three inches in 
circumference. 

Ci'.ttwg. — The tree which has not produced its ripe fruit ought to be cut, for 
two reasons — first, that the fruit be not lost ; and secondly, that the tree will 
not have arrived at its full growth and ordinary size, and the fibres will be too 
tender. In cutting it down, take it olf six inches above the surface of the 
ground, then divide it longitudinally into foiu' parts, take out the heait, which 
must be left to serve for manure, and if fermentation is decided upon, leave the 
pieces at the foot of the tree, oth rwise take them to the mill to be crushed. 
The tree being very tender, may, on being bent down, be cut asunder with a 
single stroke of a hatchet, cutlass, or other convenient instrument. One man 
can cut down 800 trees, and split them in a day. 

Carrying. — The trees being thus divided, may be immediately carried to the 
mill to be crushed, or may remain until the fermentation separates the juice or 
sap fi-om the fibres and the pith. By fermenting the trees, their weight will be 
so much reduced as to render their carriage considerably lighter than if taken 
away when first cut down. A wagon, with oxen or mules, can carry about a 
ton per day, and one man can load the Avagon and drive the cattle. 

Crushing. — If the tree is carried from the plantation without being subjected 
to fermentation, it must be passed through a mill, the rollers of which, if 
made about three feet in length, and one foot in diameter, will be found a very 
convenient size. In this operation, care should be taken, first of all, to separate 
the tender from the harder or riper layers of fibre. The tree is composed of 
different layers of fibre, which may be divided into three sorts ; those of the 
exterior, having been exposed to the atmosphere, possess a great degree of 
tenacity — whilst those of the interior, having been secluded from the air, are 
much more soft and tender. If, therefore, the layers of the plantain are passed 
indiscriminately through the mill, those which are hard or firm will not be 
injured by the pressure, whilst those which are Suft will be almost reduced to 
pulp. Therefore, the rollers of the mill shoiild be always placed horizontally, 
and upon passing the trees lengthways through the mill, the pressure will be uni- 
form and the fibre uninjured. In this manner, pass the different sorts of layers 
separately, and the produce will be about four pounds of fibre from each tree. 
The stalks of the branches of the plantain give the best fibre, and a large 
quantity, as compared with the body of the tree ; 100 lbs. of the stalk will give 
16 lbs. nett of fibre. In general. If a tree will give 4 lbs. nett of fibre, the 
stalks will give 1 lb. out of the 4 lbs. The stalks ought also to be crushed 
separately, because they are harder than the exterior layers of the tree. About 
3,000 trees may be passed through the mill in a day. "Whilst the experiments 
were in progress it was ascertained that with a single horse, 100 plantain trees 
on an average were crushed in twenty minutes, giving five minutes rest for 
the horse. 



328 



THIS PLAxnTAIN AKB BANANA. 



Fermentation. — This operation may be performed in, several ways. If 
the trees are allowed to ferment upon the spot after being cut, a great saving 
will occur in respect of can iage ; this matter ought to be carefully studied, 
because, on an extensive scale of manufacture, it is of serious importance. It 
is found that the trees when cut and heaped up, are subject to a drainage of 
juice, which, Laving a tanning property, discolors those pieces which lie at the 
bottom ; hence much time is consumed in afterwards restoring the fibre to its 
natural color. The cut plants should be removed from the stumps of the trees, 
and then placed in heaps, shaded from the sun by laying the leaves over them. 
They will take several weeks to ferment. To pursue this process in the im- 
mediate vicinity of the establishment, would give rise to many inconveniences, 
in consequence of the very large space of ground that would thereby be occu- 
pied. Fermentation requires a mean temperature. A tree cut down and 
exposed to the sun, would be nearly dry at about 30 deg. centigrade, showing 
a result quite different to that which ought to be obtained ; whilst a tree placed 
on a wet soil, and open for the fresh air to circulate between the plants, 
covered at the same time with its own leaves, and shaded by the foliage of the 
plantation, would be decomposed at the desired point of about 22 degrees. The 
different modes of fermentation require the same proportions. If the cut 
plants be covered with a thick layer of earth, they will not decompose in six 
months ; but if, on the contrary, they are covered slightly, so that they may 
receive the freshness of the earth, and the heat of the air, they will decompose 
in six weeks. It is the same with the fermentation of alkaline baths. Baths 
at only one degree will produce decomposition, whilst baths at three degrees will 
not produce any decomposition. The stuff after being passed through the mill, 
or after fermentation, will be put into the chemical baths, or vats, or chemical 
liquor, and the persons in charge of the mill and boilers will do this work. 
Fermentation may be advantageously used, in cases where the trees are grown 
at a distance from the establishment— but, where they are in the immediate 
vicinity of the works, it will be best to crush them by the mill. The princi- 
pal saving that is occasioned by fermentation, will be found in the carriage, as 
the substance will be much reduced in weight by that process. In an estab- 
lishment where the manufacture is carried on upon a very large scale, trees 
cut down at a distance can be fermented, whilst those produced near the mill 
can be crushed. 

Chemical Agents. — For decomposing the gluten in the trees during the 
process of boiling, soda, carbonate of soda, and quick lime, are used. The 
proportions herein given, are those requisito for making three tons of fibre per 
day, upon which scale the cost price of the fibre in a prepared state for bleach- 
ing, is subsequently calculated. To make three tons of fibre per day, it is 
necessary to have four boilers of 800 gallons each, and give five boilings in a 
day, or 1,650 lbs. of nett fibre for each boiler, or 6,600 lbs. for the four boilers 
per day. After having put into the boiler a sufficient quantity of water to 
cover the material, wait until the water begins to boil, and then add the 
chemical agents. 

lbs. 

To the first boiling of a copper, put of soda ... 60 

To the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th boilings of the same copper, 15 lbs., 

each making ....... 60 

120 

Therefore the four boilings will take of soda . . . 480 

The same liquid will serve for two other days, by adding 15 lbs. to 

each fresh boiling, say, in the whole, 40 lbs., or . . . 600 

It will consume in soda for nine tons made in three days . . 1,080 

Or 360 lbs. for three tons made in one day. 

On the fourth day commence again in the same manner, and go on for the two 
remaining days as above, producing eighteen tons in the six days. The quick 
lime is to be employed in each of the boilings, in the proportion of one-third 
less than the quantity of soda. Crude soda may be used in the boilings, 
without previously discarbonising it, and quick lime reduced to lime water ; 



sTAECII-PEODUCI>'& PLA>'T3. 



329 



but, to reader the action of the cHeaiical ingredients more quick and certain, 
it is better to discarbonise the soda before it is put into the boiler. This may 
be done by preparing in a small sepr.rate boiler the quantity of liquid neces- 
sary for a day's consumption, -which is prepared in about an hour. The 
carbonisation is effected in the following manner : — 

Ten parts of salt of soda. ] 
Six parts of quick lime. > In \reight. 

Seventy parts of water (never less.) ) 
Boiling. — This is a most important operation. By it the gluten and color- 
ing matter are separated from the fibres, which separation is absolutely neces- 
sary, in order to prepare the fibre to receive the bleaching. It is necessary to 
observe that the three several sorts of layers which are found in the tree, and 
which, under the head of " crushing," are recommended to be pressed separately, 
should be also boiled separately, because the outermost layer has more coloring 
matter than the next under it, "which again has more than the innermost layer ; 
As they are boiled so will they be dried and shipped, and each sort will have a 
different price in the market ; that fibre which is lightest in color bearing the 
preference, in consequence of its not requiring more than six hours to bleach — 
whilst the darkest will, probably from its greater tenacity, take twelve to 
eighteen hours. It is advisable to place over each boiler the means of lifting 
the mass of fibre when boiled, and suffering it to drain into the boiler before 
it is carried away to be washed. This is easily effected by a chain from the 
roof, to which may be hung a lever, having at that end over the boiler some 
hooks attached to it, whereby the mass is lifted out of the boiler, and the 
liquor thus preserved for the next boiling. 

JVashiny. — It is absolutely necessary that the fibre should be well washed 
after beiag taken out of the boiler, in ord^r that all extraneous matter may be 
separated therefrom. In choosing the site for an establishment of this kind, 
care must always be taken to make choice of a spot in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of a large river, or other plentiful supply of fresh clean water. The 
machinery necessary for cleansing and washing the fibre may be of various 
descriptions ; but, perhaps a selection from one of the three following sorts 
will be found to answer every purpose, viz., those used by paper manufac- 
turers in England, and by coffee planters and aiTowroot growers in the "West 
Indies. 

Brying. — The washed fibre, when hung over lines made of the twisted fibre, 
or any other c jnvenient material, will be sufficiently dry in a few hours to be 
taken down, when more can be hung up, and then several batches can be dried 
in a day ; and it will be necessary to have the drying ground as near the water 
as possible, in order to save weight in carriage. 

Fressing. — When the fibre is perfectly dry, it must be well pressed, for the 
convenience of packing, carriage, and shipment. The hydraulic press is the 
best machine that can be used for the purpose ; but in the absence of that, the 
L'ver and screw will make a large amount of pressure available. A hydraulic 
press of from 400 to 500 tons, will press bales of from four to five hundred 
weight each, which will not be too large for shipment." 



STARCH-PEODUCIlSra PLANTS IXYESTIOATED. 

Starch is one of the constituent parts in all mealy farinaceous 
seeds, fruits, roots, and other parts of plants, and is in large 
demand for domestic use, the arts, &c. Our common starch 
is made from wheat, and a good deal from potatoes. Pure fecula 
is separated by art from a variet}^ of plants. 

Of plants yielding starch we have the Indian arrowroot, which 
is the fecula in the rhizomata of several species of the Maran- 
taceae. In the TVest Indies it is obtained from the Maranta 



330 



STAECn-PEODUCING PLAFTS. 



arundinacea, Allomyca and nohilis, and also from various species 
of Canna called Tous les mois, and in the East Indies from species 
of Curcuma^ and from Maranta ramossusima in Silhet. 

The bread fruit (driocarpi^s incisd), already alluded to, yields a 
large quantity of starch; as do the sweet potato {Convolvulus 
Batatas, or Batatas edulis). The pith or farinaceous part of the 
trunk of the Oaryota urens, is almost equal to the finest sago. In 
Assam the sago of this palm is much used. 

The two varieties of the Cassava afford a very superior fecula, 
which is imported under the name of Brazilian arrowroot. 8,354 
bags of tapioca and farina were imported from Maranham in 
1834. Some excellent starch from Norfolk Island was shown at 
the Great Exhibition. 

The Cycadaceous family yields much starchy matter, along with 
mucilage. From the soft stems of Ci/cas revoluta and G. circi- 
nalis, natives of China and the East Indies, a kind of sago is 
made. These plants are propagated by suckers. Zamia pumila, 
a native of the Cape of Grood Hope, and other species of this 
remarkable genus of plants, which is nearly related to both ferns 
and palms, supply an amylaceous matter, which has been sold as 
arrowroot, A similar product is obtained from Alstrcemeria 
pallida, a perennial plant, with pink red flowers, growing in Chili. 
Erom the nuts of the Cycas circinalis, the Singalese prepare 
an inferior kind of starch, by pounding the fresh kernels. 
These are cut in slices, and well dried in the sun before they are 
fit for use, otherwise when eaten they are intoxicating, and occasion 
vomiting and purging. 

The quantity of starch in a plant varies according to the period 
of growth. The results of examination on the comparative yield 
of starch in the potato, showed that while it abounded towards 
the latter part of the season, it decreased when the tubers began 
to germinate in the spring. It was found by Professor Balfour 
that 240 lbs. of potatoes left in the ground, contained of 
starch — 

lbs. Pei- cent. 

In August . . . , 23 to 25 or 9-6 to 10-4 
September . . , . 32 „ 38 „ 13-3 „ 16 
October . . . 32 „ 40 „ 13'3 „ 16-6 
November . . . • 38 „ 45 „ 16 „ 187 
April . . . . 38 „ 28 „ 16 „ 11-6 
May 28 „ 20 „ 11-6 „ 8-3 

The quantity of starch remained the same during the dormant 
state of winter, but decreased whenever the plant began to grow, 
and to require a supply of nourishment. 

Mr. Harris, of Jamaica, some years ago, made experiments 
upon the nutritious qualities of the principal roots and vegetables 
of the West Indies. These being well washed and scraped, were 
grated, in each case into two gallons of clear rain-water, and the 
whole then filtered through a clean linen strainer, after which it 
was left to settle ; when the amylaceous matter had wholly sub- 
sided, the supernatant liquor was carefully decanted, and fresh 



STAECH-PEODrCINa PLANTS. 



331 



water added, wliieli process was repeated until every foreign sub- 
stance appeared to be removed ; the produce of these several ope- 
rations was then carefully collected and dried with a temperature 
of about 110 deg. Fahrenheit, and, when dry, weighed. In this 
manner the results given in the following table were obtained : — 



PRODUCE FROM FITE POTJKDS OF THE 



Eoot of the sweet cassava {Janipha Loeflingii) 
Boot of ocoes or taniers {Caladium esculentum) 
Eoot of the bitter cassava {Janipha manihot)^ the 

Tucca amarga of the Spaniards 
Full grown but unripe fruit of the plantain {Musa 

paraclisiacci) ....... 

Eoot of the Guinea yam {Dioscorea bidbifera) 
Eoot of the sweet potato {Batatas ecluUs) 
Eoot of the arrowroot {Maranta arundmacea) 
The full-grown but ujiripe fruit of the banana 

{Musa sajJientum) ...... 



Oz. Drms. Centes.prop 


14 1 


17.27 


11 17 


14.29 


11 2 


13.90 


11 1 


13.82 


8 6 


10.46 


8 6 


10.46 


6 6 


6.71 


0 0 


0.0 



This table exhibits, no doubt, very unexpected results, since it 
places the sweet cassava at the very top, and the banana at the 
lowest place in the list, while the bitter cassava, which seems to 
be little more than a variety of the sweet, notwithstandiag its 
being the staple material of AVest Indian bread, occupies two 
places lower down, and is followed by the plantain. The sweet 
potato and the yam, both of which are considered to be less 
nutritious than the arrowroot, rank above it in the centesimal 
proportion of their amylaceous produce. Upon what, then, do the 
nutritive properties of these various substances depend ? Is it 
upon a gluten which was overlooked by Mr. Harris, in his experi- 
ments, or, if not, may we not suspect some inaccuracy in the pro- 
portion of starch assigned by him to each ? It is to be wished 
that similar experiments were repeated with care in different 
quarters, and the list extended to other tropical products appli- 
cable to human sustenance, especially the roots which yield the 
farinaceous starch of the South Sea islanders, to the achira of 
Choco, &c. 

I shall extract largely from a very valuable report drawn up by 
Dr. J ohn Shier, agricultural chemist, of Demerara, and submitted 
to the Grovernor of that colony in 1847, on the starch-producing 
plants, which is deserving of more widely extended publicity than 
the merely local circulation it has received. The remarks and 
results of experiments are worthy of deep consideration ; and 
although they were meant to apply specially to British Guiana, they 
are equally pertinent to the West India colonies generally, our 
African and Australian settlements, and many other of our loreign 
possessions. 

For many reasons it is desirable that the number of the staples 
of cultivation and export of our colonies should be increased. It 
is the general experience of British agriculturists, that the mixed 
system of agriculture is i .ore profitable to the farmer and safer 
for the land, than the continued cultivation of any single crop, or 



332 



STAECH-PEODUCTTn-Q PLA?fTS. 



indeed of nearly allied crops ; and althougli fearer valid objections 
can be urged against the continued cultivation of the sugar cane, 
when properly conducted, than against that of grain crops, it is 
nevertheless certain that a well-arraDged alternation or rotation of 
crops would be better. "When an efficient system of covered 
drainage is adopted in British Gruiana, there can be no doubt that 
the sugar cane will be replanted at shorter intervals of time than 
at present, and that other crops, such as provender crops for cattle, 
and provision crops for the colonial and perhaps the home market, 
will be made to alternate in cultivation with the cane. "WTien the 
cane rows are as far apart as they require to be, to admit of suf- 
ficient tillage with the plough and other implements, it will also be 
possible to intercalate crops of rapidly growing plants ; and were 
this done, as it easily might, in such a manner as to prevent undue 
exhaustion of the land, or impoverishment of the sugar crop, the 
returns could not fail to be materially increased. It would then 
probably be found that the fluctuations in prices would be less 
felt, for they would not likely, at the same time, aflfect difterent 
crops in the same manner. 

It has been ascertained, in regard to some plants at least, that a 
much larger return can be obtained in the colonies than can be 
grown in temperate countries, however fertile. This is partly 
owing to the greater fertility of the soil under powerful tropical 
atmospheric influences, and partly to the fact that vegetation is 
continuous throughout the year, so that slow growing plants can 
do more within the time, from their functions not being arrested 
by the chill of Avinter ; and of many rapidly growing plants, two 
successive crops can be grown within the year. 

Starch is a substance easily manufactiu^ed, and being largely 
used in several of the arts, as well as an article of diet, there con- 
sequently exists a considerable demand for it in England. It may be 
obtained from a great variety of plants, and many of the most 
productive of it are natives of the tropics. 

The high prices commanded by grain and bread-stuffs in Europe, 
renders the present a remarkably favorable time to ascertain w^hat 
can be done in this branch of tropical agriculture ; for should the 
potato disease return, or this root be less extensively planted than 
hitherto, starch must maintain a high price, and it will be worth 
ascertaining whether some of the superior starch-producing plants 
of the tropics might not be cultivated to such an extent as to 
supply the English market, and thus be at once profitable to the 
colonies and advantageous to the mother country. 

Before entering on such a cultivation, however, various points 
require investigation. We ought to be able to answer such ques- 
tions as the following : — 

1, "What differences exist between the characters of starch pro- 
duced by different plants ? 

2. What are the qualities or properties that lead manufac- 
turers — calico printers for example — to prefer one variety to 
another ? 



STA-RCH-PRODUClNa PLA>'TS, 



333 



8. For culinary purposes, and as an article of diet, what 
qualities or characters obtain a preference ? 

4. Can the starches from different plants be distinguished from 
one another by distinct and well marked characters, so that the 
substitution of a less esteemed variety for a more esteemed one, 
or the adulteration of a high priced variety with a cheaper one, 
could be readily detected? 

5. AVhat plants produce the most esteemed varieties ? 

6. What plants produce it in the largest quantity ? 

7. What plants produce the largest yield per acre ? 

8. Erom what plants is it most easily manufactured ? 

9. Is the process attended with any particular diihculties that 
ought to deter the East and West India planters from engaging 
in it ? 

In the following observations (continues Dr. Shier) I shall be 
able to reply to several of these questions, especially those capable 
of being settled in the laboratory. On other points, particularly 
those relating to the returns per acre, I am at present but imper- 
fectly informed, in consequence of the limited extent to which these 
plants have hitherto been cultivated in this colony (Demerara), 
and from the total absence of authentic data regarding the amount 
of yield. 

Characters of starch produced from different plants. — Starches 
from different plants are best distinguished from one another by 
examination under a good miscroscope. The grains or globules 
may be examined either as transparent or opaque objects ; and 
although in the same species there are considerable differences in 
size and form, the different kinds are, on the whole, quite dis- 
tinguishable. One of the best ways of examining the form of 
the globules under the microscope, is to lay them on a plate of 
glass and co\^er them with a drop of aqueous solution of iodine, 
which renders them gradually blue and opaque. When the dif- 
ference in size and form between the globules of different species 
is considerable, as between the Tons les mois starch and cassava 
starch, or even between the arrowroot starch and cassava starch 
frequently used to adulterate it, it is not difficult, with a little 
practice, to detect the fraud. 

TABLE ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE SIZE AND FOKM OF THE STARCH GLOBULES 
OF VARIOUS PLANTS. 

1. Tous-les-mois [Canna coccinea). — Grown in Grenada, 1-300 to 1-2,000 of 
an inch ; general size, 1-500 ; form of the globules, large, elliptical and ovate, 
and remarkably transparent. 

2. Ditto ditto (species unknown). — From a plant grown in the garden of the 
Hon. J. Croal, Georgetown, but gathered before the root was fully ripe ; globules 
spherical, shortly ovate and elliptical; size, from 1-600 to 1-1,600; general 
size, 1-800. 

3. Buck Yam {Lloscorea triphylla). — Grown on the banks of the Demerara 
Eiver. Form of globules, elliptical, often truncated at one end, so as to be 
muUar-shaped, some pear-shaped; length, twice the width; size, 1-600 to 
1- 2,000; general size, 1-800. 

4. Common Yam (D. sativ a). —Grown on No. 1 Canal, Demerara Eiver^ 
Elliptical, some long elliptical; size, 1-700 to 1-2,0C0; general size, 1-1,000. 



334* 



STAECH-PEO]:>TJCI]S"& PLANTS, 



5. Guinea Yam {B. aculeata). — Grro-sm in the same locality. Larger globules, 
elliptical ; smaller ditto, spherical, often truncated ; some shortly ovate, -vrith 
the appearance of being flattened; general size and range, same as 'Ko. 4. 

6. Barbados Yam, grown on banks of Demerara river. Globules, pear-shaped 
and mullar-shaped ; range, 1-700 to 1-1,600; general size, 1-1,000. 

7. Plantain (.IT^^s^ j;«/'«f7/.s/«cff). — Grown on the banks of the Demerara river. 
Globules long and narrow, generally long elliptical, often more acute at the ends 
than in any other species, some linear ended abruptly ; length, often three times 
the width; range, from 1-400 to 1-4,000 of an inch; general size, 1-800. 

8. Potato [Solanum tuberosum). — Irish tubers, from Belfast Sound. Globules, 
1-600 to 1-2,000 ; general size, 1-1,200. 

9. Potato (Commercial). — Locality unknown. Eange from 1-600 ; globules 
generally same as former, but a few stray ones as large as 1-40 of an inch. 

10. Sweet Potato {Convolvulus Batatas). — Grown at the Lodge, Demerara. 
Form of globules, spherical aggregated ; range, 1-1,000 to l-4j000 ; general 
size, 1-2,400. 

11. AiTowroot {Jtfaranta anmdinacea). — Specimens from Bermuda, where the 
highest priced and best quality is prepared. Ovate and elliptical ; length in the 
larger globules, twice the width ; range, from 1-800 to 1-2,400 ; general size, 
1-1,400. 

12. Ditto ditto, grown on plantation Turkeyen, Demerara, by J. W. King. 
Size and description same as Xo. 11. 

13. Ditto ditto, grown and prepared in Barbados. Characteristics the same, 
but globules more imiform in size. 

14. Ditto ditto, grown on plantation Enmore ; not quite so uniform in size. 

15. Bitter Cassava {Janipha Manihot). — Grown on Haagsbosch plantation. 
A few globules occur as large as the 1-1,000 of an inch; these are ovate, the 
rest are spherical. The range is from 1-2,000 to 1-8,000 ; general size, 1-4,000. 

16. Sweet Cassava [Janijpha Loeflingii). — Grown on JSTo. 1 Canal, Demerara 
Eiver. 

17. Tannia {Caladium sagittifolhmi) . — Grown at the Lodge. Globules not so 
truly spherical as the foregoing, but range and size the same. 

18. AYheat {Triticmn sativum). — Locality unknown. Form of globules, spher- 
ical and slightly elliptical, some very small; range, 1-2,000 to 1-6,000, the 
former the general size. 

1 9 . Maize {Zea 2£a i/s) . — Grown in the colony, but locality uncertain. Globules, 
approaching to spherical, much aggregated; range, 1-2,000 to 1-4,000 ; general 
size, 1-3,000. 

Prom an inspection of tliis list, it does not appear that tlie 
species would be easily distinguishable, and it is not easy briefly 
to describe the differences ; in practice, however, and especially 
when the observer has a number of pure and authentic specimens 
before him, to have recourse to as standards of comparison, the 
discrimination is by no means diflicult. 

Specific gravity of starch derived from various plants. — Of 
many bodies the determination of the specific gravity is one of the 
best modes of distinguishing the purity. With the view of ascer- 
taining whether the different varieties of starch have all the same 
density, as has been asserted by some, trials were carefully made 
of as many specimens as I could procure. The results are em- 
bodied in the following table : — 



STAECH-PEODTJCINQ PLAKTS, 335 
Table No. I. — Density of starch deriyed from various plants. 



J^'ames of 
Plants. 



1. Bitter cassava 

2. Tannia 

3. Arrowroot . . 

4. Arrowroot . . 

5. Common yam 

6. Sweet potato 

7. Arrowroot . 

8. Arrowroot . . 
Tons les mcis 
Sweet cassava 
Wheat starch 
Plantain 
Tons les mois 
Barbados yam 

13. Irish potato 

16. Guinea yam 

17. Potato 

18. Buck yam . . 

19. Arrowroot . . 

20. Arrowroot . . 

21. Maize 



9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 



Density, 



Tern, at 
time of 
Obs. F. 



1-4 3 

1-4773 
1-4772 
1-4748 
-•4733 
1-47 18 
1-4717 
1-4701 
1-4698 
1-4692 
1-4632 
1-4615 
1-4611 
1-4607 
1-4589 
1-4581 
1-4561 
1-4489 
1-4443 
1-4158 
1-4109 



87. 

87- 

86-25 
86-25 

83- 25 

85- 75 

82- 73 

84- 75 
85'25 

86- 5 
85- 

85- 75 
84-25 

83- 5 

84- 75 

84- 2 
84- 
81-25 

85- 5 

86- 25 
85-5 



Kemarks . 



Grown in the colony and prepared in the 

Colonial Laboratory. 
Ditto ditto 
Ditto ditto 
Ditto ditto 
Ditto ditto 
Ditto ditto 
St. Vincent's, commercial 
Grown in the colony and prepared in C. L. 
Ditto ditto 
Ditto ditto 
Commercial, of English manufacture 
Grown in the colony and prepared in C. L. 
Grenada, commercial 

Grown in the colony and prepared in C. L. 
Tubers from Belfast; prepared in C. L. 
Grown in the colony and prepared in C. L. 
Commercial 

Grown in the colony and prepared in C. L. 
Barbados, commercial 
Bermuda, ditto 

Grown in the colony and prepared in C. L. 



Erom this it will be seen that the order of density does not cor- 
respond with the order in any of the other tables. Probably those 
specimens prepared from dry seeds, such as wheat and maize starch, 
which, as commercial articles at least, are less pure than those pre- 
pared from recently dug roots, have also the lowest density. 

Hygroscopic properties of starch produced from different plants. 
— Such of the specimens as are marked in the following table, as 
prepared in the colonial laboratory, were dried in the sun in shallow 
trays, to which they had previously been transferred in the wet state. 
When sun dried, the masses were broken down, and the starches 
freely exposed to the air in the shade for ten days. Any adherent 
masses were then rubbed to powder by light pressure in a glazed 
mortar, and the whole sifted. Portions of each of these starches, and 
of others for the sake of comparison, were then dried, at 212 degrees 
Fahrenheit, in a current of dry air, and the loss determined : — 
Table No. II. — Showing the hygroscopic water contained by starch 



PRODUCED FROM DIFFERENT PLANTS. 



1. Potato 

2. Sweet potato 

3. Buck yam . 

4. Barbados yam 

5. Arrowroot . 

6. Irish potato 

7. Guinea yam 

8. Tons les mois 

9. Arrowroot . 
10. Common yam 



Per centage of water. 
20-27 
19-57 
19-43 
19-40 
18-81 
17-28 
17-14 
16-74 
16-43 
16-36 



Remarks. 
Commercial, locality unknown 
C, C. L.* 
C, C. L. 
C, C. L. 

Bermuda, commercial 
Tubers from Belfast, C. L. 
C, C. L. 

Grenada, commercial 
Barbados, ditto 
C, C. L. 



* The initial C. throughout these tables indicates that the plant was grown iu the colony 
C. L., that the starch was prepared in the colonial laboratory. ' 



336 



STABCH-PEODUCIJ^G PLA^TTS. 



11. 


JT ictiiUtXlli • 


16-23 


C, C. L. 


12. 


xXl 1 U W L UUb ■ 


15-6-5 


c'.] c". L. 


13. 




14 84 


C J Plantation Enmors 


14. 


Tons les mois 


14-64 


c!! C. L. 


15. 


Tannia 


14-60 


C, C. L, 


16. 


Sweet cassava 


14-30 


C, C. L. 


17. 


Maize 


14-22 


C, C. L. 


18. 


Arrowroot . 


13-36 


C, C. L. 


19. 


Bitter cassava 


11-88 


C, C. L. 


20. 


Wheat starch. 


11-16 


Commercial, of English manufacture 



That the extremes in this table should occur in the case of the 
starches of commerce, was, perhaps, to be expected ; nevertheless 
the difference between the starch of the sweet potato and that of 
the bitter cassava is nearly as great, and both these specimens vrere 
prepared in the laboratory, by the same process, and subject to the 
same temperature and exposure. 

Characters of tJie jellies formed hy various starches, — Tenacity. — 
I have met with no very precise results on this subject, except the 
•well-known fact that it takes a much larger quantity of some starches, 
the arrowroot for instance, to form a jelly of equal tenacity with that 
formed by others, such as the Tom les mois ; and hence in the West 
Indies the latter is universally preferred to the cassava starches. 

After trying various plans, the method which I found best fitted 
for comparing the tenacity of different starch jellies, was the fol- 
lowing : — Of each of the kinds of starch, 24 grains were weighed 
out and mixed with 400 grains of distilled water, in a porcelain 
capsule of suitable size. The mixture was then heated and boiled 
briskly for three minutes, with constant stirring, and was immedi- 
ately poured into a conical test-glass,* which the jelly nearly filled. 
The time at which each glass was filled was noted, and exactly two 
hours were allowed for the contents to cool in a current of air. 
The glass is then set on a plate of glass, supported on a ring of a 
retort stand, and the weight ascertained, 
which was necessary to force a metallic 
disc, of ascertained size, through the 
jelly. The most convenient way of doing 
this was by using a piece of apparatus 
of the form rudely represented on the 
margin. The rectangular frame is of 
thin brass wire, and the slightly cup- 
shaped disc, d d, is soldered to a wire, at- 
tached to the upper short side of the 
rectangle. From the opposite or lower 
side of the rectangle a small glass cup, c, 
is suspended, into which weights are put 
as soon as the disc has been made to rest 
on the surface of the jelly, pp is the 
plate of glass on which the test-glass is 
set. Whenever the disc tears the skin of 
the jelly and begins to sink in it, no 

* The glasses used were all of the sort described in Griffin's catalogue under 
the name of Clark's test-glasses. They were all, as nearly as possible, of the 
same size and shape. 




STAECH-PEODrCI^^a PLANTS. 



387 



further addition of weights is made, and the weight of the disc, 
framework, and cup being known, we have an estimate of the 
tenacity of the jelly. This process is but approximative, and 
some practice is necessary before the operator succeeds in getting 
imiform resiJts from the same series of specimens. 

The following stateirent shows the results on such specimens 
as I could procure. The disc was exactly 7-lOihs of an inch in 
diameter. 



Table Xo, III. — Tenacity of starch in jellies. 



Ko. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 



Names of specimens. 
Tons les mois, C, C. L. 
Tous les mois, Grenada, Commercial . 
Maize, C, C. L. . 
Barbados yam, C, C. L. 
Irish potato, from Belfast, C. L. 
Tannia, C, C. L, . 
Bermuda arrowroot, finest Commercial 
Common yam, C, C.L. 
Guinea yam, C, C. L, 
Plantain, C, C.L. 
Potato starch, Commercial 
Arrowroot, C, C. L. 
Sweet potato, C, C. L. 
Arrowroot, C, C. L. . 
Arrowroot, C. 

Arrowroot, St. Vincent's, Commercial 
Barbados arrowroot. Commercial 
Wheat starch, Commercial 
Back yam, C, C. L. 
Bitter cassava, C, C. L. 
Sweet cassava, C, C. L. 



Weight in grains required 
to break the jelly. 
2,446 * 
1,742 
955 
895 
756 
630 
627 
657 
571 
467 
467 
393 
368 
340 
301 
289 
273 
183 
151 
150 
78 



From this list it is obvious that, in respect of tenacity, there 
is a very great difference between the jellies prepared from the 
different starches — greater, indeed, than exists in regard to any 
other character. At first I thought it probable that the tenacity 
of the jelly would bear some relation to the size of the globules, 
and it is true that we find the Grenada Tous les mois, the largest 
globule, next the top, and the cassava among the smallest, at the 
bottom of the scale. But, on the other hand, we have the Buck yam 
starch, a large sized globule, very high ; together with many other 
exceptions. 

As an article of diet, the most tenacious varieties of starch are 
preferred, on account of the economy of employing an article of 
which a less quantity will suffice ; and the same is true when ap- 
plied to starching linen, provided the jelly be not deficient in 
clearness. 

Clearness of jellies. — When starch jelly is used for the purpose 
of starching or glazing l^nen, or cotton goods, those varieties that 
are most transparent are understood to be preferred, provided, at 
the same time, they possess the requisite tenacity. This and 

* In this instance the -weight stated detached the jellj from the sides of the glass, but the 
skin of the jellj was not torn as in the other cases. 

Z 



838 



STARCH-PEODTJCINa PLANTS. 



other matters will be best determiued by practical men in England ; 
but having had occasion many times to prepare specimens for 
trying the tenacity, the opportunity was always taken of arranging 
the specimen of jellies in the order of their clearness, or, to speak 
more accurately, of their transkicenc;, . In this respect also they 
exhibit considerable differences, varying, when prepared according 
to the formula described under the head of tenacity, from very 
translucent approaching to opaque. The order is shown in the 
annexed list, which begins with the clearest, ; . ^ 

Table jSTa. IV. — SnornxG the order of clearness or transltjcency of 

UNIFORMLY PREPARED STARCH JELLIES. 



INames of specimens. 
Tannia, C, C.L. 
Sweet potato, C, C.L. 
Common yam, C. C.L. 
Tons les mois, Grenada, CmL 
Barbados arrowroot, ComL 
Tons les mois, C, C.L. 
Barbados yam, C , C.L. 
Guinea yam, C, C.L. 
Wheat starch, Coml. 
Maize, C, C.L. 



Order. Names of specimens. Order 

1. St. Vincent Arrowroot, Commercial 12. 

2. Arrowroot, C, C.L. 13. 

3. Sweet cassava, C, C.L. 14. 

4. Bitter cassava, C, C.L. 15. 

5. Bermuda arrowroot, Coml. 16. 

6. Arrowroot, C, C.L. 17. 

7. Irish potato, C.L. 18. 

8. Potato stai'ch, Coml. 19. 
6. Buck yam, C, C.L. 20. 

10. Arrowroot, C. 21. 

11. Plantain, C, C.L. 

On comparing this list with the former one, and taking a gene- 
ral view of the subject, it wnll be seen that the jellies that are 
most tenacious are generally the least translucent, and that the 
order of the two lists is more nearly the converse than occurs in 
regard to any other properties. 

Fer eentage of starch yielded hy different plants. — On this point 
no two writers do or can agree. The quantity of starch, even in 
the same plants, the potato for instance, varies with the season, 
the soil, climate, age, ripeness, length of time the roots have been 
out of the ground, &c. 

In the following table I have given the result of a series of 
trials made in the Colonial Laboratory, Deinerara. The roots were 
all fresh dug, and, with two exceptions, noticed in the remarks, 
w^ere fair average specimens. The process was the common one. 
The grater or rasping machine was of copper, to avoid injuring 
the color of some of the starches, which an iron grater is liable 
to do : — 

Table No. V. — Per centagb of starch yielded by different plants. 

No. Names of plants. Per eentage of starch. 

1. Sweet cassava 26'92 

2. Bitter cassava 24*84 

3- Another sample * 20'26 

4. A third 16-02 

5. Common yam 24-47 

6. Arrowroot (roots scarcely ripe) 21-43 

7. Another sample 17 "28 

8. Barbados yam 18-75 

9. Tannia 17 05 

10. Another sample 15-35 

11. Guinea yam 17'03 



STARv.H-PllODUCIJJJa PLANTS. 339 

12. Plantain 16-99 

13. Sweet potato 16-31 

U. Buck yam 16 07 

15. Another sample 15 '63 

16. A third, from a dark colored variety 14'83 



From the foregoiug list it appears tliat the sweet and bitter 
cassava merit atteution as starch-prodiiciug plants. They are 
occasionally grown for this purpose in the colonies, and yield a ]arge 
per centage of starch ; but there exists an opinion, whether well 
or ill founded, that it is liable to rot linen, and the preference is 
given here to the starch of arrowroot. It remains to be seen, 
however, what estimate will be formed of this starch in England, 
for if it should prove an esteemed variety, there can be no doubt 
of its proving a highly profitable cultivation. Cassava grows 
readily in almost any soil, and when the drainage is tolerable, two 
crops of the sweet variety can, it is stated be grown in a year. I 
have seen it growing luxuriantly in the light soils of the interior, 
as well as in the stiff' clay soils of the coasts. It is considered an 
excellent preparatory crop in new and stiff land, on account of its 
tendency to loosen the soil. Were the bitter variety fixed on, the 
preparation of Casareep might be combined with the preparation 
of starch ; and as that substance is one of the most esteemed 
bases for the preparation of A^arious sauces, it is probable that this 
might turn out the most profitable part of the produce. At all 
events, bitter cassava would have this advantage over all other 
starch-producing roots, that the juice of the roots could be turned 
to account as well as the starch. 

Of all the plants mentioned in the list, starch is most readily 
separated from the arrowroot, in consequence of the tissue being 
more fibrous, and yielding little or no cellular tissue requiring to 
be run off the starch. Time and water are thus saved in the 
process, and were the fibrous residue pressed and dried, it could 
probably be turned to good account in the manufacture of paper. 

In respect of facility of preparation, the plantain starch, though 
of excellent quality, ranks lowest, for the flesh-colored tissue in 
which the starch is embedded is somewhat denser than the starch, 
and settles down under it, and it is not a little difficult to arrange 
the process so as completely to separate the finer parts of this 
matter from the starch, and hence its color is never perfectly 
white. 

Yield of starch-producing plants per acre. — On this subject, as 
already remarked, I do not at present possess sufficiently accurate 
data. 

In England ten tons of potatoes are not unfrequently produced 
per acre ; now assuming 15 the per centage of starch, there 
would be a yield of one-and-a half tons per acre, which, at the 
lowest quotation, 28s. a cwt., would give £42 per acre ; and 
were the starch to rank with that prepared from wheat, it 
would produce £40 per ton, or £60 per acre. In the thorough 
drained land of Demerara, and u.nder a good system of cultiva- 

15 2 



340 



STAECH-PEODUCIJ^G PLAI>TS. 



tion, I have no doubt that ten tons of cassava could easily be 
grown, and if it yielded 25 per cent, of starch, it would be a re- 
turn of 2|- tons, or of £62 10s. per acre, reckoned at the price of 
potato starch. 

Of the yield of the plantain we possess much more acciu-ate 
information. A new plantain walk in this colony (British Gruiana) 
will yield 450 bunches, of 50 lbs. each, of which, as nearly as pos- 
sible, 50 per cent, will be of core, containing 17 percent, of starch, 
thus producing 17 cwt. of starch per acre. But an old plantain 
walk, even when free from disease, could not be reckoned to yield 
more than half this quantity, namely, 8 J cwt. per acre. Considering 
the value that is set on the plantain as an article of food, and the 
difficulties incident to the process of making starch from it, it 
is by no means probable that it will ever be used as a source from 
which to obtain starch. 

Of the quantity of arrowroot that can be grown per acre, I 
have been able (continues Dr. Shier) to procure no information ; 
but from the price it commands in the market, the facility with 
which it can be grown, and the ease with which the process of 
separating the starch can be carried od, it deserves a fair trial here. 
To cultivate it to advantage it ought to be done on thorough- 
drained and well-tilled land, planted at the proper season, and 
not dug till ripe and in dry weather. 

Of the Tons les mois, I have only been able to procure a single 
plant, for which I am indebted to the kindness of the Hon. 
John CroaL As the root was immature, it would be unfair to 
deduce from the quantity of starch obtained, the per centage gene- 
rally contained by the plant. Its immaturity was also indicated 
by the globules being smaller than in the specimen obtained from 
G-renada ; in other respects, however, such as the tenacity of its 
jell}^, it stands highest. It is altogether one of the most promising 
starch-producing plants, and obviously deserves a careful trial. 
It is a plant that expends a good deal of matter in maturing a 
considerable quantity of dense and bulky seeds, but as it pro- 
pagates both by root and seed, it is probable that, as a root-crop, 
it would be highly advantageous to procui-e a variety that does 
not flower. 

Both the tannia and the sweet potato can be readily grown, and 
the produce per acre is large ; but from the foregoing tables it 
would appear that there are other plants whose starch is likely 
to be held in greater estimation. 

Difficulties attendant on tlie process of preparing starch. — Were 
the manufacture of superior starch to be carried out in this colony 
(British Gruiana) on a large scale and profitably, recourse would re- 
quire to be had to all the well-known means of economising labor. In 
the cultivation as much as possible would require to be done by cat- 
tle and implement labor, and this would be the easier to accomplish, 
inasmuch as, to grow roots to great advantage, the land would 
require to be thorough drained. When the produce was brought 
to the buildings, machinery similar to what is already in use in 



STARCH-PRODUCII^^G PLA.NTS. 



341 



Europe, for the purpose of washiag aud rasping roots, aud of 
separating and washing starch, would suffice with comparatively 
little manual labor. An ordinary amount of judgment being 
exercised in determining the proper period of ripeness of the 
roots, and in selecting seasons when the weather is usually most 
suitable for conducting the process of manufacture, it does not 
appear that any unusual difficulty would have to be encountered 
by growers or manufacturers, unless as regards the obtaining of a 
sufficient supply of good water ; for that is essential to the pro- 
duction of good starch. 

The creek water of the colony is generally too brown, and the 
trench water too muddy, and contains often too much salt to 
produce starches of the finest color, hence recourse would require 
to be had to rain water, or Artesian water. The first is remark- 
ably pure, and it certainly does not appear that were sufficiently 
capacious reservoirs built, or ponds dug, and protected from in- 
filtration by the usual well-known means, there would be great 
difficulty in getting a sufficient supply of rain water. It is done 
in Bermuda, and why not here? On the other hand, almost all 
the Artesian wells in the colony contain a large quantity of oxide 
of iron held in solution by carbonic acid, and which separates as 
an ochrey deposit on free exposure to the air. "Were this water 
used in the starch process, it would certainly injure the color 
materially ; but by a chemical process, exceedingly simple, inex- 
pensive, and easy of application, it is possible to purify the Arte- 
sian water, and render it almost as fit as rain water for the pur- 
pose of manufacturing starch. 

In some of the other colonies a great deal of the best starch is 
produced by the holders of small lots of land, and many parts of 
the labor being light, and suited for women and children, it is one 
of the most desirable cultivations for small holders, and Avould be 
very beneficial for Demerara, where the lands of the peasantry 
too generally lie in a state of utter neglect ; yet small holders 
could not be expected to be able to compete with those who 
should grow starch on the large scale, and prepare it with the best 
machinery. 

Cassava meal, 'plantain meal, ^c, as articles of export. — It may 
soon become an important question whether the plantain, or some 
of the edible roots grown in the tropics, might not be sent to 
Europe in a fresh state as a substitute for the potato. Many of 
them, the buck yam and the cassava, for instance, ought to be 
used when fresh dug, for every day they are out of the ground 
they deteriorate. This, however, is not so much the case with 
some of the larger yams. It is worth trying whether the finer 
sorts that deteriorate by keeping, might not, after being sliced 
and dried in the sun, become articles of export, either in that 
state or when ground to meal. For this purpose the bitter 
cassava, the plantain, and the buck yam are the most promising. 

Of the bitter cassava mention has already been made as a sub- 
stance from which the starch and casareep might be prepared. 



E42 



STAECH-PEODirCI>'& PLA^'TS. 



In tliis case, hovrever. the vroody and cellular tissue, with tlie 
small quantity of starch left in it by the ordinary starch process, 
would form far too poor an article of diet to constitute part of 
the food of man. But the roots might be used as a medium 
from which to prepare cassava meal, camrecp^ and the very small 
quantity of starch which is expressed along with the juice, leaving 
all the rest of the starch to form part of the meal. It is of sach 
meal that the cassava cakes of the Indians are prepared : and 
although by no means so nutritive as Indian corn meal*, there can 
be little doubt that in the Scotch and Irish markets the cassava 
meal would obtain a preference ; and were it exported in quantity 
it would probably come into extensive use among all classes. 

The process would be as follows : — After washing in a revolving 
apparatus, by which means the adherent earth would be got quit 
of. and almost the whole of the thin dark colored cuticle become 
detached, the roots could be reduced to pulp in a rasping-mill, 
without tlie use of water ; the pulp might be compressed in bags 
by hydraulic pressure, whereby the juice, together with a small 
portion of the starch, would be expressed. After allowing the 
starch to subside, the juice should be concentrated to about the 
density of The starch would be washed, purified, and dried. 

The contents of the bags would then be broken up and dried in 
the sun or in a current of air, after which the meal would be 
sifted through a coarse sieve to separate the coarser parts, 
which, if their amount was considerable, could be ground 
and added to the rest. In this state of rough meal it is fit for 
making the cassava cakes. If ground to flour it might be used to 
mix with wheat, rye, or barley flour. 

The process is usually conducted , as follows : — The squeezed 
pulp is broken up. sifted, and exposed to the sun on trays or mats 
till it is fully more than half dry. An iron hoop of the size and 
thickness of the cake to be made is then laid on a griddle or hot 
plate, and tlie space -within the hoop is fiUed evenly with the 
somewhat moist meal, no previous kneading or rolling having been 
employed. As soon as the coarse meal coheres, the ring is lifted 
and the cake is turned and heated on the opposite side. The heat 
shoull not be sulScient to brown the cake. The cakes are finally 
dried by exposiu^e to the sun. Prom the dry cassava meal cakes 

* I hare determined the amount of nitrogen contained in the meal made from 
the "vrhole maize, the gro-vrth of the colony, as also from plantain meal ; I have 
also ascertained its amount in cassava meal, prepared in the manner mentioned 
in the test, and in meal prepared from the cassava sliced, dried, and ground 
without expressing the juice. Assuming Liebig's formula of Proteine, namely, 
C X H 0 the results stand thus :— 
48 6 36 4 

Xiti'ogen. Proteine compounds. 
Per c^nt. Per cent. 
Maize meal (unhu>hec') . . 1-73 10-72 

Plantain meal . . . '88 5 45 

Cassava meal (juice expressed) . •36 2-23 

Ditto from the sliced and dried roots "78 4-83 



STAECH-PRODUCi:>G PLANTS. 



343 



may be prepared by sprinkling it vritb as much cold water as to 
moisten it to the proper point, and then proceeding as above. Hot 
water cannot be employed, neither can kneading, or any conside- 
rable degree of compression be used, otherwise the water does not 
evaporate readily enough ; the starch gets too much altered by the 
heat, and the cake becoDies tough. 

If an acre of well-tilled thorough-drained land yield 10 tons of 
fresh roots, and I have every reason to believe that such a return, 
might be obtained, I have ascertained that the produce would be 
3 J tons of meal, 598 lbs, of casareep, and 2 cwt. of starch ; and 
estimating the meal at Id. per lb., the casareep at Is. 5d. per lb., 
and the starch at 40s. per cwt., the gross amount would be £78 
133. 4d. per acre. In ascertaining these proportions, very simple 
machinery was employed, and had the pulp been better pressed 
the quantity of casareep would have been considerably greater. 

From the table given in a former note it will be seen that the 
cassava meal prepared in this way contains but a very small pro- 
portion of matter nutritive in the sense of contributing to the 
formation of blood, and that the expressed juice carries off fully 
one-half of the proteine compounds contained in the plant, 

Lichenin is a variety of starch occurring in Cetraria ulandica, 
or Iceland moss. 

Indian corn starch. — The advance of science has recently brought 
to our knowledge the preparation and use of another article, not 
only important as food, but also essential in the arts. I have had 
occasion to mention the high value of the Indian corn, and I might 
with advantage allude to many of its uses avA properties ; at pre- 
sent I must confine my remarks to a prodi^ct from this valuable 
grain, known as corn starch, and yet another as the fecula of maize. 
In the close of 1849, Mr. Willard and his associates, of Auburn, 
established extensive works at Oswego, for the preparation of 
these important products, their establishment covering an area of 
49,000 square feet. As the proprietors have to some extent held 
unrevealed the process by which they produce a starch more pure 
than the starch of commerce, we may not indulge in speculative 
curiosity ; yet I can hardly doubt their great success is mainly at- 
tributable to perfect machinery, guided by science and talent. The 
rapid and extended demand for these new products presents suf- 
ficient evidence of their character, as we are told that about three 
millions of pounds of this corn starch are demanded annually by 
tlie trade, notwithstanding the usual supply of wheat starch is 
undiminished. A remarkable feature of maize starch is the absence 
of impurities ; upon being subjected to analysis, it is found 
that only 2 76-100 parts in 1000 are of other matter than pure 
starch. According to Dr. Ure, wheat yields only 35 to 40 per cent, 
of good starch, a material extensively used in arts and manu- 
factures. 

In addition to starch, the Oswego starch-factory produces from 
Indian corn a fecula, peculiarly adapted to culinary purposes, pre- 
senting to our domestic economy one of the most acceptable, pure, 



S44 



STAECH-PRODUCING PLAIfTS. 



and nutritious articles of food. Already has it become an indis- 
pensable household article, and is consumed largely at home and 
abroad. The factory, though in its infancy, consumes annually 
. 150,000 bushels of corn, equal to about nine millions of pounds in 
weight. Hitherto the quantities of starch used for laundry pur- 
poses- and in the manufactories of America, have been produced 
from costly wheats, though it may be found in many vegetable 
substances, such as potatoes, the horse chesnut and other seeds. 
In England, where bread-stuffs, particularly wheat, have been 
raised in quantities inadequate to the demand for food, attempts 
have been made to convert the viscid matter of lichens into a gum, 
for the use of calico printers, paper makers, and ink makers ; for the 
stiffening of silks, crapes, and the endless variety of dry goods, 
which, by means of these gums or starch, are made to appear of 
greater consistency. Most of these attempts had partial success, 
yet the making of starch from w^heat has not been arrested. 

The Oswego starch factory has happily introduced the use of 
Indian corn, as a grain producing a larger proportion of pure 
amylaceous properties than any other known vegetable substance, 
proffering to the American manufacturer another economic advan- 
tage, sustaining, in a most legitimate matter, sound rivalry and com- 
petition with all the world. I am not aware whether the Oswego 
factory has converted its starch into gum — a process easily accom- 
plished by heat, and thus rendered soluble in cold water, which 
cannot be done while in its condition of starch. Here is another 
result of vast importance derivable from Indian corn; and we can 
well conceive that, in a short period of time, the advantages now 
derived from the production of corn starch, may have grown into 
a national benefit. 

liice (accordijjg to Prof. Solly) contains on an average about 
84 per cent of starch ; but till comparatively a few years ago, no 
starch was manufactured from it, notwithstanding its low price, 
and the large quantity of starch which exists in it. The reason of 
this was, that the old process of fermentation, by means of which 
starch is procured from grain, was not found to be applicable to 
rice ; and hence the latter only became available as a source of 
starch in 1840, when Mr. Orlando Jones introduced his new pro- 
cess, for which he obtained a patent. This process consisted in 
macerating the rice for about 20 hours in a dilute solution of 
caustic potash, containing about 200 grains of the alkali in every 
gallon ; the liquor is then drawn off, the rice dried, reduced to 
pow^der by grinding, then a second time digested in a similar 
alkaline lye for 24 hours, repeatedly agitated. After this it is 
allowed to settle, and w^ell washed with pure cold water. A prize 
medal was awarded for this rice starch at the Great Exhibition. 

Mr. S. Berger, of Bromley, also received a prize medal. He 
adopts a different mode of preparation. In place of emplojdng a 
dilute solution of caustic potash to dissolve the gluten and other 
insoluble matters of the grain, Mr. Berger uses a solution of car- 
bonate of soda, containing half a pound to the gallon. The rice 



AEEOWROOT. 



345 



is steeped in cold water for 48 hours, levigated in a suitable mill, 
and the pulp thus formed is treated with the solution of carbonate 
of soda for 60 or 70 hours, being repeatedly stirred ; it is then 
allowed to settle for some hours, the alkaline liquor is dl'awn off, 
and the starch is washed and purified. This process was patented 
by Mr. Berger, in December, 1841. A third process was patented 
in February, 1842, by Mr. J. Colman ; he uses dilute mm^iatic 
acid for the same purpose as Messrs Jones and Berger. 



AIREOWOOT, EAST AND WEST IIs^DIAN. 

Thjc genuine arrowroot of commerce is the produce of the tuberous 
rhizomata of Maranta arimdinacea, a native of South America, and 
M. indica, iudigenous to the "West Indies, but also caltivated in 
the East. The best West Indian arrowroot comes from Bermuda. 
Its globules are much smaller and less glistening than those of 
Tous-les-mois, or potato starch. 

The peculiar characteristics of the starch obtained from various 
plants has been particularised and described already in the 
elaborate investigation of the commercial yield and value of the 
starch-producing plants. Amylaceous matter of a simdar kind 
to arrowroot is obtained from other species of Maranta, 
as from some species of Canna, well known under the popular 
name of Indian shot, from the similarity of their round black 
seeds. 

The arrovrroot plant {M. arimdinacea) is a perennial, its root is 
fleshy and creeping, and very full of knots and numerous long white 
fibres. Arising from the root are many leaves, spear-shaped, smooth 
on the upper surface and hairy beneath. The length of the leaf is 
about six or seven inches, and the breadth about three towards 
their base, the color and consistence resembling those of the seed. 
Erom the root arise slender petioles upon which the leaves stand, 
and several herbaceous erect stalks come out between them, rising 
to the height of about two feet. A loose bunch of small white 
flowers is succeeded by three-cornered capsules, each containing 
one hard rough seed. 

The propagation and culture of this plant are of the simplest 
kinds. The roots should be parted, and the most suitable soil is a 
rich loam. 

In the Bermudas, a deep rich soil, or one in which marsh or 
peat prevail, is alone adapted for growing arrowroot in perfection. 

A correspondent from the Bermudas, (where arrowroot forms the 
great staple crop of the islands), informs me that he ploughed up 
a small piece of land, twenty rods (or the eighth part of an acre), 
with a small plough and one horse. He ploughed it over three times, 
and the third time planted the arrowroot as he ploughed it. The 
land had not been turned up before for twenty years. 

The expenses and profits stand thus : — 



34G 



AEEOWaOOT. 



EXPENSE. 

£. s. d. 

To the ploughman, harrowing and planting the 

arrowroot .... 100 

Arrowroot plants ... 160 
Digging it up . . , . £10 0 

Deduct half, as the land was planted for the next 

year . . . . . 0 10 0 0 10 0 

Balance carried down, being nett profit . 5 14 0 



& 0 0 

PRODUCE. 

By 2,000 lbs. of root at 8s. per 100 lbs. . . .800 

By balance brought down as net profit . . . 5 14 0 

The above £5 14s. clear profit on the 20 rods, is at the rate of 
£45 12s. profit for one acre. Now, if a small cultivator were to 
plant three or four acres, and get only one-half of the above 
profit, it Vv^ould give a 'good return, and would be well worth the 
trial. 

Arrowroot requires a good rich red soil, of which there is still 
much lying waste. The best time for planting it is in April, but 
it can be planted in March, or indeed at any time after the first of 
the year, till May : though if taken up and planted before 
Christmas, you may depend it will not come to any perfection. 
Arrowroot can be planted in many ways ; either in holes made 
with a hoe, ploughed under, or in drills like Irish potatoes. JSTow 
the way I prefer is to prepare the land, then strike the line at two 
feet apart, and make holes with a pointed stick or dibble six inches 
apart, putting in each hole one strong plant or two small ones, 
then cover them up. This is more trouble than the old way, but 
it gives an excellent crop. It can also be planted like Irish po- 
tatoes in drills, two feet apart in the rows, and six inches between 
the plants. It should be hand-weeded in the spring, because if it 
is hoed, most likely you will cut some of it off" which may be 
springing under ground, and it will never come up so strong again. 
Arrowroot requires very strong ground and plenty of manure. 
Farm yard manure is the best ; next to that green sea-weed drip- 
ping with salt water — this is an excellent manure, and should be 
dug in the ground as the arrowroot is taken up, I have no doubt 
that it would be of great advantage to the planter, if he were to put 
a cask in a cart, fill it with salt water, and put it on the land a few 
weeks before it is planted. Some people say that arrowroot does 
not pay so well, because it has to stay in the ground a whole year ; 
but then if you have onions you can plant them over it, and so 
obtain a crop which will pay much better than the arrowroot itself. 
If you have a large piece of arrowroot ground, take up one half 
early, and plant it out with Irish potatoes ; then take up the other 
half later, and with ths plants set out your potato ground, that 
is if you have taken up your potatoes ; if not, plant the arrowroot 
between the rows, in holes; so that when you take up the potatoes, 
you clean the arrowroot and loosen the ground, which will give a 
good crop ; or you can plant Indian corn very thin over the arrow- 



AEEOWKOOT. 



347 



root ground (if you have nothing else), but be sure to cut it up 
before it ripens corn, or it will injure your arrowroot crop ; or you 
may plant a few melon seeds over it, and you will bave a fine crop 
of fruit. 

In 18 i5 I planted, in tbe months of January and Pebruary, a 
quarter of an acre of good land, in arrowroot and onions. 
The expense and profit stand as follow : — 



EXPENSE. 





£. 


s. 


d. 


'Pn rlicrmncr fTiP crrmiTirl 

J.\J Ul^glJ-lg LUlt' glVtl.U.\A • • ■ • 


1 


0 


0 


Planting arrowroot ..... 


. 0 


6 


0 


Twelve load of sea-weed, at Is. . 


. 0 


12 


0 


Botten manure for onions, 10 loads, at 23. 


1 


0 


0 


\J lie ULfLLXC \JLIL\J1± oCCU. • • • • 


0 


16 


0 


Sowing onion seed and keeping the plants clean 


.' 0 


10 


0 


Planting out onions .... 


1 


0 


0 


Cleaning onions after set out 


. 0 


15 


0 


Tops and making basketa .... 
Pulling, cutting, and basketing 


. 1 


8 


0 


. 0 


18 


0 


Carting and shipping .... 


. 0 


8 


0 


Digging arrowroot . . , . 


. 2 


0 


0 




10 


13 


0 


Clear profit on quarter acre . , 


. 22 


13 


9 




33 


6 


9 


PRODUCT. 








By onions sold ..... 


. 20 


16 


0 


By arrowroot ..... 


. 12 


10 


9 




33 


6 


9 



This is at the rate of £90 15s. clear profit per acre, which 
is more than double the worth of the land. I have not named 
the arrowroot plants, because I have planted my land with them 
again, but they might be fairly put to the credit of the account. 
The above statement shows what may be done with good land 
and good management ; but even if a man can only clear £10 
on an acre of land, he ought not to grumble. 

Dr. Ure gives a most interesting and lucid account of the mode 
of manufacture in the island of St. Vincent, where the plant is 
now cultivated with great success, and the root manufactured in 
a superior manner. 

It grows there to the height of about three feet, and it sends 
down its tap root from twelve to eighteen inches into the ground. 
Its maturity is known by the flagging and falling down of the 
leaves, an event which takes place when the plant is from ten to 
twelve months' old. The roots being dug up with the hoe, are 
transported to the washing-house, where they are thoroughly freed 
from all adhering earth, and next taken individually into the hand 
and deprived, by a knife, of every portion of their skins, Avhile 
every unsound part is cut away. This process must be performed 
with great nicety, for the cuticle contains a resinous matter, which 



348 



AEEOWROOT. 



imparts color and a disagreeable flavor to tlie fecula, which no 
subsequent treatment can remove. The skinned roots are thrown 
into a large cistern, with a perforated bottom, and there exposed 
to the action of a copious cascade of pure water, till this runs 
off" quite unaltered. The cleansed roots are next put into the 
hopper of a mill, and are subjected to the powerful pressure of 
two pairs of polished rollers of hard brass ; the lower pair of 
rollers being set much closer together than the upper. The 
starchy matter is thus ground into a pulp, which falls into the 
receiver placed beneath, and is thence transferred to large fixed 
copper cylinders, tinned inside, and perforated at the bottom with 
numerous minute orifices, like a kitchen drainer. Within these 
cylinders, wooden paddles are made to revolve with great velocity, 
by the power of a water-wheel, at the same time that a stream 
of pure water is admitted from above. The paddle-arms beat out 
the fecula from the fibres and parenchjana of the pulp, and 
discharge it in the form of a milk through the perforated bottom 
of the cylinder. This starchy water runs along pipes, and then 
through strainers of fine muslin into large reservoirs, where, after 
the fecula has subsided, the supernatant water is drawn off", and 
fresh water being let on, the whole is agitated and left again to 
repose. This process of ablution is repeated till the water no 
longer acquires anything from the fecula. Finally, all the deposits 
of fecula of the day's work are collected into one cistern, and 
being covered and agitated with a fresh change of water, are 
allowed to settle till next morning. The water being now let 
ofi", the deposit is skimmed with palette knives of Grerman silver, 
to remove any of the superficial parts, in the slightest degree 
colored ; and only the lower, purer, and denser portion is pre - 
pared by drying for the market. 

On the Hopewell estate, in St. Yincent, where the chief im- 
provements have been carried out, the drying-house is constructed 
like the hot-house of an English garden. But instead of plants 
it contains about four dozen of drying pans, made of copper, 7^ 
feet by 4^ feet, and tinned inside. Each pan is supported on a 
carriage having iron axles, with Ug7ium vitce wheels, like those of 
a railway carriage, and they run on rails. Immediately after sun- 
rise, these carriages, with their pans, covered with M'hite gauze 
to exclude dust and insects, are run out into the open air, but 
if rain be apprehended they are run back under the glazed 
roof. In about four days the fecula is thoroughly dry and ready 
to be packed, with Grerman silver shovels, into tins or American 
flour barrels, lined with paper, attached with arrowroot paste. The 
packages are never sent to this country in the hold of the ship, as 
their contents are easily tainted by noisome eflluvia, of sugar, &c. 

Arrowroot is much more nourishing than the starch of wheat 
or potatoes, and the flavor is purer. The fresh root consists, 
according to Benzon, of 0*07 of volatile oil ; 26 of starch (23 of 
which are obtained in the form of powder, while the other 3 
must be extracted from the parenchyma in a paste, by boiling 



AEEOAYEOOT. 



349 



wat'^r) ; 1'48 of vegetable albumen; 0*6 of a gummy extract; 
0 25 of cbloride of calcium ; 6 of insoluble fibrine ; and 65*6 of 
water. 

Arrowi'oot is often adulterated in this country with potato 
flour and other ingredients. 

Dr. Lankester asserts that the value of arrowroot starch, as an 
article of diet, is not greater than that of potato starch, and that 
the yield of starch is not greater from the arro^vroot than from 
potatoes ; but this I must decidedly deny. Chemical analj/sis and 
experience are proofs to the contrary. 

The analogy arro^vroot has to potato starch, has induced 
many persons to adulterate the former substance with it ; and 
not only has this been done, but I have known instances in 
which potato starch alone has been sold for the genuine foreign 
article. There is no harm in this, to a certain extent ; but it 
certainly is a very great fraud upon the public (and one for 
which the perpetrators ought to be most severely punished), to 
sell so cheap an article at the same price as one which is com- 
paratively costly. There is, moreover, in potato starch, a peculiar 
taste, bringing to mind that of raw potatoes, from which the 
genuine arrowroot is entirely free. This fraud, however, can be 
readily detect(^d ; arrowroot is not quite so white as potato starch, 
and its grains are smaller, and have a pearly and very brilliant 
lustre ; and further, it always contains peculiar clotted masses, 
more or less large, which have been formed by the adhesion of 
a multitude of grains during the drying. These masses crush 
very readily when pressed between the fingers, and as before 
stated, arrowroot is free from that peculiar odor due to potato 
starch. This may be most readily developed by mixing the sus- 
pected sample with hot water ; if it be genuine arrowroot, the 
mixture is inodorous, if potato starch, the smell of raw potatoes 
is immediately developed. If a mixture of arrowroot and potato 
starch be minutely observed by means of a good microscope, the 
grains of arrowroot may be readily detected ; they are very small 
and exceedingly regular in shape, whilst those of potato starch are 
much larger, and very irregular in shape. But the most con- 
venient and delicate test of all, is that proposed by Dr. Schar- 
ling, of Copenhagen. After mentioning the test by the micro- 
scope, he goes on to state that he has obtained more favorable 
results by employing diluted nitric acid ; and that, if arrowroot 
or potato starch be mixed with about two parts of concentrated 
nitric acid, both will immediately assume a tough gelatinous state. 
This mass, when potato starch is employed, is almost trans- 
parent, and when arrowroot is used, is nearly opaque, as in the 
case above mentioned, in which hydrochloric acid is substituted. A 
mixture of nitric acid and water, however, operates very diiTerently 
on these two kinds of starch. ■ The glutinous mass yielded by 
the potato starch, becomes in a very brief period so tough that 
the pestle employed for stirriug the mixture is sufficiently agglu- 
tinated to the mortar, that the latter may be lifted from the 



350 



ARROWEOOT. 



table by its means. Arrowroot, on the other hand, requires from 
twenty-five to thirty minutes to acquire a like tenacity. 

The Lancet recently stated that, on a microscopical analysis 
of 50 samples of arrowroot, purchased indiscriminately of various 
London tradesmea, 22 were found to be adulterated. In 16 
cases this adulteration consisted in the addition of a single inferior 
product much cheaper in price, such as potato flour, sago meal, 
or tapioca starch, while in other instances there was a combination 
of these articles, potato flour being usually preponderant. Ten 
of the mixtures contained scarcely a particle of the genuine 
Maranta or West India arrowroot, for which they were sold. 
One consisted almost wholly of sago meal ; two of potato flour 
and sago meal ; two of potato flour, sago meal, and tapioca starch ; 
one of tapioca starch ; and four of potato arrowroot, or starch 
entirely. The worst specimens were those which were done up 
in canisters especially marked as " G-enuine West India arrowroot," 
or as being "warranted free from adulteration;" and one, which 
contained a considerable quantity of potato flour, was particularly 
recommended to invalids, and certified as the finest quality 
ever imported into this country. The profits to the vendors 
of the inferior compounds are to be estimated from the fact 
that the price of sago meal and potato starch is about 4d. per 
lb., while the genuine Maranta arrowroot is from Is. to 3s. (id. 
per lb. 

The arrowroot of Bermuda has long borne a high reputation, 
being manufactured on a better principle and being therefore 
of superior quality to that produced in Antigua, St. Vincent, and 
other West Indian islands. The process is tedious and requires 
a good deal of labor. There is no doubt, however, that the quality 
of the w^ater has a great deal of influence on the fecula. Bermuda 
arrowroot is necessarily made from rain water collected in tanks 
or reservoirs, and the lime and the deposit from houses, &c., may 
alter its properties. After the root is taken from the ground it is 
placed in a mill, and is thereby cleansed of its exterior excrescences ; 
it is then thoroughly washed, when it is ready for the large 
machine, the principle of which is similar to the " treadmill." A 
horse is placed on something like a platform, and as he prances 
up and down, the machinery is set in play. A person stands at 
.the end, and places the root in the wheel of the machine, which, 
'after being ground, falls into a trough of water. After going 
through this process, it is re-washed and then placed in vessels to 
dry in the sun. It is packed in boxes lined with blue paper or 
tin, and sent to the markets in England and America, where it 
generally meets with ready sale. 

At a meeting of the Agricultural Society of Bermuda, held in 
May, 1840, Mr. W. M. Cox submitted a new arrowroot strainer 
which he had invented. It consists of two cloth strainers fixed 
to hoops from 15 to 20 inches in diameter. The strainers work- 
ing one within the other, are kept in motion by a lever, moved 
by hand. The whole apparatus is not an expensive one, and is 



AER0V7E00T. 



351 



well adapted for aiding the manufacture of arrowroot upon an 
expeditious and economical plan. 

A simple method by which starch may be extracted from the 
fecula with much purity coasists in enclosing the flour in a muslin 
bag and squeezing it with the fingers while submerged in clean 
water, by which process the starch passes out in a state of white 
powder and subsides. Two essential constituents of flour are 
thus separated from each other ; a viscid substance remains in the 
bag, which is called gluten, and the white powder deposited is 
starch. 

The principal quarters from whence the supply is derived, are 
the Bermudas, St. Vincent, Barbados and Grrenada, in the West 
Indies; Ceylon, and some other parts of the East — and a few 
of our settlements on the West coast of Africa. The annual 
imports for home consumption average 500 tons. 

The cultivation of arrowroot for the production of starch in 
St. Yincent has increased enormously of late years. In 1835, 
the island produced 41,397 lbs.; in \S4id it exported 828,842 
lbs. The exports to 15th June, 1851, were, 2,934 barrels, 
2,083 half barrels, 5,610 tins. The culture is year by year ex- 
tending, and as, unlike that of the sugar cane, it may be carried 
on on a small scale with very little outlay of capital, we may 
reasonably anticipate a still further progressive extension for 
some years to come. Arrowroot, when once established in virgin 
soil, produces several crops ^ith very little culture. In the first 
half of 1851, 25,027 lbs. were shipped from Montego Bay, Jamaica. 
The quantity of arrowroot on which duty of Is. per cwt. was paid 
in the six years ending 1840, was as follows : — 

Cwts. Cwts. 

1835 .. .. 3,581 .. .. 1838 .. .. 2,538 

1836 3,280 .. .. 1839 .. .. 2,264 

1837 .. .. 2,858 .. .. 1840 . .. 2,124 

The imports in the last few years have been in 

Cwt. Cwt: 

1847 .. .. 8,040 .. 1850 . .. 15,980 

1848 .. .. 10,580 .. . 1851 .. 

1849 . . . . 9,252 . . . . About 500 cwt. are re-exported. 

East India arrowroot is procured in part from Curcuma angus- 
tifolia, known locally as Tikoor in the East, and a similar kind of 
starch is yielded by C. Zerumhet, C. rubescens, O. leucorJiiza, and 
Alpinia Galanga, the Gralangale root of commerce. C. angusii- 
folia gi'ows abundantly on the Malabar coast, and is cultivated 
about the districts of Patna, Sagur and the south-west frontier, 
Mysore, Tizigapatam, and Canjam, Cochin and Tellicherry. It 
was discovered but a few years ago growing wild in the forests 
extending from the banks of the Sona to ]>sugpore. 

The particles of East India arrowroot are very unequal in 
size, but on the average are larger than those of West India 
arrowroot. 



352 



AEEOTN'EOOT. 



Dr. Taylor^ in his Topography of Dacca, speaks of fecula or 
starch being obtained from the Egyptian lotus' {NymplKEa lotus). 
which is used by the native practitioners as a substitute for 
arrowroot. 

Chinese arrowroot is said to be made from the root of Xeliim- 
hium speciosum. 

The original Indian arrowroot is extracted at Trayancore, ac- 
cording to Ainshe, from the root of the Curcuma angustifoJia. 
It is easily distinguished by its form, which is sometimes ovoid, 
sometimes elongated, of considerable size, rounded at one of the 
extremities, and terminating in a point at the other, often re- 
serdbling a grain of rice. 

The manufacture of arrowroot on the southern borders of the 
Everglades, at Key AYest, Florida, bids fair to become as exten- 
sive and as profitable as at Bermuda, whence, at present, we re- 
ceive the bulk of our supphes. The wild root, which the Indians 
call Compti, grows spontaneously over an immense area of other- 
wise barren land. It is easily gathered, and is first peeled in large 
hoppers ingeniously contrived, and thrown into a cylinder and 
ground into an impalpable pulp. It is then washed and dried in 
the sun, baked and broken into small lumps, when it is ready for 
the market. The article is extensively used in the Eastern 
woollen and cotton establishments, as well as for family use. 
Arrowroot is cultivated in the interior of East Florida with great 
success. It is also cultivated to a considerable extent in Greorgia, 
and is, I understand, a profitable crop. 

The following is the process of manufacture : — The roots, when 
a year old, are dug up, and beaten in deep wooden mortars to a 
pulp ; which is then put into a tub of clean water, well washed, 
and the fibrous part thrown away. The milky liquor being passed 
through a sieve or coarse cloth, is sufiJ'ered to settle, and the clean 
water is drawn off ; at the bottom of the vessel is a white mass, 
which is again mixed v^dth clean water, and drained ; lastly the 
mass is dried in the sun, and is pure starch. Arrowroot can be 
kept without spoiHng for a very long time. 

A considerable quantity of arrowroot is now produced in tbe 
Sandwich Islands. In 1841 arrowroot to the value of 3.320 dolls, 
was shipped, and in 1843, 35,140 lbs., valued at £1,405, was ex- 
ported, principally to Topic and San Bias, where it is used as 
starch for linen. 

A kind of arrowroot of very good quality was sent to the 
Grreat Exhibition of 1851, by Sir E,. Schomburgk, which is obtained 
in St. Domingo from the stems of a species of Zamia, called there 
Guanjiga ; and the Zamia Australis, of Western Australia, yields 
even better fecula. The taste was unpleasant and salt, as if it had 
been immersed in lime. The other starch, from the Western Aus- 
tralian Zamia, in quality rivalled arrowroot. This fecula hangs 
together in chains, quite unlike the ordinary appearance of arrow- 
root when seen under the microscope. 



AEEOTVEOOT. 



353 



The following figures show the exports of arrowroot from 
Bermuda ; — 



1830 
1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 



lbs. 
18,174 
77,153 
34,833 
44,651 
54,471 
65,500 

91,230 
136.610 
151,757 
173,275 
224,480 



854,329 



Value of the exports. 



£8,682 
10,974 
8,084 
4,716 
4,747 
6,760 



In the spring of 1851, 201,130 lbs. were shipped from Ber- 
muda. 

In 1843 the quantity of arrowroot in the rough state made in 
Bermuda was 1,110,500 lbs. 



AHEOWROOT EXPORTED FROM A^s'TIGUA TO 



1835 
1836 
1837 
1838 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 



Great Britain. 
Boxes. 
1,075 
581 
100 
472 
682 
453 
289 
582 
744 
376 
402 



B. N. America 
Boxes. 
20 
43 
42 
20 



B. Indies. 
Boxes. 



32 
30 
10 



Barbados exported in 1832, 16,814 lbs., value £469 ; in 1840, 
387 packages ; in 1843, 302 ; in 1844, 790 packages ; in 1851, 306 
packages ; these average about 30 lbs. each. 

Ceylon now produces excellent arrowroot. In 1842, 150 boxes 
were exported ; in 1843, 200 ; in 1844, 300 ; in 1845, 600 boxes. 

From Africa we now import a large quantity : 250 boxes were re- 
ceived in 1846. Isot unfrequently arro^Toot from Africa has been 
sent to the West Indies in the ships with the liberated Africans, 
and thence re-exported to England, as of St. Vincent or Ber- 
muda growth. The duty on arro^TOot, under the new tariff, is 
equalised on all kinds to 4|d. per lb. 

The imports and home consumption of arrowroot have increased 
very largely, as may be seen from the following figures 

2 A 



354 



SALEP. 



Eetained for home 
Imports. consumption, 
lbs. lbs. 

1826 318,830 .... 358,007 

1830 449,723 ol6,o87 

1834 837,811 735,190 

1835 287,966 895,406 

1838 404,738 434,574 

1839 303,489 224,792 

3 840 408,469 330,490 

1841 ; 454,893 

1842 890,736 846.832 

1846 905,072 981,120 

1847 1,185,968 1,211,168 

1848 906,304 933.744 

1849 1,036,185 1,032,992 

1850 1,789,774 1,414,669 

1851 2,083,681 1,848,778 

1852 2,139,390 2,024,316 



Salep is tlie prepared and dried roots of several orchideoiis 
plants, and is sometimes sold in tlie state of powder. Indigenous 
salep is procured, according to Dr. Perceval from Orchis mascida^ 
O. latifolia, O. morio, and other native plants of this order. On 
the continent it is obtained from O. -papilionaceo, and milifaris. 
Oriental salep is procured from other orchideoe. Professor Eoyle 
states that the salep of Kashmir is obtained from a species of 
Eulophia, probably E. virens. Salep is also obtained from the 
tuberous roots of Tacca pinnaiifida, and other species of the same 
genus, which are principally natives of the East Indies and the 
(South Sea Islands. 

The large fleshy tubers of tacca, when scraped and frequently 
washed, yield a nutritious fecula resembling arrowroot. 

Salep consists chiefly of bassorin, some soluble gum, and a little 
starch. It forms an article of diet fitted for convalescents when 
boiled with water or milk. The price of salep is about eight guineas 
per cwt. in the London market. A little is exported from Constan- 
tinople, as I noticed a shipment of 66 casks in 1842 ; excellent 
specimens from this quarter were shown in the Egyptian depart- 
ment of the Grreat Exhibition in 1851. It was formerly a great 
deal used, but has latterly been much superseded by other articles. 

Major D. Williams (" Journal of the Agri. and Hort. Soc. of 
India," vol. iv., part I), states tliat the tacca plant abounds in 
certain parts of the province of Arracan, where the Mugs prepare 
the farina for export to the China market. 

After removing the peel, the root is grated on a fish-skin, and 
the pulp having been strained through a coarse cloth, is washed 
three or four times in water, and then dided in the sun. 

According to a recent examination of the plant by Mr. iS'uttall 
(" American Journal of Pharmacy," vol. ix., p. 305), the Otaheite 
salep is obtained from a new species of tacca, which he names 
T. oceanica. 

Eor many years we have obtained from Tahiti, and other islands 
of the South Seas, this fecula, known by the name of Tahiti 



SOOT CEOPS. 



355 



arrowroot, probably tlie produce of Tacca pinnatijida. It is 
generally spherical, bat also often ovoid, elliptic, or rounded, with 
a prolongation in the form of a neck, suddenly terminated by a, 
plane. 

The tacca plant grows at Zanzibar, and is found naturalised on 
the high islands of the Pacific. The art of preparing arrowroot 
from it is aboriginal with the Polynesians and Peejeeans. 

At Tahiti the fecula is procured by washing the tubers, scraping 
off their outer skin, and then reducing them to a pulp by friction, 
on akind of rasp, made b}^ winding coarse twine (formed of the coco- 
nut fibre) regularly round a board. The pidp is washed with sea 
water through a sieve, made of the fibrous web which protects 
the young frond of the coco-nut palm. The strained liquor is re- 
ceived in a wooden trough, in which the fecula is deposited ; and 
the supernatant liquor being poured off, the sediment is formed 
into balls, which are dried in the sim for twelve or twenty-four 
hours, then broken and reduced to powder, which is spread out 
in the sun further to dry. In some parts of the world cakes of 
a large size are made of the meal, which form an article of diet 
in China, Cochin-China, Travancore, &c., where they are eaten by 
the natives with some acid to subdue their acrimony. 

Some twenty varieties of the Ti plant {Diacaena terminalis) are 
cultivated in the Polpiesian islands. There is, however, but one 
which is considered farinaceous and edible. In Java the root is 
considered a valuable medicine in dysentery. 

Within the last three or four years, considerable quantities of a 
feculent substance, called Tons les mois, have been imported from 
the West Indies. It is cultivated in Barbados, St. Kitts, and the 
Prench islands, and is said to be prepared by a tedious and trouble- 
someprocess from the rhizomes of various species of Carina Coccinea, 
AcJiiras, glauca, and edulis. It approaches more nearlj^ to potato 
starch than to any other fecula, but its particles are larger. Like 
the other amylaceous substances, it forms a valuable and nutritious 
article of food for the invalid. 

The large tuberous roots of the Canna are equal in size to the 
humanhead. The plant attains in rich soils a statare of fourteen feet, 
and is identical, it is supposed, with the Achira of Cboco, which 
has an esculent root highly esteemed ; and my friend, Dr. Hamil- 
ton, of Plymouth, has named it provisionally, in cousequence, 
Canna achira. The starch of this root, he asserts, is superior to 
that of the Mar ant a, 

HOOT CEOPS, 

AMOxasT tuberous rooted plants, which serve as food for man in 
various quarters of the globe, the principal are the common potato, 
yam, cocoes or eddoes, sweet potatoes, taro, tacca, arrowroot, 
cassava, or manioc, and the Apios (ArracacJm esculenta). There are 
others of less importance, which may be incidentally mentioned. 

2 A 2 



356 



BOOT CROPS. 



The roots of TropcBolum tuberosum are eaten in Peru, those of 
Ocymum tuberosum in Java. In Kamschatka they use the root of 
the Lilium Pomponium as a substitute for the potato. In Brazil 
the Helianthus tuberosus. The rhizomsB and seed vessels of the 
Lotus form the principal food of the aborigines of Australia. As 
a matter of curious information, I have also briefly alluded to many 
other plants and roots, furnishing farinaceous substance and sup- 
port in different countries. 

The comparative amount of human food that can be produced 
upon an acre from different crops, is worthy of great consideration. 
One hundred bushels of Indian corn per acre is not an uncommon 
crop. One peck per week will not only sustain life, but give a 
man strength to labor, if the stomach is properly toned to the 
amount of food. This, then, would feed one man 400 weeks, or 
almost eight years ! 400 bushels of potatoes can also be raised 
upon an acre. This would give a bushel a week for the same 
length of time ; and the actual weight of an acre of sweet potatoes 
(^Convolvulus batatas) is 21,344 lbs., which is not considered an 
extraordinary crop. This would feed a man (six pounds a day) 
for 3,557 days, or nine and two-third years ! 

To vary the diet we will occasionally give rice, which has been 
grown at the rate of 93 bushels to the acre, over an entire field. 
This, at 45 lbs. to the bushel, would be 4,185 lbs. ; or, at 28 lbs. to 
the bushel when husked, 2,604 lbs., which, at two pounds a day, 
would feed a man 1,302 days, or more than three-and-a-half years ! 

POTATOES. 

The common English or Irish potato {Solarium tuberosum'), so ex- 
tensively cultivated throughout most of the temperate countries 
of the civilised globe, contributing as it does to the necessities of 
a large portion of the human race, as well as to the nourishment 
and fattening of stock, is regarded as of but little less importance 
in our national economy than wheat or other grain. It has been 
found in an indigenous state in Chili, on the mountains near Val- 
paraiso and Mendoza; also near Monte Video, Lima, Quito, as 
well as in Santa Ee de Bogota, and more recently in Mexico, on 
the flanks of Orizaba. 

The history of this plant, in connection with that of the sweet 
potato, is involved in obscurity, as the accounts of their introduc- 
tion into Europe are somewhat conflicting, and often they appear 
to be confounded with one another. The common kind was doubt- 
less introduced into Spain in the early part of the sixteenth century, 
from the neighbourhood of Quito, where, as well as in all Spanish 
countries, the tubers are known as papas. The first published 
account of it we find on record is in " La Cronica del Peru,'' by 
Pedro de Cieca, printed at Seville, in 1553, in which it is described 
and illustrated by an engraving. Erom Spain it appears to have 
found its way into Italy, where it assumed the same name as the 



BOOT CEOPS. 



357 



truffle. It was received by Clusius, at Vienna, in 1598, in whose 
time it spread rapidly in the South of Europe, and even into Gi-er- 
many. It is said to have found its way to England by a different 
route, having been brought from Virginia by B-aleigh colonists, 
in 1586, which would seem improbable, as it was unknown in 
North America at that time, either wild or cultivated ; and besides, 
Gough, in his edition of Camden's " Britannia," says it was first 
planted by Sir Walter E-aleigh, on his estate at Toughal, near 
Cork, and that it was cultivated in Ireland before its value was 
known in England. Gerarde, in his "Herbal," published in 1597, 
gives a figure of this plant, under the name of Batata Virginiana, 
to distinguish it from the Batata edidis, and recommends the root 
to be eaten as a " delicate dish," but not as a common food. " The 
sweet potato," says Sir Joseph Banks, " was used in England as a 
delicacy, long before the introduction of our potatoes. It was 
imported in considerable quantities from Spain and the Canaries, 
and was supposed to possess the power of restoring decayed vigor." 
It is related that the common potato was accidentally introduced 
into England from Ireland, at a period somewhat earlier than that 
noticed by Gerarde, in consequence of the wreck of a vessel on 
the coast of Lancashire, which had a quantity on board. In 1663 
the Royal Society of England took measures for the cultivation of 
this vegetable, with the view of preventing famine. 

Notwithstanding its ntility as a food became better known, no 
high character was attached to it ; and the writers on gardening 
towards the end of the seventeenth century, a hundred years or 
more after its introduction, treated of it rather indifferently. 
" They are much used in Ireland and America as bread," says one 
author, " and may be propagated with advantage to poor people." 

The famous nurserymen, Loudon and Wise, did not consider it 
worthy of notice in their " Complete Gardener," published in 1719. 
But its use gradually spread as its excellencies became better un- 
derstood. It was near the middle of the last century before it was 
generally known either in Britain or INorth America, since which 
it has been most extensively cultivated. 

The period of the introduction of the common potato into the 
British North American colonies, is not precisely known. It is 
mentioned among the products of Carolina and Virginia in 1749, 
and by Kalm as growing in New York the same year. 

The culture of this root extends through the whole of Europe, 
a large portion of Asia, Australia, the southern and northern parts 
of Africa, and the adjacent islands. On the American continent, 
with the exception of some sections of the torrid zone, the culture 
ranges from Labrador on the east, and Nootka Sound on the west, 
to Cape Horn. It resists more effectually than the cereals the 
frosts of the north. In the North American Union it is principally 
confined to the Northern, Middle, and "Western States, where, 
from the coolness of the climate it acquires a farinaceous consis- 
tence highly conducive to the support of animal life. It has never 
been extensively cultivated in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and 



358 EOOT CROPS. 

Louisiana, probably from the greater facility of raising the sweet 
potato, its more tropical rival. Its perfection, however, depends 
as much upon the soil as on the climate m \vhich it grows ; 
for in the red loam, on the banks of Bayou B(Buf, in Louisiana, 
where the land is new, it is said that tubers are produced as large, 
savory, and as free from water as any raised in other parts of the 
w^orld. The same may be said of those grown at Bermuda, Ma- 
deira, the Canaries, and numerous other ocean isles. 

The chief varieties cultivated in the Northern States of America 
are the carter, the kidneys, the pink-eyes, the mercer, the orange, 
the Sault Ste. Marie, the merino, and \Yestern red ; inthelNIiddle 
and "Western States, the mercer, the long red, or merino, the 
orange, and the Western red. The yield varies from 50 to 400 
bushels and upwards per acre, but generally it is below 200 
bushels. 

Within the last ten years an alarming disease, or "rot," has 
attacked the tubers of this plant, about the time they are 
fully grown. It has not only appeared in nearly every part of 
America, but has spread dismay, at times, throughout Gi-eat 
Britain and Ireland, and has been felt more or less seriously in 
every quarter of the globe. 

To the greater uncertainty attending its cultivation of late 
years, must be attributed the deficiency of the United States crop 
of 1849, as compared with that of 1839. This is one of the four 
agricultural products which, by the last census, appears smaller 
than ten years since. — ("American Census Eeports for 1850.") 

The crops in Ireland, where the potato is the principal object of 
culture, vary from 1| to 10 1 tons per acre, according to the season ; 
but in the average of three years ending 1849, the annual growth of 
G-reat Britain and Ireland amounted to nine million tons, which, 
at £3 per ton, exhibits the value at £27,000,000 sterhng. Ireland 
produced in 1847 a little over two million tons, the yield being 7 J 
tons per acre. In 1848 the produce was 2,880,814 tons, averaging 
only four tons to the acre. In 1849, 4,014,122 tons, averaging 
5i tons to the acre. In 1850, 3,954,990 tons; and in 1851, 
4,441,022 tons ; the average yield per acre not stated. In many 
parts of Scotland 24 tons to the acre are raised. The sales of po- 
tatoes in the principal metropolitan markets exceed 140,000 tons 
a year, which are irrespective of the sales which take place at 
railway stations, wharfs, shops, &c. The imports into the United 
Kingdom average about 70,000 tons annually. Potatoes are ex- 
ported to the West Indies, Mediterranean, and other quarters. 
Por emigrant ships, preserved or dried potato fiour is now much 
used. 

The following quantities of potato flour were imported from 
France in the last few years : — 



Cwts. 

1848 17,222 

1849 3,858 

1850 12,591 

1851 2,631 ■ 



BOOT CHOPS. 359 

We also imported the follovving quantities of potatoes in the 
last five years : — 

Cwts. 

1848 940,697 

1849 1,417,867 

1850 1,348,867 

1851 636,771 

1852 773,658 



Thoroughly dried potatoes will always produce a crop free from 
disease." Such is the positive assertion of Mr, Bollman, one of the 
professors in the Eussian Agricultural Institution, at Grorigoretsky. 
In a very interesting pamphlet* by this gentleman, it is asserted, 
as an unqnestionable fact, that mere drying, if conducted at a suf- 
ficiently high temperature, and continued long enough, is a com- 
plete antidote to the disease. 

The account given by Professor Bollman of the accident which 
led to this discovery is as follows : — He had contrived a potato- 
getter, which had the bad quality of destroying any sprouts that 
might be on the sets, and even of tearing away the rind. To 
harden the potatoes so as to protect them against this accident, he 
resolved to dry them. In the spring of 1850, he placed a lot in a 
very hot room, and at the end of three weeks they were dry 
enough to plant. The potatoes came up well, and produced as 
good a crop as that of the neighbouring farmers, with this dif- 
ference only, that they had no disease, and the crop was, there- 
fore, upon the whole, more abundant. Professor Bollman tells us 
that he regarded this as a mere accident ; he, however, again dried 
his seed potatoes in 1851, and again his crop was abundant and free 
from disease, while everywhere on the surrounding land they were 
much affected. This was too remarkable a circumstance not to excite 
attention, and in 1852 a third trial took place. All Mr. BoUman's 
own stock of potatoes being exhausted, he was obliged to purchase 
his seed, which bore unmistakable marks of having formed part 
of a crop that had been severely diseased ; some, in fact, were quite 
rotten. After keeping them about a month in a hot room, as be- 
fore, he cut the largest potatoes into quarters, and the smaller into 
halves, and left them to dry for another week. Accidentally the 
drying was carried so far that apprehensions were entertained of 
a very bad crop, if any. Contrary to expectation, however, the 
sets pushed promptly, and grew so fast that excellent young po- 
tatoes were dug three weeks earlier than usual. Eventually nine 
times the quantity planted was produced, and although the neigh- 
bouring fields were attacked, no trace of disease could be found on 
either the herbage or the potatoes themselves. 

This singular result, obtained in three successive years, led to 
inquiry as to whether any similar cases were on record. In the 
course of the investigation two other facts were elicited. It was 

* Les Moyens de prevenir la Maladie des Pommes de Terre. Experiences et 
Conclusions de A. N. C. Bollman, Conseiller d'etat, Professeur, &c. 8vo, St, 
Petersburg, 1853. 



360 



EOOT CROPS. 



discovered that Mr. Losovsky (living in the government of 
"Witebsk, in tlie district of Sebege), had for four years adopted the 
plan of drying his seed potatoes, and that daring that time there 
had been no disease on his estate. It was again an accident 
which led to the practice of this gentleman. Five years ago, while 
his potatoes were digging, he put one in his pocket, and on return- 
ing home threw it on the stove (poele), where it remained for- 
gotten till the spring. Having then chanced to observe it, he had 
the curiosity to plant it, all dried up as it was, and obtained an 
abundant, healthy crop ; since that time the practice of drying 
has been continued, and always with great success. Professor 
Bollraan remarks that it is usual in Kussia, in many places, to 
smoke-dry flax, wheat, and rye ; and in the west of Eussia, ex- 
perienced proprietors prefer, for seed, onions that have been kept 
over the winter in cottages without a chimney. Such onions are 
called dymlca, which may be interpreted smoke-dried. 

The second fact is tbis : — Mr. WasilefFsky, a gentlemen residing 
in the government of Mohileff, is in the habit of keeping potatoes 
all the year round, by storing them in the place where his hams 
are smoked. It happened that in the spring of 1852 his seed 
potatoes, kept in the usual manner, were insufficient, and he made 
up the requisite quantity with some of those which had been for a 
month in the smoking place. These potatoes produced a capital 
crop, very little diseased, while at the same time the crop from the 
sets which were not smoke-dried was extensively attacked by 
disease. Professor Bollman is of opinion that there would have 
been no disease at all if the sets had been better dried. 

The temperature required to produce the desired result is not very 
clearly made out. Mr. Bollman's room, in which his first potatoes 
were dried, was heated to about 72 degrees, and much higher. By 
way of experiment he placed others m the chamber of the stove 
itself, where the thermometer stood at 136 degrees, and more. He 
also ascertained that the vitality of the potato is not alfected, 
even if the rind is charred. Those who have the use of a malt-kiln, 
or even a lime-kiln, might try the effect of excessive drying, for a 
month seems to be long enough for the process. — (Gardener's 
Chronicle.) 

A Mr. Penoyer, of Western Saratoga, Illinois, publishes the 
following, which he recommends as a perfect cure and preventive 
of the potato rot, having tested it thoroughly four years with 
perfect success ; while others in the same field, who did not use 
the preventive, lost their entire crop by the rot. It not only pre- 
vents the rot, but restores the potato to its primitive vigor, and 
the product is not only sound, but double the size, consequently 
producing twice the quantity on the same ground, and the vines 
grow much larger, and retain then* freshness and vitality until the 
frost kills them. Aside from the cure of the rot, the farmers 
would be more than doubly compensated for their trouble and 
expense in the increase and quality of the crop. The remedy or 
preventive is as follows : — " Take one peck of fine salt and mix it 



BOOT CEOPS. 



361' 



tlioroughly wifh half a bushel of Nova Scotia plaster or gypsum 
(the plaster is the best), and immediately after hoeing the potatoes 
the second time, or just as the young potato begins to set, sprinkle 
on the main vines, next to the ground, a tablespoon full of the 
above mixture to each hill, and be sure to get it on the main vines, 
as it is found that the rot proceeds from a sting of an insect in the 
vine, and the mixture coming in contact with the vine, kills the 
effect of it before it reaches the potato." I cannot but consider 
Professor Bellman's as the most important of the two remedies 
suggested. 

The potato crop of the United States exceeds 100 million 
bushels, nearly all of which are consumed in the country ; the 
average exports of the last eight years not having exceeded 
160,000 bushels per annum. 

According to the census returns of 1840, the quantity of 
potatoes of all sorts raised in the Union, was 108,298,060 
bushels; of 1850, 101,055,989 bushels, of which 38,259,196 bushels 
were sweet potatoes. 

Last year (1852) there was under cultivation with potatoes in 
Canada, the following extent of land : — 

Acres. Bushels. 

Upper Canada 77,672 Produce 498,747 

Lower Canada 73,244 Produce 456,111 

About 782,008 cwts. of potatoes are annually exported from 
the Canary Islands. In Prussia, 153 million hectolitres of 
potatoes were raised in 1849. In 1840 Van Diemen's Land 
produced 15,000 tons of potatoes, on about 5,000 acres of land. 

The potato is not yet an article of so much importance in 
France, as in England or the Low Countries, but within the last 
twenty years its cultivation has increased very rapidly. It is 
mostly grown where corn is the least cultivated. The quantity 
raised in 1818, was 29,231,867 hectolitres, which had increased in 
1835 to 71,982,814 hectolitres. About 2,000,000 hectolitres of 
chesnuts are also annually consumed in France, a portion of the 
rural population in some of the Central and Southern Departments 
living almost entirely on them for half the year. 

In Peru dried potatoes are thas prepared : — Small potatoes 
are boiled, peeled, and then dried in the sun, but the best 
are those dried by the severe frosts on the mountains. In 
the Cordilleras they are covered with ice, until they assume a 
horny appearance. Powdered, it is called chimo. They will keep 
for any length of time, and when used required to be bruised and 
soaked. If introduced as a vegetable substance in long sea 
voyages, the potato thus dried would be found wholesome and 
nourishing. A large and profitable business is now carried on, in 
what is called "preserved potatoes," for ships' use, prepared by 
Messrs. Edwards and Co., which are found exceedingly useful in 
the Eoyal INTavy, in emigrant ships, for troops and other services, 
from their portability, nutritious properties, and being uninjured 
by climate. 



362 



ROOT CROPS. 



Pew persons are probably aware of the quantity of potatoes 
used in England, America and the Continent, in the manufacture 
of fetarch, arrowroot, and tapioca, &c., A starch manufactory in 
Mercer, Maine, United States, grinds from 16,000 to 24,000 
bushels annually of potatoes, and makes 140,000 to 240,000 lbs. 
of starch, which finds a ready market at Boston, at four dollars 
the hundred pounds. The New England manufacturers prefer it 
to Poland starch. Another starch manufacturer, in Hampden, 
America, consumes 2,500 bushels per day. In a single district in 
Bavaria, in Grermany, 400,000 lbs. of sago and starch are manu- 
factured from potatoes ; 100 lbs. of potatoes are said to yield 
12 lbs. of starch. Erom experiments made in America, with three 
varieties of potatoes, the long reds, Philadelphia, and pink-eyes, 
it was found that the former yielded the most starch, viz., about 
6 lbs. to the bushel. A bushel of potatoes weighs about 64 lbs. 
The following table from Accum, gives the rate of starch and com- 
ponent parts per cent, in diiferent varieties : — 



Sort. 


Fibrine. 


Starch. 


Vegetable 
Albumen. 


Gum. 


Acids and 
Salts. 


Water. 




7-0 


15-0 


1-4 


4-1 


5-1 


75-0 


Ditto germinated 


6-8 


12-2 


1-3 


3-7 




73-0 


Potato sprouts ... 


2-8 


0-4 


0-4 


3-3 




93-0 


Kidney potatoes... 


8-8 


9-1 


0-8 






81-3 


Large red ditto ... 


6-0 


12-9 


0-7 






78-0 




8-2 


15-1 


0-8 






74-3 


Potato of Peru ... 


5-2 


15-0 


1-9 


1-9 


76-0 


Ditto of England 


6-8 


12-9 


11 


1 


7 


77-5 




8-4 


18-7 


0-9 


1-7 


70-3 




7-1 


15-4 


1-2 


2-0 


74-3 


Cultivated in the 














environs of Paris 


6-8 


13-3 


0-9 


3-3 


1-4 


73-1 



The first six varieties were analysed by Einhofi*, the next four 
by Lamped, and the last named by Henry. 



YAMS. 

The different species of yams have a wide range. In the West 
Indies there are several varieties, having distinctive names, ac- 
cording to quality, color, &c., as the white yam, the red yam, 
the negro yam, the Creole yam, the afoo yam, the buck yam 
(^Dioscorea tripliylla), which is found wild in Java and the East; 
the Gruinea yam, the Portuguese yam, the water yam, and the 
Indian yam, &c. The last is considered the most farinaceous and 
delicate in its texture, resembling in size the potato ; most of 
the other sorts are coarse, but still very nutritive and useful. 
The common yam (Dioscorea sativd) is indigenous to the Eastern 
Islands and AYest Indies. The Gruinea yam (D. aculeata) 
is a native of the East. The Barbados or winged yam (D. alata ?) 
has a widely extended range, being commou to India, Java, Brazil. 



BOOT CEOPS. 



863 



and Western Africa. The yam species are climbing plants, with 
handsome foliage, of the simplest culture, which succeed well in 
any light, rich, or sandy soil, and are readily increased by dividing 
the tuberous roots. The Indian, Barbados, and red yams are 
planted in the West Indies early in May, and dug early in the 
January following. If not bruised, they will keep weU packed in 
ashes, the first nine, and the second and last twelvemonths. The 
Portuguese and Gruinea yams are planted early in January and 
dug iu September. Creole yams and Tanias are dug in January. 
Sweet potatoes from January to March. In most of our colonies 
large crops of the finest descriptions of yams, cocos, &c., could be 
obtained, but the planting of ground provisions is too much neg- 
lected by all classes. Erom the tubers of yams of all sorts, and 
particularly the buck yam, starch is easily prepared, and of excellent 
quality. Some varieties of the buck yam are purple-fleshed, often 
of a very deep tint, approaching to black, and although this is an 
objection, because it renders more washing necessary, yet even 
from these the starch is at last obtained perfectly white. 

As an edible root the buck yam, especially when grown in a 
light soil, is equal to the potato, if not superior to it. It does not, 
however, keep for any length of time, and therefore could not be 
exported to Europe, unless the roots were sliced and dried. 

Yams and sweet potatoes thrive well in the northern parts of 
Australia ; indeed the former are indigenous there, and constitute 
the chief article of vegetable food used by the natives. The yam 
was introduced into Sweden, where it succeeded well, and bread, 
starch, and brandy were made from it, but it prefers a warmer 
climate. 

Yams are occasionally brought to this country. When cooked, 
either by roasting or boiling, the root is even more nutritious than 
the potato, nor is it possessed of any unpalatable flavor, the 
pecularity being between that of rice and the potato. Dressed in 
milk, or mashed, they are absolutely a delicacy ; and from the 
abundance in which they are cultivated in the West Indies and 
other parts, they promise to become a most economical and 
nutritious substitute for the potato. 

The yam frequently grows to the enormous size of forty or fifty 
pounds weight, but in this large state itis coarse-flavored and fibrous. 

An acre of land is capable of producing 4^ tons of yams, and 
the same quantity of sweet potatoes, within the twelve months, 
or nine tons per acre for both, being nearly as much as the return 
obtained at home in the cultivation of potatoes ; and 1 have the 
authority of all analytical chemists for saying that in point of 
value, as an article of food, the superiority is as two to one in 
favor of the tropical roots. 

The kidney-rooted yam (D. pentaphylla), is indigenous to the 
Polynesian islands, and is sometimes cultivated for its roots. It is 
cnilQdi hawaii in the Peejee islands. D. hulUfera, a native of the 
East, is also abundantly naturalised in the Polynesian islands, but 
is not considered edible. 



S64 



BOOT CEOPS. 



There are seven or eight kinds of yams grown in India. Two 
are of a remarkably fine flavor, one weighing as much as eighteen 
pounds, the other three pounds. These are found in the Tartar 
country. 

COCOS OE EDDOES, 

Arum esculentinn. — This root has not hitherto been considered of 
sufficient importance to demand particular care in its cultivation, 
except by those who are engaged in agricultural pursuits, and 
derive their subsistence from the prodaction of the soil. But 
though the cultivation of the root is almost unknown to the higher 
classes in society, and little regarded by planters in the colonies, 
it is a most valuable article of consumption. Amongst the 
laboring population it is the principal dependence for a supply of 
food. Long droughts may disappoint the hopes of the yam crop, 
storms and blight may destroy the plantain walks, but neither dry 
or wet weather materially injure the coco; it will always make 
some return, and though it may not aiford a plentiful crop, it will 
yield a sufficiency until a supply can be had from other sources. 
For this reason the laborer in the West Indies always takes care 
to put in a good plant of cocos to his provision ground as a stand 
by, and knowing their value, is perhaps the only person who be- 
stows degree of care or attention upon them. Previous to their 
emancipation, whole families of negroes lived upon the produce of 
one provision ground, and the coco formed the main article of their 
support. Where the soil is congenial to the white and black 
Bourbon coco, the labor of one industrious person once a fort- 
night will raise a supply sufficient for the consumption of a 
family of six or seven persons. The coco begins to bear after the 
first year, and with common care and cultivation the same plant 
ought to give annually two or three returns for several years. In 
Jamaica, a disease something similar to that affecting the potato, 
has been found injurious to the coco root. This disease, which has 
baffled all inquiry as to its origin, affects the plants in and after 
the second year of their being planted. The first indication of it 
is the change in the leaves, which gradually turn to a yellow hue, 
have a sickly appearance, and at length drop off" at the surface of 
the earth. The stock or " coco head," as it is called, below ground, 
having become rotten, nothing but a soft pulpy mass remains. In 
some fields every third or fourth root is thus affected, in others 
much greater numbers are destroyed, so much so that the field re- 
quires to be almost entirely replanted, by which not only an ex- 
pense is entailed, but a heavy loss sustained, from the field being 
thrown out of its regular bearing. The black coco seerus to suffer 
less than the white. 

Another species, the Taro ( drum Colocasia, Colocasia esculenta 
and macrorliizon), is an important esculent root in the Polynesian 
islands. In the dry method of culture practised on the mountains 



BOOT CROPS. 



365 



of Hawaii, the roots are protected by a covering of fern leaves. 
The cultivation of taro is hardly a process of multiplication, for 
the crown of the root is perpetually replanted. As the plant 
endures for a series of years, the tuberous roots serve at some of 
the rocky groups as a security against famine. It is also exten- 
sively cLdtivated in Madeii'a and Zanzibar, and has even withstood 
the climate of Isew Zealand. It is grown also in Egypt, Syria, and 
some of the adjacent countries, for its escident roots. A species 
is cultivated in the Deccan, for the sake of the leaves, which form 
a substitute for spinach. Earina is obtained from the root of Arum 
JRumpJiii ill Polynesia. 

SWEET POTATOES. 

The batatas, or camote of the Spanish colonies {Convolvulus 
batatas, Linn ; Batatas edulis, of Choisy, and the Ipomoea Batatas 
of other botanists), belongs to a family of plants which has been 
split into several genera. It is a native of the East Indies, and 
of intertropical America, and was the " potato" of the old English 
writers in the early part of the fourteenth century. It was 
doubtless introduced into Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia soon 
after their settlement by the Europeans, being mentioned as one 
of the cultivated products of those colonies as early as the year 
1648. It grows in excessive abundance throughout the Southern 
States of America, and as far north as New Jersey, and the 
southern part of Michigan. The varieties cultivated there are 
the purple, the red, the yellow, and the white, the former of 
which is confined to the South. 

The amount of sweet potatoes exported from South Carolina in 
1747-48, was 700 bushels ; that of the common potato exported 
from the United States, 1820-21, 90,889,000 bushels ; in 1830-31, 
112,875,000 bushels; in 1840-41, 136,095,000 bushels; in 1850- 
51, 106,342,U00 bushels. 

The sweet potato is cultivated generally in all the intertropical re- 
gions, for the sake of its roots, and as a legume in temperate coun- 
tries. In the Southern States of oSTorth America, the culture ceases 
in Carohna under latitude 36 degs. ; in Portugal and Spain it 
reaches to latitude 40 and 42 deg. ; and as a legume its cultivation 
is attempted to the vicinity of Paris. In India it is a very com- 
mon crop ; its tubers are very similar to the potato, but have a 
sweeter taste, whence the common name ; but it must not be con- 
founded with the topinambur {Heliantlius tuherosus), a native of 
Brazil, which is less cultivated. The root contains much saccha- 
rine and amylaceous matter. 

Several marked varieties of the sweet potato are raised in 
the Polynesian groups. In some islands it forms the principal 
object of cultivation. 

It is grown in the Northern districts of T^ew Zealand, at 
Zanzibar, Monomoisy, Bombay, and other parts oi the East 



3G6 



ROOT CROPS. 



Indies. They are raised on the bare surface of the rock in some 
parts of the Hawaiian islands, and a sourish liquor is procured 
from them. It ^Yas early cultivated on the Western Coast of 
Africa, for the Portuguese Pilot (who set out on his voyages to 
the colony at St. Thomas, in the Grulf of Gruinea) speaks of this 
plant, and states that it is called "batata" by the aboriginals of 
St. Domingo. They are abundant at Mocha and Muscat. Sweet 
potatoes form a principal and important crop in the Bermudas. 

A valuable addition has lately been made to the votaries of the 
sweet potato in Alabama, supposed to be from Peru. A letter 
describing it says : — " It is altogether different and equally 
superior to any variety of this root hitherto known. It is pro- 
ductive, and attains a prodigious size, even upon the poorest sandy 
land, and the roots remain witliout change from the time of taking 
them out of the ground until the following May. The plant is 
singularly easy of cultivation, gro^ving equally well from the slip 
or vine, the top or vine of the full-grown plant being remarkably 
small ; the inside is as white as snow. It is dry and mealy, and 
the saccharine principle contained resembles in delicacy of flavor 
fine virgin honey." 

There is in general a great error in cultivating this root, as most 
people still plant in the old way, two or three sets in the hole, 
which is a great deal too close. 

When a piece of land is to be planted in sweet potatoes, it 
should be top-dressed v^dth some manure, to be dug or ploughed 
under a week or two before it is to be planted. Drills should be 
made two feet apart, and the potatoes placed in the drill about one 
foot asunder. Prom eight to twelve to the pound are the best 
size for planting. The " white upright " kind, when intended for 
sets, should be taken up early in March, and kept about a month, 
so as to be quite dry before planting. Abundant crops can rarely 
be raised from the steiA of the " uprights ; " the old potato, hew- 
ever, grows to a large size. I have planted a potato weighing 
about an ounce, and dug it up in August, weighing over two 
pounds. The drills can be made with a small plough to great ad- 
vantage, when a person understands it. 

The best manure for the sweet potato is anything green, such 
as fresh sea -weed, green oats, bushes, or anything of the kind, 
put in in abundance. 

Care should be taken to get early and good strong slips. A 
slip with about six joints is quite long enough ; three or four 
joints to be put under ground, and the rest above. For slips, the 
land must be prepared as already described for the potatoes ; this 
should be done before the slips are ready to cut. 

The best way to plant slips is to drill, the same way as for 
the potatoes, only a little closer ; then put the end of the slip in, 
leaving about two joints out of ground, placing them one foot 
apart. The drills can be made in dry weather, so as not to have 
any delay Avhen it rains ; by this means a great many can be 
planted in a day. 



CASSATA. 



367 



The best land for sweet potatoes is tlie light sandy kind ; a 
rich friable black mould, or a rocky substratum ; for hill sides, 
rocky ravines, and places which woLiId be called barren and un- 
profitable for other crops, are found to yield a good return when 
planted with sweet potatoes. The best time to plant slips to get 
stock from, is the latter end of August or early in September, as 
the season may suit. 

The sweet potato of Java, says Mr. Crawfiird, is the finest I 
ever met with. Some are frequently of several pounds weight, 
and now and then have been found of the enormous weight of 
50 lbs. The sweetness is not disagreeable to the palate, though 
considerable, and they contain a large portion of farinaceous 
matter, being as mealy as the best of our own potatoes. In Java 
it is cultivated iu ordinary upland arable, or in the dry season as 
a green crop in succession to rice. 

A tuberous root {Ocymiim tuberosum'), an inhabitant of the hot 
plains, is frequently culti\'ated in Java. It is small, round, and 
much resembling in appearance the American potato, but has no 
great flavor. Its local name is kantang. 

CASSAVA OE MANIOC. 

Or this plant, which is a shrub about six feet high, extensively grown 
for its farinaceous root, there are several species, nearly all natives 
of America, principally of Brazil, wlience it derives one of its 
common names of Manihot or Mandioc. Two species of Manihot 
have been found indigenous in South Australia. The varieties com- 
monly cultivated for their roots, are the sweet and the bitter. 

1. Sweet cassava {Janiphi (or Jatropha^ Loeflingii, Kunth ; 
Maniliot Aijji, of Pohl). — This species has a spindle-shaped root 
brown externally, about six or seven ounces or more in weight, 
which contains amylaceous matter, without any bitterness, and is 
used as food, after being rasped and washed, so as to cleanse it 
from the fibrous matter, in the same manner as arrowroot is pre- 
pared. It is distinguished from the bitter cassava by a tough 
ligneous fibre, which runs through the heart of the tuber. Mani- 
hot starch is sometimes imported into Europe under the name of 
Brazilian arrowroot. The cassava is known in Peru as yucca. 

A dry mixed soil is best suited to its culture. So exhausting is 
this crop, that it cannot be raised more than two or three times 
successively on the same land. The roots arrive at maturity in 
eight or nine months after planting, but may be kept in the ground 
a much longer time without injury. Sweet cassava might be 
sliced, dried in the sun, and sent to Europe in that state. In dry 
weather the process succeeds remarkably well, and the dried slices 
keep for a considerable time. Dr. Shier ascertained that when 
these sliced and dried roots were first steeped and then boiled, 
they return to very nearly their original condition, and make an 
excellent substitute for the potato. 

The plant thrives on even the poorest soil ; the mode of planting 



368 



EOOT CEOPS. 



is simple. It consists in laying cuttings a foot long in square 
pits a foot deep, and covering them with mould, leaving the upper 
ends open. From two to four pieces may be placed in each square. 
The planting ought to be in the rainy season. The cuttings must 
be made from the full-grown stem . A humid soil causes the root 
to decay, a dry soil is therefore more adapted for its cultivation. As 
blossoms are occasionally plucked from potato plants, so the mani- 
hot or cassava is deprived of its buds to increase the size of its roots. 
The raw root of the bitter species, when taken out of the ground, 
is poisonous — if exposed, however, to the sun for a short time, 
it is innocuous, and when boiled is quite wholesome. 

The starch of the root of the manioc is prepared in the follow- 
ing manner, as described by Dr. Ure : — " The roots are washed 
and reduced to a pulp by means of a rasp or grater. The pulp is 
put into coarse strong canvas bags, and thus submitted to the 
action of a powerful press, by which it parts with most of its 
noxious juice. Ab the active principle of this juice is volatile, it 
is easily dissipated by baking the squeezed cakes of pulp upon a 
plate of hot iron. The pulp thus dried concretes into lumps, 
which become hard and friable as they cool. They are then broken 
into pieces, and laid out in the sun to dry. In this state they are 
a wholesome nutriment. These cakes constitute the only pro- 
visions laid in by the natives, in their voyages upon the Amazon. 
Eoiled in water, with a little beef or mutton, they form a kind of 
soup similar to that of rice. 

The cassava cakes seat to Europe are composed almost entirely 
of starch, along with a few fibres of the ligneous matter. It may 
be purified by diffusion in warm water, passing the milky mixture 
through a linen cloth, evaporating the straining liquid over the 
fire, with constant agitation. The starch, dissolved by the heat, 
thickens as the water evaporates, but on being stirred it becomes 
granulated, and must be finally dried in a proper stove. 

2. Bitter cassava {Janipha Manihot, of Kunth ; JatropJia 
Maniliot, of Linnaeus ; and Maniliot utilissima, Pohl). — This species 
has a knotty root, black externally, M hich is occasionally 30 lbs. in 
weight. In the root there is much starchy matter deposited, 
usually along with a poisonous narcotic substance, which is said to 
be hydrocyanic acid. The juice of the plant, when distilled, 
aflbrds as a first product a liquor which, in I he dose of thirty drops, 
will cause the death of a man in six minutes. It is doubted whe- 
ther this acid pre-exists in the plant; some suppose it to be 
generated after it is grated down into a pulp. It can be driven 
off by roasting, and then the starch is used in the form of cassava 
bread. It is principally from the starch of the bitter cassava that 
tapioca is prepared by elutriation and granulating on hot plates. 
This serves to agglutinate it into the form of concretions, con- 
stituting the tapioca of commerce. This being starch very nearly 
pure, is often prescribed by physicians as an aliment of easy 
digestion. A tolerably good imitation of it is made by beating, 
stirring, and drying potato starch in a similar way. 

The grated starch of the roots, floated in water, is spontaneously 



369 



deposited, aud when repeatedly cashed and dried in the snn, forms 
cassava floiu', called " 3Ioussaclie " bv tlie French. 

The juice of the bitter cassara, mixed Tvith molasses and fer- 
mented, has been made into an intoxicating liquor, ^hich is much 
relished bj the negroes and Indians. 

The concentrated juice of the bitter cassava, under the name of 
cassareep, forms the basis of the West India dish, " pepper pot." 
One of its most remarkable properties is its highly antiseptic 
power, preserving meat that has been boiled init for a much longer 
period than can be done by any other culinary process. Cassareep 
was originally an Indian preparation. 

The manioc or cassava is cultivate^ in America, on both sides 
of the equator, to about latitude 30 degrees north and south. 
Among the mountains of intertropical America, it reaches to an 
elevation of 3,200 feet. It is cultivated also in great abundance 
on the island of Zanzibar, and among the negro tribes of Eastern 
Africa to the ^lonomoesy, inclusive ; on the west coast of Africa, 
in Congo and Gruinea. It appears not to have been introduced 
into Asia. The farina of the manioc is almost the only kind of 
meal used in Brazil, at least in the north, near the equator. An 
acre of manioc is said to yield as much nutriment as six acres 
of wheat. Meyen states, " It is not possible snfficiently to praise 
the beautiful manioc plant." The Indians find in this a compen- 
sation for the rice aud other cerealia of the Old World. It has 
been carried from Brazil to the Mauritius and Madagascar. 

The following quantities of Brazilian arrowroot, or tapioca, were 
imported in the undermentioned years : — 

Cwtg. 

462 

402 

983 

1,870 

2,325 

St. Lucia grows a considerable quantity of manioc ; it exported 
of cassava floiu' in — 

Barrels. Barrels. 

1827 8 1830 99 

1828 814 ' 1831 59 

1829 279 1834 713 

The cassava root grows abundantly in most of the West India 
islands and tropical America ; the trouble of planting is incon- 
siderable, and the profit arising from its manufacture, even by the 
common process of hand- grating, is immense. I should be glad 
if I couid induce the enterprising of our colonial settlers to give 
this a fair trial, as well as encourage the present growers to 
increase their crops and improve the quality of the article, so as 
to render it suitable for the English market. The manufacture 
of starch will one of these days become a productive source of 
colonial wealth. Since cassava was first grown in the West, its 
capabilities as a starch-producer have, to a certain extent, been 
knowD, and for that purpose it has been in limited use. 

2 B 





Cwts. 




1833 


942 


1838 


1834 


888 1 


! 1839 


1835 


1,663 1 


1 1840 


1836 


3,735 1 


1841 


1837 




1843 



370 



EOOT CEOPS. 



Mr. James Grlen, of Haagsbosch plantation, Demerara, has re- 
cently tested its value as an article of export, and added it to the 
other industrial resources of that colony. 

This gentleman, by erecting machinery on his plantation for 
grinding the root and preparing the starch of the bitter cassava, 
has abeady shipped the article in considerable quantities to 
Eui'ope, and it has been sold at a price which puts the profit upon 
sugar cultivation completely to the blush. His agent in Glasgow 
writes, that any quantity (Kke that already shipped) can com- 
mand a ready sale at 9d. per lb. Its use is co-extensive, or 
nearly so, with that of sugar. The productive capabilities of the 
soil are not perhaps generally kuovm ; nor is it necessary that, to 
pay the grower there, it should bring even half that price. A 
sample of a ton, which was prepared at Haagsbosch in 18-il, was 
submitted for examination to Dr. Shier, at the colonial laboratory, 
Georgetown, who admitted it to be a beautiful specimen of starch, 
although it had undergone but one washing. The root from 
which it was made, was planted eight or nine months previously, 
upon an acre of soil, which had never undergone any preparation 
of ploughing, or been broken and turned up in any way. The 
plants were never weeded after they had begun to spring, nor 
were they tended or distui'bed until they were ripe and pulled up. 
The expense of planting the acre was five dollars, and reaping 
this crop would, I suppose, amount to as much more, say £2 in 
all. The green cassava was never weighed, but the acre yielded 
fully a ton of starch — equal, at 9d. per lb., to £84. 

The experimental researches of Dr. Shier have led him to believe 
that the green bitter cassava will give one-fifth its weight of starch. 
If this be the case the return per acre would, under favorable cir- 
cumstances, when the land is properly worked, be enoiinous. On 
an estate at Essequibo, a short time ago, an acre of cassava, grown 
in fine permeable soil, was lifted and weighed ; it yielded 25 tons 
of green cassava. Such a return as this per acre would enable our 
West India colonies to inundate Great Britain with food, and at 
a rate which would make flour to be considered a luxury. Dr. 
Shier is convinced that, in thorough drained land, where the roots 
could penetrate the soil, and where its permeability would permit 
of their indefinite expansion, a return of 25 tons an acre might 
uniformly be calculated upon. What a blessing, not only for those 
colonies, but for the world, would the introduction be of this cheap 
and nutritious substitute for the potato, 

NEW TUBEEOUS PLA^s^TS EECOMMEXDED AS SUB- 
STITUTES EOE THE POTATO. 

In the present disturbed state of the grain markets of Europe, the 
advantage of cultivating plants which directly or indirectly can 
form a substitute for the potato, admits of no doubt. It appears 
to me, moreover, that when the way is once opened up, even under 



NEW EOOD PLANTS. 



371 



ordinary circumstances, tke tropical colonies of Great Britain, 
without diminishing the quantity of sugar and coffee they produce, 
coLild advantageously supply the British market with the purest 
starches, and possibly also with various other articles of farina- 
ceous food. Anything that will lead the planters to a more 
varied cultivation than the present uniform and persistent one, 
will be advantageous to our colonies ; and the growth of farin- 
aceous root crops for exportation, cannot fail to produce most 
beneficial effects on that class of the peasantry in the British 
possessions, who are owners of small lots of land, which at present 
they either totally neglect, or cultivate most imperfectly. 

In 1846, Dr. A. Gesner, one of my correspondents, called at- 
tention, in my " Colonial Magazine," to two indigenous roots of 
North America, which he thought deserving special attention. 
These were Apios tuherosa, and Claytonia acutiflora, or Virginiana. 

1. A. tuherosa (Boerhave), or Glycine Apios. — This plant is 
common throughout the JSTorthern and Southern States of America, 
and is also met with in the lower British North American Provinces. 
It is known under the native name of Saa-ga-han by the Micmac 
Indians, by whom the pear-shaped roots are used as an articla of 
food. Like the Aracliis Jiypogoea, it belongs to the Leguminosse 
family. The fruit and flower resemble those of the wood vetch. 
It is thus described in Professor Eaton's " Manual of Botany 
for North America," published in 1836: — " Color of corolla, blue 
and purple ; time of flowering, July (and August in Nova Scotia), 
perennial ; stem, twining ; leaves, pinnate, with seven lance-ovate 
leaflets ; racemes shorter than the leaves, axillary ; root, tuberous. 
Root very nutritive ; ought to be generally cultivated." 

The average size of the tubers is that of cherries, but a few are 
found of much larger dimensions. In their appearance they 
resemble the common potato, having apparently the peculiar in- 
dentations called eyes. The skin of the tuber is of a rusty or 
blackish brown color. The interior is very white, and the root has 
the taste and odor of the common potato. The Indians state that 
the roots, if kept either in a dry or moist state, will not suffer any 
decay tor a lengthened period. They are very farinaceous, and 
contain a large per centage of starch, which resembles that of 
wheat ; by being dried the tuber shrinks a little, but it immediately 
expands on being thrown into warm water. It contains much 
nutritive matter, is wholesome, and I have no doubt, if properly 
cultivated, it will prove to be very prolific. The tubers are situated 
a few inches below the surface of the soil, and are strung together 
like beads by a strong ligament. 

A similar kind of earth-nut, or tuberous root, probably the 
Glycine subterranea of Linnseus, the Yoandzou of Madagascar, is 
extensively cultivated in various parts of Africa. 

2. Glay tenia acutiflora or Virginiana, the Musquash of the 
Micmae Indians, is found throughout the Northern and Southern 
States of North America. It is thus described by Prof. Eaton, 
" Man. Bot. N. A." — " Color of corolla, white and red ; situation, 

2 B 2 



372 



EOOT CEOPS. 



alpine, perennial ; leaves, linear, lance- ovate; petals, obovate, retuse; 
leaves of the calyx, somewhat acnte ; root, tuberous. It blossoms 
in May. The seed is ripe in June, when the plant disappears." 

These roots may be collected along the sea coasts and principal 
hikes and rivers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince 
Edward's Island, although they are not plentiful, for they are 
greedily devoured by some of the wild animals, and wherever 
swine have been permitted to run at large they have been 
destroyed. 

Dr. Gesner shipped several bushels of the saa-ga-ban to the 
principal agricultural societies in G-reat Britain, also to Halifax^ 
and Nova Bcotia. The ordinary potato of this country does not 
yield more than 14 per cent, of starch, and it contains 76 
per cent, of water. Erom the best saa-ga-ban Dr, Gesner 
obtained 21 per cent, of starch, and the quantity of water is 
reduced to 50 per cent. It also contains vegetable albumen, 
gum, and sugar. From these facts it is evident that the saa-ga- 
ban is much more nutritive than the potato, and the weight 
of the tubers, in their wild state, compared with the weight of the 
slender vine in the best samples, is equal in proportion to the 
common cultivated potato in its ordinary growth. The starch is 
very white, and closely resembles tliat made from the arrowroot. 
It is not improbable that the quantity of water in the tuber will 
be increased by cultivation ; yet the fibrous parenchyma will be 
reduced, and taken altogether, the nutritive properties will be in- 
creased ; if the plant improve as much by cultivation as the 
potato and many others have done, its success is certain. 

The North American Indians have several wild roots which 
they dig up for sustenance when other food is exhausted. Among 
these are — 1st, the mendo, or wild sweet potato; 2nd, the tip-sin-ah, 
or wild prairie turnip ; 3rd, the omen-e-chah, or wild bean. The 
first is found throughout the valleys of the Mississippi and St. 
Peter's, about the basis of bluff's, in rather moist but soft and rich 
ground. The plant resembles the sweet potato, and the root is 
similar in taste and growth. It does not grow so large or long as 
the cultivated sweet potato, but I should have thought it the same, 
were it not that the wild potato is not affected by the frost. A 
Vv^oman will dig from a peck to half a bushel a day. 

The Indians eat them, simply boiled in water, but prefer them 
cooked with fat meat. 

The wild potato, of the north-west of America, is a general 
article of food ; it is called by them wabessepin ; it resembles the 
common potato, is mealy when boiled, and grows only in wet clay 
ground, about one and a half feet deep. The crane potato, called 
sitchauc-wabessepin, is of the same kind, but inferior in quality. 
The Indians use these for food as well as the memomine, and an- 
other long and slender root called watappinee. Probably it is the 
first of these that is referred to by Nicollet, as the prairie potato. 
" AH the high prairies (he says) abound with the silver-leafed 
Fsoralia^ which is the prairie turnip of the Americans, the j)omme 



KEAY FOOD PLANTS. 



373 



des pravnes of the Canadians, and fiirnislies an invaluable food to 
the Indians." There are several species of Fsoralia, viz., esculenta^ 
argophylla, cuspidata, and lanceolata. 

The prairie turnip grovrs on the high diy prairies, one or tv\ c 
together, in size from that of a small hen's egg to that of a goose 
egg, and of the same form. They have a tliick black or brovi n 
bark, but are nearly pure vrhite inside, with very little moisture. 
They are met with four to eight inches below the surface, and are 
dug by the women with a long pointed stick, forced into the 
ground and used as a lever. They are eaten boiled and mashed 
like a turnip, or are split open and dried for future use. In this 
state they resemble pieces of chalk. It is said that when thus 
dried they may be ground into flour, and that they make a very 
palatable and nutritious bread, M. Lamare Picot, a French 
naturalist, has lately incurred a very considerable expense to 
obtain the seed, which he has carried to Prance, believing that it 
is capable of cultivation, and may form a substitute both for potato 
and wheat. 

The wild bean is found in all parts of the valleys where the 
land is moist and rich. It is of the size of a large white beau, 
with a rich and very pleasant flavor. When used in a stew, I have 
thought it superior to any garden vegetable I had ever tasted. 
The Indians are very fond of them, and pigeons get fat on them in 
spring. The plant is a slender vine, from two to four feet in 
heiglit, with small pods two to three inches long, containing three 
to five small beans. The pod dries and opens, the beans fall to 
the ground, and in spring take root aud grow again. The beans 
on the ground are gathered by the Indians, who sometimes find a 
peck at once, gathered by mice for their winter store. 

There are also several kinds of edible roots growing in the ponds 
or small lakes, which are gathered by the Indians for food. 

The 2)sui-ci/ih-cJiah, or swamp potato, is found in mud and water, 
about three feet deep. The leaf is as large as the cabbage leaf. 
The stem has but cue leaf, which has, as it were, two horns or 
points. The root is obtained by the Indian women ; they wade 
into the water and loosen the root with their feet, which then 
floats, and is picked up and throvv'n into a canoe. It is of an ob- 
long shape, of a whitish yellpAV, with four black rings around it, 
of a slightly pungent taste, and not disagreeable when eaten with 
salt or meat. 

The psm-cJiaJi, with a s^em and leaf similar to the last, has a root 
about the size of a large hickory-nut. They grow in deep water, 
and being smaller are much more difncidt to get, but the Indians 
prefer them ; they have an agreeable taste, and are harder and 
firmer when cooked. Both these roots are found in large quan- 
tities in the musk-rat lodges, stored by them f )r wiuter use. 

The ta-wah-2)aJi, with a stem, leaf, and yellow flower, like the pond- 
lily, is found in the lakes, in water and mud, from four to five feet 
deep. The ludian women dive fur them, and frequently obtain as 
many as they are able to carry.. The root is from one to two feet 



374 



EOOT CEOPS, 



in height, very porous ; there are as many as six or eight cells 
running the whole length of the root. It is very difficult to 
describe the ilavor. It is sligbtly sweet and glutinous, and is 
generally boiled with wild fowl, but is occasionally roasted. 

In his exploring expedition into the interior of Guiana, in the 
region of the Upper Essequibo, Sir E. Schomburgk notices the 
discovery of a variety of Leguminosse, whose tubers grow to an 
enormous size, fully equal to the largest yam. These roots were 
not, at the time he was there, in full perfection, but their taste was 
somewhat between the yam and the sweet potato. The Tariuna 
Indians called them Cuyupa. The roots are considered fit for use 
when the herb above ground dies. Sir Eobert brought a few of 
the seeds of the plant with him on his return to Demerara. 

Two interesting productions have been recently introduced into 
the Jar din des Plantes, at Paris, from the Ecuador, by M. Bourcier, 
formerly Consul- General of Erance in that country. One is the 
r^d and yellow ocas, which is of the form of a long potato, and 
has the taste of a chesnut ; the other is the milloco, which has the 
taste and form of our best potatoes. These two roots, which are 
found in great abundance in the neighbourhood of Quito, grow 
readily in the poorest land. The oca is cultivated in the fields of 
Mexico, but only succeeds in the warmer districts. Erom the 
bulbous roots of the cacomite, a species of Tigridia, a good flour 
is also prepared there. 

Stevenson (" Travels in South America," vol. ii., p. 55) says, 
a root caUed the oca is cultivated in several of the colder provinces 
of Peru. "This plant," he states, "is of a moderate size, in ap- 
pearance somewhat like the acetous trefoil ; the roots yellow, 
each about five or six inches long, and two in circumference. They 
have many eyes, and the roots, several of which are }' ielded by one 
plant, are somewhat curved. When boiled it is much sweeter 
than the camote or batata ; indeed it appears to contain more sac- 
charine matter than any root I ever tasted ; if eaten raw it is very 
much like the chesnut. The roots may be kept for many months 
in a dry place. The transplanting of the oca (he adds) to Eng- 
land, where I am persuaded it would prosper, would add another 
agreeable and useful esculent to our tables." 

The Brussels paper, U Emancipation, mentions that a root has 
been discovered by the Director of the Museum of Industry, in 
that place, destined to take the place of the potato. It is the 
Lathyrus tulerosus, called by the peasants the earth mouse, on ac- 
count of its form, and the earth chesnut on account of its taste. 
This plant exists only in some localities of Lorraine and Burgundy. 
The Lathyrus has never been cultivated, and it is thought that it 
will attain, with cultivation, the size of the potato. The Erench 
peasants have a prejudice against cultivating it, because they say 
it walks under ground, and leaves the place it is planted in to go 
into the neighbouring field. The fact is, that it grows in a 
chaplet, of which the bulbs are arranged along a root runniug 
horizontally, of which the two extremities are very rarely found. 



NEW I'OOD PLANTS. 



375 



SO that on taking up the hinder tubercles it continues its growth 
in front, which gives rise to the saying that if the plant had only- 
time enough, it would make the tour of the world. 

The bulb of GastrocUa sesamoides (E/. Brown), a curious her- 
baceous species of orchis, native of New Holland, is edible, and 
preferred by the aborigines to potatoes and other tuberous roots. 
Some of my accredited informants believe it might be turned to 
profitable account, but being a parasitic plant, it could scarcely be 
systematically cultivated. It flourishes in its wild state on loamy 
soil in low or sloping grounds. The first indication of its vege - 
tation in the spring, is the appearance of a whitish bulb above the 
sward, of an hemispherical shape, and about the size of a small 
egg. The dusky white covering resembles a fine white net, and 
within it is a pellucid gelatinous substance. Again within this is 
a firm kernel, about as large as a Spanish nut, and from this a fine 
fibrous root descends into the soil. It is known in Yan Diemen's 
Land, and other parts of Australia, by the common name of 
native bread. Captain Hunter, in his Journal of the Transactions 
at Port Jackson on the first settlement of the Convict Colony, 
speaks of finding large quantities of "wild yams," on which the 
natives fed, but the roots were not bigger than a walnut ; there- 
fore it was probably this plant, 

Arracaclia esculenta, of Bancroft and Decandolle (OoniumArra- 
cacha) . — This perennial herb is a native of South America, which, 
from its salubrious qualities, is extensively cultivated in the moun- 
tains of Venezuela and other pafts of tropical and Southern 
America, for culinary purposes. It is propagated by planting 
pieces of the tuberous root, in each of which is an eye or shoot. 
The late Baron de Shack introduced it into Trinidad, from Caraccas, 
and it has thence been carried to the island of Grenada. It 
throve there remarkably well, but has been unaccountably neg- 
lected. He also sent roots of this valuable plant to London, 
Liverpool, and Grlasgow. Although it bears cold better than the 
potato, it requires a warmer and more equal temperature than 
most of the countries of Eiu'ope aff'ord. It would, however, make 
an excellent addition to the culinary vegetables of many tropical 
countries, uniting the taste of the potato and parsnip, but being 
superior to both. 

Th^ arracacha has been introduced into the South of Europe, 
not as a substitute for, but as a provision against a failure of the 
potato crop. It is highly recommended by the Eev. J. M. Wil- 
son, in the " E^ural Encyclopaedia." 

Stevenson (" Travels in South America," vol. ii., p. 383) says the 
yucas (cassava), camotes (sweet potatoes), and yams cultivated at 
Esmeraldas and that neighbourhood, were the finest he ever saw. 
" It is not uncommon for one of these roots to weigh upwards of 
twenty pounds. At one place I saw a few plants of the yuca 
that had stood upwards of twenty years, the owner having fre- 
quently bared the bottom of the plants and taken the ripe roots, 
after which, throwing up the earth again, and allowing a sufficient 



376 



HOOT CROPS. 



time for new roots to grow, a continual Buccession of this excellent 
nutritious food was procured." 

The Aipi grows in Brazil, and according to T. Aslie, may be 
eaten raw, and, when pressed, yields a pleasant juice for drink ; or 
being inspissated by the heat of the sun, is kept either to be 
boiled and eaten, or dissolved and drank. The tapinambar grows 
in Chili, and is used by the Indians. 

The tapioca, or bay rush, a plant which grows about the out- 
islands of the Bahamas group, was found of great use as a food 
plant to the inhabitants of Long Island, during a scarcity of food 
occasioned by the drought in 1843. This root growls in the form 
of a large beet, and is from twelve to sixteen inches in length. 
It is entirely farinaceous, and, when properly ground and pre- 
pared, makes good bread. It fetches there four to six cents a 
pound. 

The root of the kooyah plant {Valeriana edtdis) is much used 
by some of the North American Indians as food. The root is of 
a very bright yellow color, with a peculiar taste and odor, and 
hence is called "tobacco root." It is deprived of its strong 
poisonous qualities by being baked in the ground for about two 
days. A variety of other roots and tubers furnish them with food. 
Among these are kamas root {Camassia esculent a) , which is highly 
esteemed ; the bulb has a sweet pleasant flavor, somewhat of the 
taste of preserved quince. It is a strikingly handsome bulbous 
plant, with large beautiful purple flowers. Tampah root {Ane- 
thum graveolens) is a common article of food with the Indians of 
the Kocky Mountains, 

The roots of a thistle {Cersium virginianhm, or Oarchms vir- 
ginianus), which are about the ordinary size of carrots, are also 
eaten by them. They are sweet and well flavored, but require a 
long preparation to fit them for use. 

The people of Southern India and Ceylon have for many 
hundred years been in the habit of eating the bulb or root, 
which is the first shoot from the Palmyra nut, which forms 
the germ of the future tree, and is known locally as Pannam 
kilingoes. It is about the size of a common carrot, though 
nearly white. It forms a great article of food among the natives 
for several months in the year; but Europeans dislike 
it from its being very bitter. Eecent experiments have proved 
that a farina superior to arrowroot can be obtained from it, pre- 
pared in the same way ; and 100 roots, costing 2^d., yield one 
and a-half to two pounds of the flour. 

Prom the boiled inner bark of the Kussian larch, mixed with 
rye flour, and afterwards buried a few hours in the snow, the hardy 
Siberian hunters prepare a sort of leaven, with which they supply 
the place of common leaven when the latter is destroyed, as it 
frequently is by the intense cold. The bark is nearly as valuable 
as oak bark. From the inner bark the Eussians manufacture fine 
white gloves, not inferior to those made of the most delicate 
chamois, while they are stronger, cooler, and more pleasant for 
w^earing in the summer. 



IfEAV FOOD PLANTS. 



377 



The fruit of the Cijcas angulata forms the principal food of the 
Australian aborigines during a portion of the year. They cut it 
into thin slices, which are first dried, afterwards soaked in water, 
and finally packed up in sheets of tea- tree bark. In this con- 
dition it undergoes a species of fermentation ; the deleterious 
properties of the fruit are destroyed, and a mealy substance with 
a musty flavor remains, which the blacks probably bake into cakes. 
They appear also to like the fruit of the Pandamcs, of which large 
quantities were found by Dr. Leichardt in their camps, soaking in 
water, contained in vessels formed of stringy bark. 

The flour obtained from the seeds of Spurry {Spergula safiva), 
when mixed with that of wheat or rye, produces wholesome bread, 
for which purpose it is often used in I^'orway and Grothland. In 
New Zealand, before the introduction of the potato, the roots of 
the fern were largely consumed. 

Many species of Bolitus are used as food by the natives in 
"Western Australia, according to Drummond. 

The thick tuberous roots of a climbing species of bean {Pacliy- 
rhizus angulatus, or Doliclios hulhosus) are cultivated and eaten 
in some parts of the Polynesian islands. The bulbous roots of 
some species of Orchidese are eagerly sought after in New South 
"Wales by the natives, being termed "boyams," and highly 
esteemed as an article of food for the viscid mucilage w^hich they 
contain. The root of the Berar {Caladium costatum) is eaten 
by the natives of the Pedir coast (Achin), after being well 
washed. 

The pignons or edible seeds of Pinus Pinea are consumed 
occasionally in Italy. In Chili the cone or fruit oi the peJiue?i, or 
pino de la tierra, are considered a great delicacy. The pinones are 
sometimes boiled, and afterwards, by grinding them on a stone, 
converted into a kind of paste, from which very delicate ]3astry is 
made. The pine is cultivated in diflferent parts of this province 
on account of its valuable wood and the pinones. The seeds from 
the cones of the Auracanean pine, collected in autamn, furnish 
the Pa wenches (from pawen pine) and Auracanians with a very 
nutritious food. "\Yhen cooked, the flavor is not unlike that of 
the chesnut, and as they will keep for some time, they constitute, 
when the gathering season has been favorable, a great part of 
their diet. 

The seeds of the cones of the nut pine (Pinus monophyllus), a 
noAV species described by Dr. Torrey, and alluded to by Col. 
Premont in his exploring expedition to the E-ocky Mountains, 
are largely used by the North American Indians. The nut is 
oily, of a most agreeable flavor, and must be very nutritious as it 
constitutes the principal subsistence of many of the native 
tribes. 

The cone of another magnificent pine (Attracaria Pidwillii), 
indigenous to the Eastern coast of Australia, about the Moreton 
Bay district, is frequently met with twelve inches in diameter, and 
containing 150 edible seeds as large as a walnut. The aborigines 



378 



BOOT CEOPS. 



roast these seeds, crack the husk between two stones, and eat 
them hot. They taste something like a yam or hard dry potato. 
The trees bear cones only once in four years, during a period of 
six months. This season is held as a great festival by the 
aborigines of that locality, called by them Bunga Bunga, and 
they congregate in greater numbers than is known in any other 
part of Australia, frequently coming from a distance of 300 miles. 
They grow sleek and fat upon this diet. An Act has been passed 
by the legislature of the colony, prohibiting, under heavy 
pains and penalties, the demolition of those trees, being the 
natural food of the natives. 

The common people eat the seeds of the red sandalwood (Adenan- 
thera Pavonind) in the South of India. The pulp of the fruit of 
the Adansonia digitata, or monkey bread, is also used as an article 
of food. 

SiNQHARA OR "Water Nuts. — The large seeds of Trapa hicornis, 
a native of China, and of T. lispinosa smdnatans, species indigenous 
to India, are sweet and eatable, and the aquatic plants which 
furnish them are hence an extensive article of cultivation. In 
Cashmere and other parts of the East they are common food, 
and known under the name of Singhara nuts. In Cashmere the 
government obtains from these nuts £12,000 of annual revenue. 
Mr. Moorcroft mentions that Bunjeet Sing derived nearly the 
same sum. Erom 96,000 to 128,000 loads of this nut are yielded 
annually by the lake of 0 oiler alone. The nut abounds in fecula. 
In China the kernel is used as an article of food, being roasted or 
boiled like the potato. The seeds of various species of Neliwi- 
lium, natives of the East Indies, Jamaica, and the United States, 
also form articles of food. The fruit of JSf. speciosum is sup- 
posed to be the Egyptian bean of Pythagoras. The petioles and 
peduncles contain numerous spiral vessels, which have been used 
for wicks of candles. The fruit of Willugliheia edulis, a native 
of the East, as its name implies, is eatable. The kernel of the 
mango can be reduced to an excellent flour for making bread. 

Not only from the Lichen tribe, but also from the Algse, fungi, 
mosses and ferns man derives nutriment and valuable products. 
Some of the cryptogamic plants form considerable articles of 
commerce, particularly as food plants, affording gelatinous and 
amylaceous matter, and being useful in medicine and the arts. 

Nosfoe eduli is used in China as food ; Gelidium corneum enters 
into the formation of the edible sv/allows' nests of the Japanese 
islands. Agar-agar moss is shipped from Singapore to the extent 
of 13,000 tons a-year. Irish moss, Iceland moss, Ceylon moss, and 
some others, are also of some importance. Iodine and kelp are 
prepared to a considerable extent from sea weeds; one species 
{Fucus tenax) furnishes large supplies of glue to the Canton 
market, and the orchilla weed is of great importance to the dyer. 
It is principally as food that I have to speak of them in this 
section. 

In some of the islands off the Scotch coasts, sea- wrack {Fucus 



EDIBLE MOSSES. 



379 



vesiculosus) forms the chief support of horses and cattle in the 
•winter months. F. serratus is similarly employed in Norway. 

The Laminaria saccJiarina is interesting from the fact of its 
containing sugar. It is highly esteemed in Japan, where it is 
extensively used as an article of diet, being first washed in cold 
water and then boiled in milk or broth. 

Careageeis', or Ieish E-ock Moss, S])li(jeroccus (Cliondus) 
crispus, abounds on the Western Coast of Ireland, round the 
Orkneys, Hebrides, Scilly Islands, &c. It is purplish white, and 
nearly transparent, and is largely imported to feed cattle and pigs in 
Yorkshire. It is also used for dressing the warp of webs in the 
loom, and mixing with the pulp for sizing paper in the vat. It 
swells up like tragacanth in water ; and, by long decoction, aliords 
a considerable quantity of a light, nutritious, but nauseous jelly. 
It is sometimes sold as pearl moss, and is employed in the place 
of gelatine or isinglass for preparing blanc-manges, jellies, &c. 
It fetches about £7 the ton. 

Agae-agae, a sort of edible sea-weed, or tripe de roche, is 
found growing on the rocks about the eastern islands that are 
covered by the tide. It is much used for making a kind of jelly, 
which is highly esteemed both by Europeans and natives for the 
delicacy of its flavor. The first quality is worth about 30s. the 
picul (iSSlbs.). An inferior kind is collected on the submerged 
banks in the neighbourhood of Macassar (Celebes), by the Bajow 
Laut, or Sea G-ipsies. It is also collected on the rocks about the 
settlement of Singapore, for export to China, where it is much used 
as a size for stiff'ening silks and for making jellies. It constitutes 
the bulk of the cargoes of the Chinese junks on their return 
voyage. The quantity shipped from Singapore is about 10,000 
piculs (12,500 tons) annually. 

Iceland Moss (Cetraria islandicd) combines valuable ali- 
mentary and medicinal properties. It is imported in bags and 
barrels from Hamburg and Gothenburg, and is said to be the 
produce of Norway and Iceland. The quantity consumed varies ; 
in 1836, 20,599 lbs. paid duty ; in 1840, 6,462 lbs. In Carniola, 
swine, oxen, and horses, are fattened on it. Boiled in water or milk, 
and flavored to the palate with sugar, wine, and aromatics, it 
forms a very agreeable diet for invalids. 

Ceylon Moss {^Gracelaria, or Gigartina, lichenoides), a small 
and delicate fucus, is well known for the amylaceous property it 
possesses, and the large proportion of true starch it fur- 
nishes. The fronds are filiform ; the filaments much branched, 
and of a light purple color. It grows abundantly in the large lake 
or back-water which extends between Putlam and Calpentyr, 
Ceylon. It is collected by the natives principally during the 
south-west monsoon, when it becomes separated by the agitation 
of the water. The moss is spread on mats and dried in the sun 
for two or three days. It is then washed several times in fresh 
water, and again exposed to the sun, which bleaches it, after which 
it is collected in heaps for exportation. 



380 



aOOT CROPS. 



Professor O'Shaughnessy bas given the best analysis of this 
moss, wbicb be described under tbe name of Fiicus amylaceus ; 
100 grains weight yielded tbe following proportions : — 



Vegetable jelly ..... 54-50 

True starch . . . . . . 15"00 

Ligneous fibre . . . . . IS'OO 

Sulphate and muriate of soda . . . 6*50 

Gum . . . . .• -. . 4-00 

Sulphate and phosphate of lime . . . I'OO 



Total . . . .99-00 

With a trace of wax and iron. 

I observe among tbe imports into New Orleans, 911 bnsbels of 
Spanish moss in 1849, and 1,394 bushels in 1848. I do not know 
precisely its use, or from whence derived, but I believe it is 
chiefly used for stufiing cushions, mattresses, &c. 

Fer]^. — The rhizome of Pteris esculeMta is used as food in 
Australia, and that of Marattia inthe Sandwich Islands. The 
trunks of the AUophila, or tree fern, of the western side of Yan 
Diemen's Land, and of the common tree fern, Cibotium Billardieri 
(the Dichsonia antarctica^ of Labillardiere) , contain the edible pith, 
or bread-fruit eaten by the natives. Many other species of ferns 
are esculent. Typha bread is prepared in Scinde from the pollen 
of the flowers of the Typha elepliantina, and in New Zealand from 
another species of bulrush {Typlia utilis). 

" It must not be supposed, as some have believed, that the fern 
root, wherever it grows, is fit for food. On the contrary, it is only 
that found in rich loose soils which contains fecula in sufiicient 
quantity for this purpose : in poorer ground the root contains pro- 
portionally more fibre. "We were now encamped on an alluvial 
flat in the valley of the river, thirty or forty feet below the general 
level of the plain ; and I observed that, even in this favourable 
spot, a great deal of discrimination was used in selecting the best 
roots, which was discoverable by their being crisp enough to break 
easily when bent : those which would not stand this test beiDg 
thrown aside. Here a quantity sufiicient for several days was 
procured, and was packed in baskets, to last till another spot 
equally favourable could be reached. 

" The process of cooking fern root is very simple; for it is merely 
roasted on the fire, and afterwards bruised by means of a flat 
stone similar to a cobbler's lap-stone, and a wooden pestle. The 
long fibres which run like wires through the root are then easily 
drawn out ; and the remainder is pounded till it acquires the con- 
sistence of tough dough, in which state it is eaten, its taste being 
very like that of cassava bread. Sometimes it is sweetened with 
the juice of the ' tut a.' 

" The natives consider that there is no better food than this for a 
traveller, as it both appeases the cravings of hunger for a longer 
period than their other ordinary food, and renders the body less 
sensible to the fatigue of a long march. It is in this respect to 



TEElsS A^D TErFFLES, 



381 



the liuraan frame, what oats or beans are to the horse. They have 
a song in praise of this root, which I have once or twice heard 
chanted on occasions of festivals, hj a troop of yonng women who 
carry baskets of the food intended for the guests." — (" Shortland's 
jS"ew Zealand.") 

I ought not to omit noticing the Tuher cibariiim, a plant of the 
mushroom .family, growing under ground, which furnishes the 
famous truffle, so celebrated in the annals of cooking, of which 
immense quantities are imported, chiefly from the South of France. 
It is common also in Italy and Grermany, and is often found in 
Northamptonshire, and some other of our own counties. The 
" kemmayes," a desert plant of the truffle kind, is a great favorite 
with the Arabs. 

In Terra del Euego the only vegetable food of the natives, 
besides a few berries of a dwarf arbutus, is a species of globular 
bright yellow fungus {Cyttaria Darwinii^ which grows in vast 
numbers on the beech trees. In its tough and mature state it is 
collected in large (Quantities by the women and children, and eaten 
uncooked. It has a slightly sweet mucilaginous taste, with a faint 
smell like that of a mushroom. 



SECTION 



IIL 



SPICES, AEOMATIG CONDIMENTS, EEAQEANT 
WOODS, &c. 

The various spices and condiments wHch form so large an item 
in our commercial imports, are obtained from tlie barks, the dried 
seeds, tbe fruit, flower-buds, and root-stocks, of difl'erent plants. 
The chief aromatic barks comprise the cinnamon, cassia lignea, 
cascarilla, and canella alba. The medicinal barks will be noticed 
elsewhere. The seeds and fruits include pepper, pimento, car- 
damoms, anise, nutmegs, chillies. The flower-buds of some furnish 
cloves and cassia buds; the roots supply ginger, galangale, turmeric, 
and ginseng. A few other useful substances, such as vanilla, the 
costus, or putchuk, mace, soy, and some of the odoriferous woods 
I have included under this section. 



CINNAMON. 

The true cinnamon of commerce is obtained from the inner bark 
of Cinnamonum verum, Tl. Brown ; or G. zeylanicum ; the Laurun 
cinnamoiium, of Linnaeus, a handsome looking tree, native of the 
East Indies. The island of Ceylon is the chief seat of its culti- 
vation, and for a long time the Dutch depended solely for their 
supply of this bark for the home market on the produce of the 
wild cinnamon trees in the King of Kandy's territories there. At 
last, from the increasing demand, they resorted to the growth and 
more careful culture of the tree themselves. About the year 
1794, the cultivation had succeeded so well that they were enabled 
to meet the demand for the spice from trees of their own growth, 
independent of any supplies from the Kandian monarcli's 
territory. 

In 1796, when this island fell into our hands, the local govern- 
ment endeavoured, after the former fashion of the Dutch, to re- 
strain the production of this article of commerce within due 
bounds, by destroying all above a certain quantity. 

G-eneral Maitland, in 1805, and his successors in the govern- 



383 



ment, seeing the folly of such a ridiculous policy, very wisely 
fostered and promoted the extended cultivation of cinnamon 
plantations. 

In the island of Java, and in Cochin-China, cinnamon culture 
has within the last few years made considerable progress. 

The leaves of the cinnamon tree are more or less acuminated, 
from five to eight inches long, by about three broad, growing 
in pairs opposite each other. They have three principal ribs, 
which come in contact at its base, but do not unite. The leaves, 
when first developed, are of a bright red hue, then of a pale 
yellow, and lastly of a dark shining green ; when mature, they 
emit a strong aromatic odor if broken or rubbed in the hands, and 
have the pungent taste of cloves. The young twigs of the true 
cinnamon tree are not downy, like those of the cassia bark. The 
plant blooms in January and February, and the seeds ripen in 
July and August. 

The blossoms grow on slender foot-stalks, of a pale yellow color, 
from the axillae of the leaves and the extremity of the branches. 
They are numerous clusters of small white flowers, having a 
brownish shade in the centre, about the same size as the lilac, 
which it resembles. The fruit is a drupe, about the size of a 
small hedge strawberry, containing one seed, and of the shape of 
an acorn, which when ripe is soft and of a dark purple color. 

The roots are fibrous, hard, and tough, covered with an odori- 
ferous bark; on the outside of a greyish brown, and on the 
inside of a reddish hue. They strike about three feet into the 
earth, and spread to a considerable distance. Many of them smell 
strongly of camphor, which is sometimes extracted from them. 

The trees in their wild state will grow ordinarily to the height 
of 30 feet. The trunk is about three feet in circumference, and 
throws out a great number of large spreading horizontal branches, 
clothed with thick foliage. "When cultivated for their bark, the 
trees are not permitted to rise above the height of ten feet. 

The true cinnamon tree (according to Mr. Crawfurd) is not a 
native of the islands of the Eastern Archipelago ; but Marshall, 
in his description and history of the tree (" Annals of Philos," 
vol. X.) assigns very extensive limits to its cultivation. He asserts 
that it is found on the ?»ialabar coast, in Cochin-China, and Ton- 
quin, Sumatra, the Soolo Archipelago, Borneo, Timor, the Nicobar 
and Philippine Islands. It has been transplanted, and grows well 
in the Mauritius, Bourbon and the eastern coast of Africa ; in the 
Brazils, Gruiana, in South America, and Gruadaloupe, Martinique, 
Tobago, and Jamaica ; but produces in the West a bark of very 
inferior quality to the Oriental. 

Humphius has remarked, that the trees which yield cinnamon, 
cassia, and clove bark (Ginnamonv/m Culilabafi), though so much 
alike, are hardly ever found in the same countries. y 

The term clove bark has been applied to the barks of two 
different trees belonging to the natural order Laurinece. One of 
these barks is frequently called " Culilaban bark." It consists 



384 



SPICES AND rRAGRANT WOODS. 



of almost flat pieces, and is obtained from Ginnamonum Oulilaban^ 
a tree growing in Amboyna, and probably other parts of the 
Moluccas. 

The other bark, known as clove bark, occurs in quills, which are 
imported from South America. Murray says it is produced by 
the Wyrtus caropliyllata, a tree termed by DecandoUe Sijzgium 
caropliyll(Bum. It appears, however, that this is an error, for both 
Nees and Yon Martius declare it to be the produce of Dicypellium 
caryophyllatum ; and the last quoted authority states that this 
tree is the noblest of all the laurels found in the Brazils, where it 
is called " Pao Cravo." It grows at Para and Sio Negro. 

Cinnamon may be propagated by seeds, plants, or layers ; roots 
also, if carefully transplanted, will thrive in favorable localities, 
and yield useful shoots in twelve months. It is usually cultivated 
from suckers, which skould not have more than three or four 
leaves, and' require continual watering. If raised from seed, the 
young plants are kept in a nursery for a year or two, and then 
transplanted ; but the trees from seeds are longer arriving at 
maturity. The plants are kept well earthed about the roots to 
retain the moisture, and coco-nut husks are placed above them, 
which in time form an excellent compost. 

A cinnamon plantation, even in a favorable locality, seldom 
yields much return until eight or nine years have elapsed. 

The mode of cultivation pursued by the natives differs from that 
followed in the plantations of the Europeans. The native system is 
to allow the cinnamon to grow large before cutting ; the European 
practice is to cut it young. The result is that the native produces 
quantity, but coarse ; the European produces quality, but less in 
quantity. I have found, in conversation with the native growers, 
that they consider the bush or tree decidedly weakened by its being 
kept down by constant cutting twice a year ; and that their plants 
are stronger and better. It is not absolutely an original opinion, 
but I think the two systems might be judiciously blended. In 
cutting the cinnamon sticks for peeling, as the Europeans do it 
twice a year, there is always risk of losing much valuable young 
wood, which is destroyed in slashing into the bushes with catties 
(bill-hooks) to take out that which is in a fit state for peeling, all 
of whicli is so much loss from the next cutting ; and on this ground 
I should be inclined to advocate cutting once a year. There are, 
I know, other considerations tkan the mere growth of the sticks 
to be taken into account. Of these may be named the time when 
the bark peels best from the stick, which of course must depend 
upon age as well as season, the excited or unexcited state of the 
shoots, and their several eiiects upon the quality of the spice. 

Weeding the plantations does not seem to be of so much con- 
sequence, if the shrub gets plenty of free air all round it. 

Cinnamon land continues to yield abundantly crop after crop, 
not for years, but for scores of years. The greater portion of 
the late preserved plantations in Ceylon were planted by the 
Dutch, one hundred years ago, and the bushes are stated to be as 



ciNXA:sroy. 



385 



vigorous as ever, and quite likely to go on yielding crops till the 
year 2000. This productiveness can only be accoimted for on 
Liebig's principle of returning to the soil a portion of what we 
take from it. In the operation of peeling cinnamon; the tops and 
lateral branches are cut oif, and left by the peelers on the ground 
close to the bushes. These, no doubt, fui'uish a considerable 
quantity of manure to the plants. 

The general appearance of the plantation is that of a copse, 
with laurel leaves and stems, about the thickness of hazel ; occa- 
sionally a tree may be seen which, having been allowed to grow 
for seed, has reached a height of forty or fifty feet, with a trunk 
eighteen inches in diameter. When in full bloom, the cinnamon 
bushes have a very beautiful appearance, the small white petals 
aifording a most agreeable contrast with the flame-colored extremi- 
ties of the upper, and the dark green of the inferior foliage, with 
the blossoms of various lovely parasitical plants. 

The cinnamon tree flourishes only in a small portion of the 
island of Ceylon. It is chiefly confined to the south-west angle, 
formed by the sea coast, from Tangalle in the south to Chilaw on 
the west. It is in a climate of agreeable temperature, which is 
at once hot and moist ; hot from its tropical position, and moist 
from the frequency and plentilulness of rains. The general level 
of the country is low, in the midst of fresh-water lakes, divided 
from the sea by a narrow riband of land. And the water in the 
soil of the cinnamon gardens is of extraordinary purity, so as to 
be for that reason much in request in the neighbouring city as a 
beverage. This exact combination of influences does not occur 
anywhere else in the island, at least not in the same degree. 

The cultivation principally centres round Colombo, the capital 
and principal port. 

On the hiUs and valleys, in the neighbourhood of Kandy, whicn 
have a temperate climate, the tree flourishes well ; a rather ele- 
vated situation, with shelter, contributing to the luxuriance of the 
plants. The best soil for it appears to be a pure quartz sand, 
which in some places rests on black moss or moidd. From the 
surface to the depth of a few inches, this sand is as fine in its 
nature and as pearly white in its appearance as the best table 
salt ; but below that depth, and near the roots of the bushes, the 
sand is greyish. 

A specimen of this soil being carefully dried by Dr. Davy, was 
found to consist of 98"5 silicious sand, 0*5 vegetable matter, and 
I'l water — in 100 parts. This circumstance impresses one very 
strongly on visiting the cinnamon gardens ; it seems so strange to 
see a plain of pure quartz sand whitened in the sun, and yet covered 
over with a luxuriant gro\vth of trees. In richer soils the aroma 
does not seem to develop itself in the same concentrated form. 

A mixture of loam and peat, with sand, is said, however, to 
form a good soil in some localities. These plantations may well 
suggest a doubt as to the truth of the proposition so unquali- 
fiedly laid down by some authors, that " earth destitute of or- 

2 c 



386 



SPICES ANI> TKAGEA^fT WOODS. 



ganic matter cannot sustain vegetation." Certainly it is not 
organic matter wliich supports the cinnamon trees of Colombo. 

Peeling. — The best cinnamon is obtained from the stalks or 
twigs, which shoot up in a cluster of eight or ten together from 
the roots, after the parent bush or tree has been cut down. These 
shoots are cut once in about three years, close to the ground. 
Great care is requisite, both as to the exact size and age ; for if 
the bark is too young, it has a green taste, if too old it is rough 
and gritty. These shoots yield an incomparably fine cinnamon 
bark. "When cut for peeling they are of various sizes and lengths, 
depending on the texture of the bark. These rods afford the hazel- 
like walking-sticks so much esteemed by strangers, and which, 
though difficult to be procured during the prevalence of the 
oppressive cinnamon regulations, may now be very easily ob- 
tained from proprietors of grounds producing that spice. Cinna- 
mon is barked at two periods of the year, between April and 
December. Those suckers which are considered fit for cutting, 
are usually about three-fom^ths of an inch in diameter, and five 
feet or more long. The first operation is to strip them of the 
outside pellicle of bark. The twigs are then ripped up length- 
Avise with the point of a knife, and the liber or inner bark gradu- 
ally loosened, till it can be entirely taken ofi". While drying they 
are cut up into long narrow rolls, called " quills," then stuck into 
oue another, so as to form pipes about three or four feet long, 
which are afterwards made up in round bundles. 

During the first day the cinnamon is suspended under shelter 
upon open platforms, and on the second day it is placed on 
wicker-work shelves, and exposed to the sun until sufiiciently 
dry to be examined and sorted for shipment. 

It is brought home in bags or bales of 80 or 90 lbs. weight, 
and classed before export into three sorts ; first, second, and third 
quality. The different kinds of cinnamon bark may be thus 
classified, according to quality — 

1. That which ranks above all others in quality, is known by 
the Singhalese name of penne or rasse huroondu, sharp sweet, or 
honey cinnamon, 

2. Naya huroonclu., snake cinnamon. 

3. Kapoorn Jcuroondu, camphorated cinnamon, from the very 
strong smell of camphor which it possesses. This variety is prin- 
cipally obtained from the plantations of the interior. 

4. Kaliate or canalle huroondu, astringent cinnamon. In this 
species the bark peels off" very easily, and smells agreeably when 
fresh, but it has a bitter taste. 

5. Savel Jcuroondu, mucilaginous or glutinous cinnamon. This 
sort acquires a very considerable degree of hardness, which the 
chewing of it sufficiently proves. It has otherwise little taste, 
and an ungrateful smell ; but the color is very fine, and it is 
often mixed with the first and best sort ; the color being much 
alike, excepting only that in the good sort some few yellowish 
spots appear towards the extremities. 

6. JDawool huroondu, or drum cinnamon. The wood of this 



387 



tree, when grown hard, is light and tough, and the natives make 
some of their vessels and drums of it. The bark is of a pale color. 

7. Nika kuroondu, wild cinnamon, whose leaf resembles that of 
the nicasol (Vitex Negundo). The bark of this tree has neither 
taste or smell when peeled, and is made use of by the natives 
only in physic, aud to extract an oil from to anoint their bodies. 

8. Mai huroondu, flowering cinnamon, because this tree is 
always in blossom. The substance of the wood never becomes so 
solid and weighty in this as in the other named species, which are 
sometimes nine or ten feet in circumference. If this ever-flower- 
ing cinnamon be cut or bored, a limpid water will issue out of the 
wound ; but it is of use only for the leaves and bark. 

9. Toupat huroondu^ trefoil cinnamon, of which there are 
three varieties, which grow in the mountains and valleys of the 
interior about Kandy. 

10. We Jcicroondu, white ant's cinnamon. 

The first-named four of these are, however, alone varieties of 
the Cinnamonum verum. 

Good cinnamon is known by the following properties : — It is 
thin and rather pliable ; it ought to be about the substance of 
royal paper, or somewhat thicker. It admits of a considerable 
degree of pressure, and bends before it breaks ; the fracture is 
then splintering. It is of a light color, approaching to yellow, 
bordering but little upon the brown ; it possesses a sweetish 
taste, at the same time it is not stronger than can be borne 
without pain, and is not succeeded by any after-taste. The 
more cinnamon departs from these characteristics, th ' coarser and 
less serviceable it is esteemed ; and it should be rejected if it 
be hard, and thick as a half-crown piece ; if it be very dark 
colored or brown ; if it be very pungent and hot on the tongue, 
with a taste bordering upon that of cloves, so that it cannot be 
suffered without pain. Particular care should be taken that it is 
not false-packed, or mixed with cinnamon of a common sort. 

The following remarks, by Mr. Dunewille, of Malacca, as to 
the suitability of the Straits' Settlements for cinnamon culture, 
are interesting, although in some instances a repetition of previous 
observations : — 

It appears, from experience, that the soil of Ceylon is more favorable to the 
growth of cinnamon than to that of any other aromatic plant, and T find the 
climate of Ceylon, if at all, differs but in a very slight degree from that of the 
Straits. I therefore conclude that the spice, if cultivated in the Straits, will 
prove supei'ior to that of Ceylon, if one may judge from the various spices that 
grow here almost wild, and it would moreover yield a better return than in 
Ceylon. My supposition is confirmed from having seen the spice which was 
prepared last year in Pringet by the Honorable Eesident Councillor of Malacca, 
and which I found to be equally as good in every respect as that grown and 
cultivated in the maritime provinces in Ceylon. 

A sandy soil is that which is generally selected for cinnamon, but other soils 
may be chosen also, such as a mixture of sandy with red soil, free from quartz, 
gravel, or rock, also red and dark brown soils. Such land in a flat country is 
preferable to hilly spots, upon which, however, cinnamon also grows, and are 
known by the name of the " Kandyan Mountains." The soil that is rocky and 

2 C 2 



888 



SPICES AKB FRAGRANT WOODS, 



stony under the surface is bad, and not adapted for the cultivation of cinnamon, 
as the trees would neither grow fast, nor yield a remunerative return. 

"When a tract of land of the above description is selected, the whole of the 
ground should be cleared, leaving a few trees for shade, to which the laborers 
might return for rest and relaxation ; these may be from 50 to 60 feet apart. 
The trees felled should be well lopped, burnt and cleared away, the stumps 
should be removed with roots, after which they may be allowed to remain, in 
order to save expense of carriage, merely by observing some degree of order in 
the disposition, by forming regular rows, of which the intervening spaces are 
planted with cinnamon. The ground being thus cleared, holes may be dug at 
eight to ten feet apart, and of one foot square ; the distance from each plant will 
depend upon the natm-e of the soil — that is, the poorer the soil, the nearer to 
each other should the trees be planted, and vice versa. 

When this operation is over, should the holes be intended for cinnamon roots, 
or stumps, the latter must be carefully removed with as much earth as can be 
carried up with them and placed in the holes, taking care not to return the 
earth removed originally in digging the holes, which are to be filled with the 
soil scraped from the surface, which has been previously burnt, exposed, and 
formed into manure. Should no rain have fallen after the placing of the roots 
in the holes, the stumps should be well covered, and watered morning and even- 
ing, until such time as the sprouts shoot out fresh buds, which will be in a 
fortnight or so from the time they were transplanted, when the watering may 
be discontinued. In a month the new shoots wiU be three or four inches high ; 
this much depends upon the weather. 

If the holes be intended for young plants or seedlings, the plants must be re- 
moved with boles of earth from the nurseries, and placed in the holes, taking 
the same care as with the stumps, both in watering and covering, in the event 
of its being dry weather, "When the seedlings take root, the coverings should 
not be removed until the plants throw out a new pair of leaves from the buds, 
which is a sign of their having taken root. 

"When a plantation is formed of old stumps, all the branches should be cut 
down within six inches from the ground ; this should be done with one stroke 
of a sharp instrimient, in order to avoid the splitting of the stem. From these 
stumps cinnamon may be cut and peeled within eighteen months from the time 
of transplanting. Often this is done after the lapse of twelve months from the 
time of transplanting. 

From seedlings one cannot expect to gather a crop before two or three years 
from the time the plants were transplanted, when there will be but one or a 
single tree, which, when cut down as already shown, four or six inches to the 
ground, ought to be covered with fresh earth gathered from the space between 
the rows, and formed in a heap round the plant. The next crop will be three 
or four times as much as the first, from the number of sprouts the stem will 
throw out, and so on every year, the crop increasing according to the number 
of sprouts each stem will throw out yearly fi-om the cuttings. In the course of 
seven or eight years, the space left between the rows will only admit the peelers 
and others to go round the bushes, weed, clear and remove cuttings, as the 
branches from each bush will almost touch each other at their ends. 

It is essentially necessary to take every care not to allow any creepers or 
other weeds to grow, the former interfere with the growth of the bushes by en- 
tangling, because it not only takes out so much of the support feeding the cinnamon 
trees, but interferes with the peelers during the cutting season, and prevents 
the branches growing up straight with a free circulation of air. The plantation 
ought to be kept clean and free from weeds ; the cinnamon requires no manuring, 
but when the plantation is weeding the bushes should be covered with the sur- 
face soil and raising the ground round the bush by making a heap of the earth, 
which answers well in lieu of manure. This operation must be attended to as 
soon as the cinnamon sticks are removed for peeling. The plantation requires 
weeding three or four times a year during the first two or three years, then 
twice a year will answer the purpose ; as by that time the trees will form into 
bushes and destroy the seeds of the weeds on the ground. 

The forming of a nursery is necessarv, for which a space of ground, say an acre, 
shoTild be selected in a rich bit of soil free from stones. Clear the whi)le brush- 



389 



"wood, only leaving the large trees for shade, remove all stones, stumps, and 
roots, dig the place "svell six or eight inches deep, then form into long beds of 
three or four feet "svide, put the seeds down nine or twelve inches apart, cover 
them eight or twelve inches above the ground by a platform, and water them 
every other day until the seeds grow up and give one pair of leaves, then leave off 
watering (unless great dry weather prevail, then it ought to be continued) but not 
uncover until the plants grow up six or eight inches high, and can bear the sun ; 
these seedlings will be ready for transplanting after three months from the time 
they were sown. 

The forming of nurseries is done at the close of the year, before December. 
When this is done first, the paiiy commences clearing and preparing the land 
during the dry season, which is from the beginning of December up to the end 
of ]March following. April will set in with heavy rain (it is generally so in 
Ceylon), and it will continue wet weather till the end of August, very often 
till September and October, and you have the benefit of four or five months rain. 

The cinnamon seeds are to be gathered when they are fully ripe, they must be 
heaped up in a shady place, to have the outside red pulp rotted, when it turns 
quite black, then have the seeds trampled or otherwise freed from the decom- 
posed pulp, without injuring the seeds, and well washed in water (just as is 
done to cherry coffee, before they are made into parchment in the whole shell). 
Finally, have the seeds* well dried in the air without exposing them to the sun, 
and then put them in on the ground prepared for their reception. In washing the 
seeds, those that float on the surface should be rejected. 

There are five different sorts of cinnamon, viz. : — 

1st is called Panny Meers Carundoo. 
2nd .. Tittha „ „ 
3rd . . Kahatte ,, ,, 
4th . . Wallee „ „ 
5th . . Savell ,, „ 

Of these, the first kind is the best of all, the 2nd and 3rd, although inferior, 
are peeled likewise, the 4th and oth are spurious. 

The distinction in the cinnamon can be known both by taste, the shape of the 
leaves on the tree, and an experienced " Challya" man will judge the cinnamon 
by first sight. 

The quality of the bark depends upon its situation in the branch, that peeled 
from the middle of the bush or branch being the most siqjerior, and classed as 
Ist sort, that taken from the upper end is the 2nd quality, while the bark removed 
from the base of the branch, or the thickest end, is the inferior, and called the 
3rd sort. 

From the cinnamon bark refused in the sorting store of all kinds, in separating 
the first, second and third qualities and in making bales for exportation, the 
refuse is collected, and by a chemical process cinnamon oil is extracted, which 
sells very high, with an export duty of 33. or 1| rupees on each ounce, ex- 
clusive of the British duties payable in England for importation, which is at 
present one shilling and three pence per pound, f 

Of the cinnamon roots camphor is made, which sells well both in Ceylon and 
other parts of the world. 

Cinnamon, as a medicine, is a powerful stimulant, but it is not 
much used alone. It is generally united with other tonics and 
stimulants, but its ordinary use is to mask the disagreeable odor 
and taste of other medicines. The oil of cinnamon is prepared by 
being grossly powdered and macerated in sea water for two days 
and two nights, and both are put into the still. A light oil comes 
over with the water, and floats on its surface ; a heavy oil sinks to 
the bottom of the receiver, four hours before the light oil separates 
from the water, and whilst the heavy oil continues to be precipi- 

* K cinnamon seeds after washing be exposed to the sun, even for twenty minutes, the 
shells will crack in two, and this prevents the seeds from growing. 

t No export duties exist in the Straits Settlements. 



390 



SPICES AND rEAGEAIfT WOODS, 



tated for ten, twelve, or sometimes fourteen days. Th§ heavy oil, 
which separates first, is about the same color as the light oil, but 
sometimes the portion v/hich separates last has a browner shade 
than the supernatant oil. The same water can be used advanta- 
geously in a second distillation. Professor Duncan informs us 
that 80 lbs. of newly-prepared cinnamon yield about 2| ozs. of 
oil, which floats upon the water, and 5| of heavy oil. The same 
quantity of cinnamon, if kept in store for many years, yields 2 ozs. 
of light oil and 5 ozs. of heavy oil. 

Cinnamon oil is obtamed from the fragments of bark which 
remain after peeling, sorting, and packing. It is distilled over 
with difficulty, and the process is promoted by the addition of salt 
water, and the use of a low still. The oil thus obtained by dis- 
tillation is at first of a yellow color, but soon assumes a reddish 
brown hue. It has an odor intermediate between that of cin- 
namon and vanilla, but possesses in a high degree both the sweet 
burning taste and the agreeable aromatic smell of cinnamon. It 
is heavier than water, its specific gravity being 1.035. 

The ripe fruit of this tree yields a concrete oil called cinnamon 
suet, which was formerly employed to make candles for the 
Kandian kings. An oil, called clove oil, is also distilled from the 
leaf, which is said to be equal in aromatic pungency to that made :^ 
from the clove at the Moluccas. 

The following were tlae quantities sold, and the average prices 
realised during the Dutch rule in Ceylon : — 



s. d. 

1690 3,750 bales sold at 4 8 all round. 

1709 3,750 „ 4 6 „ 

1710 3,500 „ 4 4 „ 

1720 5,000 „ 4 4 „ 

1740 4,000 „ 9 3 „ 

1760 5,000 „ 8 5 „ 

1780 2,500 „ 12 6 „ 

1784 2,500 „ 17 4 „ 



The last quotation appears to have been the highest ever ob- 
tained for cinnamon, for 17s. 8d. average would give about 22s. 
for the first sort. In later years we find the deliveries and prices 
to have been as follows : — 



s. d. 

1824 5,934 bales sold at 6 6 all round. 

1828 3,918 „ 6 0 „ 

1830 5,849 „ 7 8 „ 

1842 1,018 „ — „ 

1845 3,245 „ ~ „ 



The comparative exports of cinnamon from Ceylon in the first 
six months of 1853, as compared with the same period last year, 
are as foUows : — 

1853. 1852. 
lbs. lbs. 

Quarter ending 5th January 99,778 93,291 

„ SthAprU .... 73,815 .... 135,248 



Total 173,593 .... 228,539 



391 



The diminished export was caused by the prospective abolition 
of the export duty, ^^^hich came into operation on the 1st July last. 
The quantity that will be sent to the English market by the close 
of the year (1853) will be something prodigious compared with the 
average consumption. From October 10, 1852, to July 22, 1853, 
the shipments were 406,326 lbs. 

HETUKN OF CINNAMON EXPORTED FROM CEYLON, SHOWING THE QUANTITY 
AND VALUE. 

Quantity, Value, 
Year. lbs. £ 

1836 , 724,364 — 

1837 558,110 — 

1838 398,198 — 

1839 596,592 — 

1840 389,373 — 

1841 317,919 24,857 

1842 121,145 15,207 

1843 662,704 66,270 

1844 1,057,841 105,784 

1845 408,211 40,821 

1846 491,656 49,165 

1847 447,369 44,736 

1848 491,688 49,168 

1849 733,782 73,378 

1850 644,857 64,485 

1851 500,518 50,051 

1852 427,667 42,766 

The question of the export duty on cinnamon has, during the last 
twenty years, occupied a considerable spacein Ceylon correspondence 
and the Island journals. This duty was first imposed in 1832, on 
the abolition of the Grovernment monopoly, and was then fixed at 
the rate of 3s. per lb, on all qualities. I'rom the 19th April, 1835, 
it was fixed at 3s. per lb. on the best, and 2s. on the second quality. 
It was reduced in January, 1837, to 2s. 6d. on the first and second 
sorts, and 2s. on the third ; and in June, 1841, to 2s, on all quali- 
ties ; in 1843, to Is. ; and in September, 1848, to4d. per lb. Such 
a rate of export duty could be maintained only on an article for 
which there was a considerable demand, and which could not be 
supplied from other places, and this was for a long time the case. 
The circumstances are now difierent, and the abolition of the duty, 
which has so repeatedly been brought under the notice of the 
Treasury, has at length been determined on. The quantity of 
cinnamon, &c., taken for consumption in the United Kingdom, 
scarcely amounts to 2,800 bales per annum. The sale and con- 
sumption is nearly stationary, and cinnamon is only in demand for 
those finer purposes for which cassia, its competitor, cannot be 
used. Whilst we imported the large amount of 700,095 lbs. in 
1850, only 28,347 lbs. went into consumption. The consumption 
has declined in the last two years to about 21,500 ibs. Cinnamon 
is now imported into the United Kingdom duty free. 

The land under cultivation with cinnamon in Ceylon is about 
13,000 acres, principally in the western and southern provinces. 
The number of gardens being eleven at Kaderane, seven at Ekelli, 



392 



SPICES AJSTD FEAGEANT WOODS. 



seven at Morotto, six at Maraiidliam, and two at "Willisene. 
Several enterprising planters have recentty commenced the culti- 
vation of this spice at Singapore and Malacca. The plants already 
promise well. Indeed there can be little donbt of its thriving, as 
the tree has been long grown in gardens and pleasure grounds 
in those settlements, as an ornamental plant, and has always 
flourished. 

The Ceylon article is being supplanted in the continental mar- 
kets by a cheaper one, of China and Malabar growth. The Javanese, 
tempted by the fatally high prices caused by the excessive duties 
on our Colonial spice, smuggled a quantity of seed, and with it a 
cinnamon cultivator, out of the island, and have since paid con- 
siderable attention to its growth. The Dutch have at present 
more than five millions of plants, equal to upwards of 5,000 acres, 
the greater part of Avhich are in tolerably full bearing. 

The cinnamon trees in Java begin to blossom in the month of 
March. They do not all flower at the same time, but in succes- 
sion. The fruit begins to ripen in October in the same manner, 
so that the crop lasts from October to Eebruary. In Ceylon the 
blossom begins to appear in November. The seeds when plucked 
ought to be fully ripe, and after being separated from the outer 
pulpy covering, should be dried in the shade. They can be kept 
for two or three mouths in dry sand or ashes, but must not be 
exposed to the sun, as they would split, and thus be rendered 
itseless. 

The plants in nurseries must be well sheltered from the sun and 
heavy rains, but the plants are strengthened by the covers being 
removed at night when heavy rains are not expected to fall, and 
in the day time when only light rains prevail. The mode of plant- 
ing out, cultivation, preparing the bark, &c., appears to be the same 
in Java as that practised in Ceylon. The only diflJ"erence is, that 
while in Ceylon the cinnamon, when ready for market, is packed 
in " gunny " or canvass bags, in Java it is put into boxes, made of 
wood free from any smell or flavor which would injure the spice. 
The inferior cinnamon, however, is packed in straw mats. 

The following is a return of the extent of cinnamon culture 
in Java : — 





In 1840. 


In 1841. 


llesidencies in which cinnamon is cultivated 


10 . 


10 




48 . 


49 


,, families devoted to this culture . . 


7,901 . 


9,688 




294 . 


345 


Extent of ground occupied by the cultivation. 








1,690 . 


1,880 


Cinnamon trees of "which the bark can be taken 


1,106,566 . 


. 1,407,213 




2,478,427 . 


. 2,565,774 




307,000 ,^ 


86,800 


Total 


3,891,998 . 


. 4,059,787 



Cinnamon crop, in Dutch lbs. 
„ refuse 



57,074 
23,283 



38,219 
82,803 



CASSIA BAEK. 



893 



The number of trees peeled in 1842 was taken at 1,824,599, 
and the crop reckoned at 108,905 lbs. 

In the residency of Bantam, four trees suffice to produce a 
pound of cinnamon, whilst in the other residencies eleven trees 
must generally be stripped to furnish the same quantity ; in 1889 
one pound could scarcely be obtained from thirteen trees. 

This cultivation increases each year, and the quality of the 
produce improves, whilst the expenses diminish. However, the 
Dutch Grovernment has judged it proper not to extend it, although 
the soil of Java appears favorable to this culture. 

From 200,000 to 300,000 lbs. of true cinnamon, not freed 
from its epidermis, is exported annually from Cochiur China. 



JAVA CUSTNAjNION sold in HOLLAND. 



In 1835 
„ 1836 
„ 1837 
„ 1838 
„ 1S39 
„ 1840 



lbs. 




2,200 


In 1841 


1,300 


„ 1842 


1,600 


„ 1843 


2,100 


„ 1844 


4,700 


„ 1845 


7,900 


„ 1848 



lbs 



In 1841 23,900 

13,000 

23,000 

101,400 

134,500 

250,550 



STATISTICS OF PACKAGES IN LONDON. 



Iranprted . . . 
Exported . . . 
Duty paid . 
Stock 2,709 



1842. 


1843. 


1844. 


1845. 


2,196 


4,458 


9,197 


8,909 


3,661 


3,964 


6,712 


6,081 


838 


738 


801 


1,012 


2,709 


2,622 


4,230 


5,549 



CASSIA BAEK. 

Cinnamonum Cassia, or aromatictim, the Laurus cassia of 
Linnseus, seems to be the chief source of the "cassia lignea" of 
commerce. It differs from the true cinnamon tree in many 
particulars. Its leaves are oblong-lanceolate ; they have three 
ribs, which coalesce into one at the base ; its young twigs are 
downy, and its leaves have the taste of cinnamon. 

Malabar cassia appears to be the produce of another species 
of Cinnamonum, probably C. eucalyptoides, or Malahatrum. 

Dr. Wight, of the Madras Medical Service, in a report to the 
East India Company, expresses his belief that the cassia pro- 
ducing plants extend to nearly every species of the genus. " A 
set of specimens (he observes) submitted for my examination, 
of the trees furnishing cassia on the Malabar coast, presented no 
fewer than four distinct species ; including among them the 
genuine cinnamon plant, the bark of the older trees of which, it 
would appear, are exported from the coast as cassia. Three or 
foar more species are natives of Ceylon, exclusive of the cinnamon 
proper, all of which greatly resemble the cinnamon plant, and in 
the woods might easily be mistaken for it and peeled, though the 
produce would be inferior. Thus we have from Western India 
and Ceylon alone, probably not less than six plants producing 



894 



SPICES AT^T) TEAGEAIS'T WOODS, 



cassia ; add to these nearly twice as many more species of Cin-^ 
namonum, the produce of the more eastern states of Asia, and the 
Islands of the Eastern Archipelago, all remarkable for their 
striking family likeness ; all, I believe, endowed with aromatic 
properties, and probably the greater part, if not the whole, con- 
tributing something towards the general result, and we at once 
see the impossibility of awarding to any one individual species the 
credit of being the source whence the Cassia lignea of commerce 
is deri\'^ ; and equally the impropriety of applying to an}^ one 
of them the comprehensive specific appellation of cassia, since all 
sorts of cinnamon-like plants, yielding bark of a quality uniit to 
bear the designation of cinnamon in the market, are passed off as 
cassia." 

The cassia tree, according to Mr. Crawfurd, is found in the 
more northern portion of the Indian isles, as in the Philippines, 
Majindanao, Sumatra, Borneo, and parts of Celebes. It is also 
grown on the western coast of Africa. The principal seat of its 
culture is, however, the Malabar coast, and the provinces of 
Quantong and Kingse, in China. 

The famous cassia of China is incomparably superior in per- 
fume and flavor to any spice of its class. Its native place is un- 
known, though supposed to be the interior provinces of China. 
The market price is said to be £5 per lb. « 

The Malabar sort brought from Bombay is thicker, darker 
colored, and coarser than that from China, and is more subject 
to foul packing. A small quantity of cassia is brought from 
Mauritius and Brazil, and a large amount from 4he Philippine 
Islands. 

Cassia bark fetches from 80s. to 105s. per cwt. in the London 
market, according to quality. The imports appear on the decline. 
In 1843 and 1844 we imported nearly two millions of pounds. 
The quantity imported and retained for home consumption in the 
past four years are shown in the following figures : — 



Imported. Eetained for consumption, 
lbs. lbs. 

1848 510,247 76,152 

1849 472,693 .... 83,500 

1850 1,050,008 97,178 

1851 267,582 .... 82,467 



The cheaper Indian barks, as well as the cinnamon of the East, 
seemed at one time to be fast driving out of the market the 
superior class cinnamon of Ceylon. 

In 1841 Java exported 400 cwts. of cinnamon ; and the quantity 
of cassia imported into the United Kingdom from India and the 
Philippine Islands, in the five years ending with 1844, was — 



lbs. 

1840 329,310 

1841 1,261.648 

1842 1,312^804 

1843 2,470,502 

1844 1,278,413 



CASSIA BAEK. 



395 



40,0001133. were received from India in 1848 ; and 3,795 arrobas 
of cassia were exported from jManila in 1847. In 1852, 2,806 
cwts. of cassia were received at Singapore from China, and 1,380 
cwts. exported from that settlement to the Continent, against 
903 cwts. shipped in the previous year. 

AVhat the Ceylon spice-grower wants, is an extended field of 
operation — a larger class of consumers to take off his cinnamon, 
and this can only be obtained by bringing it within the means of 
the gi^eat mass of cassia buyers. 

Look at the quantity of cinnamon exported by the Dutch in 
the middle of the eighteenth century^ Eight or nine thousand bales 
a year were exported, and now, after a lapse of a hundred years, 
CeyJon hardly sends away half that quantity. Yet the consump- 
tion of spice must have kept pace with the increased population 
of countries using it, and so it has. But the difference is made 
up, and more than made up, by cassia from China, Java, Sumatra, 
Malabar Coast, &c., and though the new article is not equal to 
the cinnamon of Ceylon, yet the vast difference in the price ob- 
tains for it the preference. JSTow what the Ceylon planter wants, 
is to be allowed to produ.ce a spice on equal terms, and of a 
superior quality to cassia, which might be done under an ad 
valorem export duty of 5 per cent. Spice of this description of 
course could not afford the high cultivation bestowed on the fine 
qualities, neither would it be required. In fact little or no cul- 
tivation need be given it. At present anything inferior to the 
third sort is not worth producing, because it cannot stand the 
shilling export duty. But under a more enlightened system of 
things, with a low duty such as I suggest, myriads of bushes would 
spring up on those low, sandy, and at present unprofitable wastes 
that skirt the sea-coast of the western province, around Negombo 
and Chilaw. 

The difference of duty would be more than made up by the 
diffusion of capital in planting, the employment of vast numbers 
of laborers, the purchase from Grovernment of many thousand 
acres of now valueless flats, and all the attendant benefits arising 
out of the development of a new field of operation for the colonial 
industrial resources.* 

The cassia tree grows naturally to the height of 50 or 60 feet, 
with large, spreading, horizontal branches. The peelers take off 
the two barks together, and separating the rough outer one, which 
is of no value, they lay the inner bark to dry, which rolls up and 
becomes the Cassia lignea of commerce. It resembles cinnamon in 
taste, smell and appearance. The best is imported from China, 
either direct from Canton, or through Singapore, in smiall tubes or 
quills, sometimes the thickness of the ordinary pipes of cinnamon 
and of the same length ; but usually they are shorter and thicker, 
and the bark itself coarser. It is of a tolerably smooth siu-face 
and brownish color, with some cast of red, but much less so than 

* Since tkese remarks were written, the duty has been wholly abolished. 



396 



SPICES AKD FRAGEAIfT WOODS. 



cinnamon. The exports from China are said to be about five million 
pounds annually; price about 32s. per cwt. In 1850, 6,509 piculs of 
cassia lignea (nearly one million pounds), valued at 87,850 dollars, 
were shipped from the single port of Canton. Cassia bark is of a 
less fibrous texture, and more brittle, and it isalso distinguished from 
cinnamon by a want of pu-ngency, and by being of a mucilaginous 
or gelatinous quality. 

Cassia Buds are the dried flower buds (perianth and ovary) of 
the cassia tree, and are mostly brought from China. They bear 
some resemblance to a clove, but are smaller, and when fresh have 
a rich cinnamon flavor. They should be chosen round, fresh, and 
free from stalk and dirt. They are used chiefly in confectioneryj 
and have the flavor and pungency of cassia. The exports from 
Canton in 1844 were 21,500 lbs. ; in 1850, 44,140 lbs., valued 
at 7,400 dollars. The average quantity of cassia buds imported 
into the United Kingdom, in each of the thirteen years ending with 
1842, was 40,231 lbs. ; the average quantity entered for home 
consumption in these years was 6,610 lbs., and the average annual 
amount of duty received was £312. 

Cassia bark yields a yellow volatile oil, called oil of cassia, the 
finer kind of which differs but little in its properties from that of 
cinnamon, for which it is generally substituted ; it has a specific 
gravity of 1071. The best is manufactured in China, where the 
wood, bark, leaves and oil are all in request. The cassia oil is rated 
at 150 dollars per picul, and the trade in this article reaches about 
250,000 dollars. 

Cakella Alba, or wild cinnamon, is a valuable and ornamental 
tree, growing about fifteen feet high, which is cultivated in South 
America and the West Indies for its pungent bark, which is 
shipped to this coimtry in bales or cases, in long quills and flat 
pieces, something like cinnamon. Large old cuttings root readily 
in the sand. It is grown chiefly in the Bahama Islands, from 
whence we derive our supplies. 

By the Caribs, the ancient natives of the West Indies, and the 
negroes, it was first employed as a condiment. In this country 
it is chiefly used as an aromatic stimulant and tonic, ranking 
between cinnamon and cloves. The bark possesses, however, no 
other quality than its hot spicy flavor and strong aromatic odor 
when exposed to the action of heat. 

Cascaeilla Bark is obtained chiefly from the Croton cascarilla, 
a small shrub growing at St, Domingo, the Bahama Islands, and the 
Antilles. The chief portion comes from Eleuthera. In Hayti 
a pleasant kind of tea is made from the leaves. Other species of 
the family supply some of the bark of commerce. 

Erom its strong and aromatic properties it has been found very 
efficacious in all febrile diseases, and vies with the Jesuits' bark ; 
as a tonic it has very wholesome qualities, a pleasant and strong 
bitterness, and was for some time held in considerable repute 
among the faculty. 

About twenty years ago, large shipments were made from the 



CLOTES. 



397 



Bahamas. It was found, upon adulteration with hops, to reduce 
the cost of that article, and for the encouragement of the hop 
grower a prohibitory impost was laid upon it by the Home 
Grovernmeut, consequently it became an unsaleable product. 

The sea-side balsam, or sweet wood (Croton ^leitterid) , from 
which some cascarilla bark is obtained, grows in the Bahama Islands 
and Jamaica, but almost all the bark imported comes from 
Nassau, INew Providence. In 1840, 15,000 lbs. were imported 
for home consumption. 

This bark produces the combined effect of an aromatic and of a 
moderately powerful tonic ; but it does not possess any astringency. 
It has been employed as a substitute for cinchona. When burned 
it gives out a musky odor, and is often used in pastiles. 

The value of this bark ranges, according to quality, from 17s. 6d. 
to 43 s. per cwt. 

CLOVES. 

The cloves of commerce are obtained from the flower buds of 
Cnryophyllus aromaticus (Eugenia caryophyllatcb), which was 
originally a native of the Moluccas, but is now cultivated in 
several parts of the East and West Indies. They have the form 
of a nail, and when examined are seen to consist of the tubular 
calyx with a roundish projection, formed by the unopened petals. 
It is a very handsome tree, growing to the height of about twenty 
feet. The trunk is straight, and rises four or five feet before it 
throws out branches. The bark is smooth, thin, of a grey color, 
and the wood of the trunk too hard for ordinary cabinet work. 

The leaves are opposite, smooth, narrow, pointed, of a rupous 
color above, and green on the under side. They have a very 
aromatic odor when bruised between the fingers. The flowers 
produced in branched peduncles, at the extremity of the bough, 
are of a delicate peach color. The elongated calyx, forming the 
seed vessel, first changes to yellow, and, Avhen ripe, red, which is from 
October to December, and in this state it is fit to gather. If left 
for a few weeks longer on the trees, they expand, and become 
what are termed "mother cloves," fit only for seed or for candy- 
ing. The ground under the tree is first swept clean, or else a 
mat or cloth is spread. The nearest clusters are taken ofi" with 
the hand, and the more distant by the aid of crooked sticks. Great 
care should be taken not to injure the tree, as it would prevent 
future bearing. 

The cloves are then prepared for shipment by smoking them 
on hurdles near a slow wood fire, to give them a brown color, after 
which they are further dried in the sun. They may then be cut 
off from the flower branches with the nails, and will be found to 
be purple colored within, and fit to be baled for the European 
market. In some places they are scalded in hot water before 
being smoked, but this is not common. The tree may be pro- 



398 



SPICES ATTD FBAGSATS^T WOODS. 



pagated either from layers or seed. Layers will root in five or 
six months if kept moist. 

A strong dark loam, a gravelly, sandy, or clayey soil, but one 
not retentive of moisture, seems that best suited for its successful 
culture. 

It does not thrive well near the sea, nor in the higher moun- 
tains, the spray of the sea and the cold being found injurious. 
The plants at first require the shade of other trees, such as 
the mango, coco-nut, &c. Although generally a hardy plant, it 
suffers from excessive drought. I'hey should be planted about 
twenty feet apart. In its native country the tree begins to yield 
fruit in the sixth year, but a crop can seldom be looked for in 
other quarters under eight years. It is very long lived, some- 
times attaining the age of 130 years. 

There appears, according to Mr. Crawfurd, to be five varieties 
of the clove, viz. — the ordinary cultivated clove ; a kind called the 
female clove by the natives^ which has a pale stem ; the kiri or 
loory clove ; the royal clove, which is very scarce, and the wild 
clove. The three first are equally valuable as spices, the female 
clove being considered fittest for the distillation of essential oil. 
The wild clove, having scarcely any aromatic flavor, is valueless. 

The produce which may be expected from the tree seems to 
be uncertain ; it may, however, be averaged at five or six pounds. 
A clove tree, well weeded and taken care of, will produce from five 
to twenty pounds. On the other hand, a tree that is neglected 
will not give above two or three pounds. At intervals of from 
three to six years they usually produce one extraordinary crop, 
but then a year now and then intervenes, when they yield none 
at all ; in others they will afford a double harvest. 

The clove tree was originally confined to the five principal Mo- 
lucca islands, and chiefly to Macbeau. Erom these it was conveyed 
to Amboyna, a very short time only before the arrival of the 
Portuguese. By them the cultivation was strictly restricted to 
Amboyna, every efiort being made to extirpate the plant else- 
vvhere. 

It has now, however, spread to Java, Singapore, and the Straits' 
Settlements, Ceylon, the Mauritius and Seychelles, Bourbon, 
Zanzibar, Cayenne, Dominica, Martinique, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, 
and Trinidad, - 

Cloves contain a volatile oil, associated with resinous, gummy, 
and astringent matter, which is yielded in larger proportion than 
by any other plant. Neuman obtained by distillation two ounces 
and two drachms from sixteen ounces of cloves. On an average 
cloves yield from 17 to 22 per cent, of oil, including the heavy 
and light oils. The oil is aromatic and acrid, and has been used 
as a condiment and a stimulant carminative. It is also exten- 
sively used by distillers and soap makers. 

It is said that the clove does not thrive well on the soil of 
Java, the plantations of which trial had been made not having 
succeeded to the extent expected, although they were directed by 



CLOTES. 



399 



skilled persons from Amboyna ; the places they made choice of 
did not differ materially as to soil and climate from those of 
the Moluccas. 

M. Teysman, Director of the Botanical Grardens at Batavia, 
seems to have bestowed much attention on the subject. The 
exports however from the island have been considerable. In 
1830, there were 803 piculs shipped ; in 1835, 4,566 ; in 1839, 
2,33i ; in 184^3, 2,027 piculs of 133 lbs. 

M. Buee, who introduced the culture of the clove in the island 
of Dominica, about 1789, thus describes the results of his 
experience, which may be useful to other experimental cultivators. 
He obtained a few plants from Cayenne, and raised 1,600 trees 
from seed, which, in a year from the first sowing, were trans- 
planted. The seeds were sown at aboat six inches apart from each 
other, in beds; over these beds small frames were erected about three 
feet from the ground, and plantain leaves were spread on the top, 
in order to shelter the young plants from the sun. The leaves 
were allowed gradually to decay, and at the end of nine months the 
young plants, which by that time were strong, were permitted to 
receive the benefit of the sun ; but if not protected from it when 
very young, they wei e found to droop and die. 

When transplanted, the trees were placed ac sixteen feet apart 
from each other. I'hey grew^ very luxuriantly, and at the end of 
fifteen months after their removal, attained the height of from three 
to four feet. The ground wherein thej^ were planted had been a coffee 
plantation during forty years. The coffee trees had decayed, and an 
attempt had been made to replace them ; but they refused to grow ; 
whereas the clove plants flourished as if on congenial soil, and a 
crop was gathered on some of them when they were not more 
than six years old, which period is two or three years earlier than 
the usual time for gathering. 

The cloves sent from St. Yiucent to England in 1800, were 
obtained from trees eight feet high, having astern only two inches 
in diameter. Trial was made in tliat island of the relative growth 
of the plant on difierent soils ; it grew" sickly on lai id which was 
not manured, bnt on land which had received this preparation it 
flourished. 

In Singapore, about ten years ago, there were then about 15,000 
clove trees planted out, a few of which only had come in bearing. 
If these plantations had proved equally productive with those of the 
sister settlement of Pinang, it would have been able to export 
60,000 lbs. of cloves, its own produce ; but this expectation, it will 
be seen, has not been realised. In the season of 1841-42, there 
was 1000 piculs of cloves shipped from Pinang, but none were ex- 
ported in the two previous years. 

The quantity of laod under cultivation with cloves there, in 
1843, was 463 orlongs in Prince of Wales Island, and 517 in 
Province Wellesley. The number of trees planted out in the 
former island was 72,779 ; in the latter province 7,639. There 
were in the island 25,161 plants in nursery. 



SPICES AjSTD FRAGP..V2^T WOODS. 



The trees in bearing were — In Prince of "Wales Island, 28,739 ; 
not bearing, 44,040 ; produce in 1843, 87 piculs, 50 catties ; gross 
value, 3,399 dollars ; estimated produce of cloves for 1844, 469 
piculs. In Province Wellesley — Trees in bearing, 1,073 ; not 
bearing, 6,5Q6 ; produce in 1843, 1 picul, 13 catties ; gross value 
45 dollars. 

The export of cloves from Pinang was, in 1849, 24,000 lbs. ; in 
1850, 52,400; in 1851, 27,866; in 1852, 45,087. 

Prom tabular statements drawn up in 1844, by Mr. P. S. 
Brown, Chairman of the Pinang Chamber of Commerce, it appears 
that there were, in 1843, in that island and Province "Wellesley 
adjoining, 96 clove plantations, containing 80,418 clove trees ; 
besides many young trees in nurseries ready to be planted out. 
The produce of cloves there, in 1842, was 11,813 lbs., and this 
was a very short crop, it having that year proved a complete 
failure ; the average crop for some years previous had been 46,666 
lbs. Pinang only began to export this spice in 1832. Of the clove 
trees in Pinang there were then only 29,812 in bearing, leaving 
75,767 in that settlement alone to come to maturity ; estimated 
to yield about 300,000 lbs. 

No success has attended repeated trials of cloves in Singapore. 
Until the trees reach the age of bearing, they grow and look 
extremely well ; but any expectation of a crop that may have been 
raised by their hitherto fine condition, ends in disappointment, for 
just then the trees assume the appearance of sudden blight, as if 
lightning-stricken, and then die. 125 clove plants and 350 
seedlings were sent to Singapore from Bencoolen, by Sir T. Eaffles, 
in the close of 1819 ; but although every care was paid them — 
while the nutmegs which accompanied them throve amazingly well 
— little or no progress has been made with clove culture. Two or 
three hundred- weight were shipped in 1845, but since then hardly 
any mention is made of the spice. 

In a petition presented by the spice planters of Pinang and 
Province AVellesley, to the authorities at home, in 1844, praying 
that the duty on British Colonial nutmegs, mace, and cloves 
might be reduced to Is. 9d., Is. 3d., and 3d. respectively, on 
importation into England, in order to compete with foreign pro- 
duce, it was stated that a fev^^ years hence Prince of Wales Island 
might be expected to produce 600,000 lbs. of nutmegs, 200,000 lbs. 
of mace, and 300,000 lbs. of cloves ; whilst Singapore, if equally 
successful in the culture of the same, would yield yearly 137,000 
lbs. of nutmegs, 45,000 lbs. of mace, and 60,000 lbs. of cloves. In 
short, the planters needed only encouragement to produce in the 
course of a few years a full supply of those valuable spices for the 
whole COD sumption of Great Britian. 

Dr. Euschenberger, who visited Zanzibar in 1835, thus speaks 
of the clove plantations there : — " As far as the eye could reach 
over a beautifully undulated land, nothing was to be seen but 
clove trees of diiierent ages, varying in height from five to 
twenty feet. The form of the tree is conical, the branches grow 



401 



at nearly right angles with the trunk, and thev begin to shoot a 
few inches above the ground. The plantation contains nearly 
four thousand trees, and each tree yields on an average six pounds 
of cloves a year ; they are carefully picked by hand, and then 
dried in the shade ; we saw numbers of slaves standing on ladders 
gathering the spice, while others were at work clearing the ground 
of dead leaves. The whole is in the finest order, presenting a 
picture of industry and of admirable neatness and beauty. They 
were introduced into Zanzibar in 1S18, from Mauritius, and are 
found to thiive so well that almost everybody in the island 
is now clearing away the cocoa nut to make way for them. The 
clove bears in five or six years from the seed ; of course time 
enough has not yet elapsed for the value and quantity of Zanzibar 
cloves to be generally known ; they are worth, however, in the 
Bombay market, about 30s. the Surat maund of 39^ lbs. ; the price 
for IMoiucca cloves in the Eastern market is from 28 to 30 dollars 
per picul of 133 lbs. ; for those of Mauritius, 20 to 2-it dollars per 
picul." 

The average annual consiunption of cloves in the United 
Kingdom, in the four years ending 1841, was 49,000 lbs. The 
largest quantity of cloves imported during the past twenty-five 
years was l,04i,171 lbs., in 1847. The quantities imported and 
entered for home consumption in the last five years have been as 
follows : — 

Imports. Home consumption, 

lbs. lbs. 

1848 117,433 126,691 

1849 274,713 133.713 

1850 749,646 159,934 

1851 253,439 138,132 

1852 313,949 175,287 . 

In 1848 we received 60,000 lbs. of cloves from British India. 



THE ]SUT3*IEa, 

Mi/ristica moscJiata, M, officinalis, or aromatica. — This tree is of 
a larger growth than the clove, attaining a height of -thirty feet, 
and has its leaves broader in proportion to their length ; the upper 
surface of these is of a bright green, the under of a greyish 
color. It is a dicecious plant, having male or barren pale yellow 
flowers upon one tree, and female or fertile flowers upon another. 
The fruit is drupaceous, and opens by two valves when ripe, dis- 
plapng the beautiful reticulated scarlet arillus, which constitutes 
mace. "Within this is a hard, dark brown, and glossy shell, 
covering the kernel, which is the nutmeg of the shops. 

The kernels of Jil. tomentosa are also used as aromatics, under 
the name of wild or male nutmegs. 

Lindley describes two other species, M. fatua, a n£itive of 
Surinam, with greenish white flowers, and M. tehifera or Virol c(> 
sehifera, a nat.ve of G-uiana, with vello^.vish green flowers. 

2 D 



402 



SPICES AND PEAGEANT WOODS. 



By expressiou, nutmegs are made to yield a concrete oil, called 
Adeps Mj/risticcd, or sometimes erroneously oil of mace. A 
volatile oil is also procured by distillation, Nutmegs and mace 
are used medicinally as aromatic stimulants and condiments. In 
large doses they have a narcotic effect. The fleshy part of the 
fruit is used as a preserve. 

Dr. Oxley has given such an admirable account of the nutmeg 
and its cultivation, as the result of 20 years experience in Singa- 
pore, that I shall draw largely from his valuable paper, which is 
contained in the second volume of " The Journal of the Indian 
Archipelago," page 641. 

The nutmeg tree, like many of its class, has a strong tendency 
to become monoecious, and planters in general are well pleased 
at this habit, thinking they secure a double advantage by having 
the male and female flowers on the same plant. This is, however, 
delusive, and being against the order of nature, the produce of 
such trees is invariably inferior, showing itself in the production 
of double nuts and other deformities. It is best, therefore, to 
have only female trees, with a due proportion of males. 

The female flowers, which are merely composed of a tripid 
calyx and no corolla, when produced by a tree in full vigor are 
perfectly urceolate, slightly tinged with green at the base, and 
well filled by the ovary, whereas the female flowers of weakly 
trees are entirely yellow, imperfectly urceolate, and approach 
more to the staminiferous flowers of the male. 

The shape of the fruit varies considerably, being spherical, 
oblong, and egg=shaped, but the nearer they approach sphericity 
of figure, the more highly are they prized. 

There is also a great variety in the foliage of different trees, 
from elliptic, oblong and ovate, to almost purely lanceolate-shaped 
leaves. This difference seems to indicate in some measure the 
character of the produce ; trees with large oblong leaves ap- 
pearing to have the largest and most spherical fruit, and those 
with small lanceolate leaves being in general more prolific bearers, 
but of inferior quality. 

Wliilst its congener the clove has been spread over Asia^ 
Africa, and the West Indies, the nutmeg refuses to flourish out 
of the Malayan Archipelago, except as an exotic, all attempts to 
introduce it largely into other tropical countries having decidedly 
failed. The island of Ternate, which is in about the same latitude 
as Singapore, is said to have been the spot where it was truly in- 
digenous, but no doubt the tree is to be found on most of the 
Moluccas. At present the place of its origin is unproductive of 
the spice, having been robbed of its rich heritage by the policy 
of the Dutch, who at an early period removed the plantations to 
the Banda isles for better surveillance, where they still remain 
and flourish. But although care was formerly taken to extirpate 
the tree on the Moluccas, the mace-feeding pigeons have frustrated 
the machinations of man, and spread it widely through the Archi- 
pelago of islands extending from the Moluccas to New Guinea. Its 



403 



circle of growth extends westward as far as Pinang, or Prince of 
Wales Island, where, although an exotic, it has been cultivated as 
a mercantile speculation with success for many years. "West- 
ward of Pinang there are no plantations, looking at the subject 
in a mercantile point of view. The tree is to be found, indeed, in 
Ceylon, and the West Coast of India, but to grow it as a specu- 
lation out of its indigenous limits, is as likely to prove successful 
as the cidtivation of apples and pears in Bengal, 

In the Banda Isles, where the tree may be considered as in- 
digenous, no further attention is paid to its cidtivation than setting 
out the plants in parks, under the shade of large forest trees, 
with long horizontal branches, called "Canari" by the natives. 
There it attains a height of 50 feefc and up\^ ards, whereas from 
2 0 to 30 feet may be taken as a fair average of the trees in the 
Straits' Settlements ; but notwitstanding our pigmy proportions 
(adds Dr. Oxley), it does not appear, from all I could ever learn, 
that we are relatively behind the Banda trees, either in c^uantity 
or quality of produce, and I am strongly impressed with the idea 
that the island of Singapore can compete with the Banda group 
on perfectly even terms. Oui' cHmate is quite unexceptionable 
for the growth of the nutmeg, being neither exposed to droughts 
o? high vands ; and although we may lose by comparison of soils, 
we again gain by greater facilities of sending our products to 
market, by the facility of obtaining abundant supplies of manure, 
and any amount of free and cheap labor. 

A nutmeg plantation, well laid out and brought up to perfec- 
tion, is one of the most pleasing and agreeable properties that 
can be possessed. Yielding returns, more or less daily, throughout 
the year, there is increasing interest, besides the usual stimulus 
to all agriculturists of a crop time, when his produce increases to 
double and quadruple the ordinary routine. 

Trees having arrived at fifteen years growth, there is no incer- 
titude or fear of total failure of crop, only in relative amount of 
produce, and this, as wiR be seen, is greatly in the planter's own 
power to command. It is against reason to suppose that a ti'ee in 
flower and fruit will not expend itself if left to unaided nature : 
it must be supplied with suitable stimuli to make good the waste, 
tlierefore he who wants nuts must not be sparing of maniu'e. 

The first requisite for the planter is choice of location. It is 
true that the nutmeg tree, aided by manure, will grow in almost 
any soil where water does not lodge, but it makes a vast difterence 
in the degree of success, whether the soil be originally good, or 
poor and improved by art. The tree does not thrive in white or 
sandy soils, but prefers the deep red and friable soils formed by 
the decomposition of granite rocks and tinged with iron, and the 
deeper the tinge the better. I am therefore inclined to think, 
that iron in the soil is almost necessary for the fidl development 
of the plant. If under the before-mentioned soil there be a 
rubble of iron-stone at foiu^ or five feet from the surface (a very 
common formation in Singapore), forming a natural drainage, the 

2 D 2 



404 



SPICES AKD rEAGBAITT WOODS. 



planter has obtained all tliat lie can desire in tlie ground, and 
needs only patience and perseverance to secm^e success. The 
form of the ground ought to be undulating, to permit the running 
oil of all superfluous water, as there is no one thing more in- 
jurious to the plant than water lodging around its roots, although, 
in order to thrive well, it requires an atmosphere of the most 
humid sort, and rain almost daily. Besides the form of the 
ground, situation is highly desirable, particularly as regards ex- 
posure, A spot selected for a nutmeg plantation cannot be too 
well sheltered, as high winds are most destructive to the tree, 
independently of the loss occasioned by the blowing off of fruit 
and flower. 

At present there is abundant choice of land in Singapore, the 
greater portion of the island being as yet uncultivated, and much 
answering to the above description. The land can be purchased 
from G-overnment at the rate of from 10s. to 20s. per acre in 
perpetuity. I would advise the man who wishes to establish a 
plantation, to select the virgin forest, and of all things let him 
avoid deserted gambler plantations, the soil of which is com- 
pletely exhausted, the Chinese taking good care never to leave a 
spot iintil they have taken all they can out of it. A cleared spot 
has a great attraction for the inexperienced, and it is not easy to 
convince a man that it is less expensive to attack the primitive 
forest, than to attempt to clear an old gambler plantation, over- 
run with lalang grass ; but the cutting down and burning of large 
forest trees is far less expensive than the extirpation of the 
lalang, and as the Chinese leave all the stumps of the large trees 
in the gTOund, it is almost more difiicult to remove them in this 
state than when you have the powerful lever of the trunk to aid 
you in teariug up the roots, setting aside the paramount advan- 
tage that, in the one case you possess a fresh and fertile soil, in 
the other an effete and barren one. 

Forest laud, or "jungle," as it is called in the East, can be 
cleared for about 25 to 30 dollars (£5 to £6) per acre, by contract^ 
but the planter had better be careful to have every stump and root 
of tree removed, ere he ventiu'es to commence planting, or the 
white ants, attracted by the dead wood, will crowd into the land, 
and having consumed the food thus prepared for them, will not ba 
slow in attacking the young trees. "Whilst the planter is thus 
clearing the gTOund, he may advantageously at the same time be 
establishing nurseries ; for these the ground ought to be well 
trenched and mixed with a small quantity of thoroughly decom- 
posed manure and burned earth, making up the earth afterwards 
into beds of about three feet wide, with paths between them for 
the convenience of weeding and cleaning the young plants. Of 
course if the planter can obtain really good plants, the produce 
of well-selected seed, it will be a great saving of time and expense 
to him, but unless the seed be carefully chosen, I would prefer 
beginning my own nurseries, and in the selection of seed would 
recommend the most perfectly ripe and spherical nuts. Oval 



JfTJTME&S. 



4G5 



long nuts are to be rejected, particularlj any of a pale color at 
one end. 

The planter having selected his seed, which ought to be put 
in the ground within twentj-four hours after being gathered, setting 
it about two inches deep in the beds ah-eady prepared, and at the 
distance of twelve to eighteen inches apart, the whole nursery 
to be well shaded both on top and sides, the earth kept moist and 
clear of weeds, and well smoked by burning wet grass or weeds in. 
it once a week, to drive away a very small moth-like insect that is 
apt to infest young plants, laying its eggs on the leaf, when they 
become covered with yellow spots, and perish if not attended to 
speedily. 

Washing the leaves with a decoction of the Tuba root is the 
best remedy I know of, but where only a few plants are affected, 
if the spots be numerous, I would prefer to pluck up the plant 
altogether, rather than run the risk of the insect becoming more 
numerous, to the total destruction of the nursery. The nuts 
germinate in from a month to six weeks, and even later, and for 
many months after germination the seed is attached to the young 
plant, and may be removed apparently as sound as when planted, 
to the astonishment of the unlearned, who are not aware of the 
great disproportion in size between the ovule and albumen, the 
former of which is alone necessary to form the plant. The plant 
may be kept in nursery with advantage for nearly two years. 
Should they grow rapidly, and the interspaces become too small for 
them, every second plant had better be removed to a fresh nursery, 
and set out at a distance of a couple of feet from each other. 
When transplanted, either in this way or for their ultimate 
position in the plantation, care should be taken to remove them 
with a good ball of earth, secured by the skin of the plantain, 
which prevents the ball of earth falling to pieces. The nurseries 
being established, the ground cleared and ready, the next pro- 
ceeding is to lay out and dig holes about 26 or 30 feet apart, and 
as the quincunx order has so many advantages, it is the form I 
would recommend for adoption. The holes should be at least six 
feet in diameter, and about four feet deep, and when refilled the 
surface soil is to be used, and not that which is taken out of the 
hole. Each hole should be filled up about one foot higher than 
the surrounding ground, to allow for the settling of the soil and 
the sinking of the tree, which, planted at this height, will in a few 
years be found below the level. Over each hole thus filled up, a 
shed, made of Attap leaves or other shelter, closed on two sides, 
east and west, and proportioned to the size of the plant, is to, be 
erected. It is not a bad plan to leave an open space in the centre 
of the top of each shed, about twelve inches wide, by which the 
young plant can obtain the benefit of the dew and gentle rains, 
which more than compensates for the few rays of sun that can 
only fall upon it whilst that body is vertical. After the sheds 
have been completed, each hole should have added to it a couple 
of baskets of well decomposed manure, and an equal quantity of 



§06 



SPICES AFD ERaGEA^TT WOODS. 



burned eartli^ when all is ready for tlie reception of tlie plant, 
which; having been set out, if the weather be dry will require 
watering for ten days or a fortnight after, in fact until it takes 
the soil. 

The planter having set out ail his trees must not deem his labors 
completed, they are only com^mencing. To arrive thus far is 
simple and easy, but to patiently watch and tend the trees for ten 
years after, requii'es all the enthusiasm already mentioned. About 
three months after planting out, the young trees will receive great 
benefit if a small quantity of liquid fish manure be given them.- 
In the first six years they ought to be trenched round three times, 
enlarging the circle each time, the trenches being dug close to the 
extremities of the roots, which generally correspond to the ends of 
the branches, and each new trench commencing where the old one 
terminated. They must of course greatly increase in size as the 
circle extends, requiring a proportionate quantity of manure, but 
the depth ought never to be less than two feet. 

The object of trenching is to loosen the soil and permit the roots 
to spread, otherwise the tree spindles instead of becoming broad 
and umbrageous. Manure is beyond all other considerations the 
most important to the welfare of the estate ; it is that which gives 
quantity and quality of produce, and without it a plantation cannot 
be carried on. The want of it must limit the cultivation in 
the Straits' Settlements, and will arrest many a planter, who, 
having got his plantation to look well up to the eighth year with 
¥ery Mttle manure, thinks he can go on in the same manner. The 
nutmeg tree likes well all sorts of manures, but that which is 
best suited for it seems to be well-rotted stable and cow-yard 
manure, mixed with vegetable matter, and when the tree is in 
bearing the outer covering of the nut itself is about one of the 
Tery best things to be thrown into the dung-pit. Dead animals 
buried not too near the roots, also blood, fish, and oil cakes are 
beneficial. G-uano is of no use. 

But although manuring is the chief element in successful culti- 
vation, there are many other matters for the planter to attend to 
during the period that the trees are growing. All obnoxious grasses 
must be carefully kept out of the plantation, at least from between 
the trees, and the harmless grasses rather encouraged, as they keep 
the surface cooL The trunk of the tree ought to be carefully 
washed with soap and water once a year to keep it clear of moss ; 
this has been ridiculed as a work of supererogation, but let those 
who think so omit the operation. 

Parasitical plants of the genus Loranthus are very apt to attach 
themselves to the branches, and if not removed do great injury. 

The insect enemies of the tree are not very numerous, but it 
has a few, white ants among the number. They seldom attack a 
vigorous plant; it is upon the first symptoms of weakness or decay 
that they commence their operations. Their nests may be dis- 
lodged from the roots of the plant by a dose of solution of pig dung, 
to which they have a great aversion- 



Is"TJTMEG3. 



407 



There are several species of insects which lay their eggs on the 
leaves, and unless carefully watched and removed, they commit 
great havoc amongst the trees. For this purpose it is necessary 
to wash the leaves with a decoction of Tuba root, and syringe 
them by means of a bamboo with lime and water, of the consistence 
of whitewash ; this adheres to the leaves, and will remain even 
after several heavy showers. 

Another nuisance is the nest of the large red ant ; these collect 
and glue the leaves together, forming a cavity for the deposition 
of their larvce. The best mode of destroying them is to hang a 
portion of some animal substance, such as the entrails of a fowl, 
fish, &c., to the end of a pole, thrust through and protruding 
from the branches ; the ants will run along the pole and collect 
in immense quantities around the bait, when, by a lighted faggot, 
they can be burned by thousands. This repeated once or twice 
a day for a w^eeh or so, will soon rid the tree of the invaders. 

The number of men to be kept on an estate to preserve it in 
first-rate order after it has come into bearing, must depend of 
course upon the size of the plantation, but in general one man for 
every one hundTod trees will be found suf&cient, provided there 
be some four or five thousand trees. On a small scale the pro- 
k portion must be greater. 

The nutmeg planter is under the necessity of iieeping up 
nurseries throughout the whole of his operations for the replace- 
ment of bad plants and redundant males. Of the latter ten per 
cent, seems to be about the best proportion to keep, but I would 
have completely dioecious trees. No person can boast to get a 
plantation completely filled up and in perfect order much sooner 
than fifteen years. Of the first batch planted, not more than one- 
half will turn out perfect females, for I do not take into account 
monoecious trees, which I have already condemned. The tree 
shows flower about the seventh year, but the longer it is before 
doing so, the better and stronger will it be. I cannot refrain from a 
smile when a sanguine planter informs me with exultation that he 
has obtained a nut from a tree only three or four years planted 
out ; so much the worse for his chance of success, too great pre- 
cocity being incompatible with strength and longevity. 

The best trees do not show flower before the ninth year, and one 
such is worth a score of the others. This will be evident when it 
is stated that I have seen several trees yield more than 10,000 
nuts each in one year, whereas I do not believe that there is a 
plantation in the Straits' that averages 1,000 from every tree. This 
very great disparity of bearing shows plainly that the cultivation 
of the plant is not yet thoroughly understood, or greater uni- 
formity would prevail, and I think it clearly enough points out 
that a higher degree of cultivation would meet its reward. 

The tree has not been introduced into the Straits' sufficiently 
long to determine its longevity, but those introduced and planted 
in the beginning of the present century, as yet show no symptoms 
of decay. The experiment of grafting the trees, which at first 



408 



SPICES AlfD rHAGRAKT WOODS, 



view presents so many advantages, "botli in securing the finest 
quality of nut and the certainty of the sex, has still to be tried in 
this cultivation. Some three years ago (continues Dr. 0x1 ey), I 
succeeded in grafting several plants by approach ; these are not 
sufficiently old for me to decide whether it be desirable or not^ 
for although the plants are looking well and growing, they as yet 
have thrown out their branches in a straggling irregular manner, 
having no leaders, and consequently they cannot extend their 
branches in the regular verticles necessary for the perfect forma- 
tion of the tree, without which they must ever be small and 
stunted, and consequently incapable of yielding any quantity of 
produce. The grafts have succeeded so far as stock and scion 
becoming one, and in time a perpendicular shoot from the wood 
may appear. If after that it should increase in size and strength, 
so as to form a tree of full dimensions, the advantage gained 
would be worth any trouble, the quality of some nuts being so far 
above that of others, it -would make a difference beyond present 
calculation ; in short, 1,000 such picked trees at the present 
prices would yield som.ething equivalent to £-1,000 a year, for £4 
per tree would be a low estimate for such plants. If this ever 
does occur, it will change the aspect ot cultivation altogether, and 
I see no good reason why it should not, except that those possessiug 
trees of the quality alluded to, would not very willingly permit 
others to graft from them, so it is only the already successful 
planter who can try the experiment properly. 

An acre of land contains on an average 92 trees, and it is cal- 
culated an outlay of 300 dollars is required upon every acre to 
bring the tree to maturity ; but as not more than one-half of the 
trees generally turn out females, and as many others are destroyed 
by accident and diseases to which this plant is very liable, it makes 
the cost of each tree, by the time it yields fruit, about eight 
dollars. The nutmeg tree begins to bear when about eight years 
old, but it gives no return for several years longer ; and there- 
fore to the expense of cultivation must be added the interest of 
the capital sunk. The plant being indigenous in the Moluccas, the 
expense of cultivation there is greatly less, and this consequently 
forms a strong ground of claim to the British planter for protec- 
tive duties to their spices from the British Government. 

The planter having his tree arrived at the agreeable point of 
producing, has but slight trouble in preparing his produce for 
market. As the fruit is brought in by the gatherers, the mace is 
carefully removed, pressed together and flattened on a board, ex- 
posed to the sun for three or four days, it is then dry enough to be 
put by in the spice-house until required for exportation, when it 
is to be screwed into boxes, and becomes the mace of commerce. 
The average proportion of mace yielded in Singapore is one pound 
for every 433 nuts. 

The nutmeg itself requires more care in its curing, it being 
necessary to have it well and carefully dried ere the outer black 
shell be broken. Eor this purpose the usual practice is to subject 



NTJTMEas. 



409 



it for a couple of months to tlie smoke of slow fires kept up un- 
derueath, whilst the nuts are spread on a gpating about eight or 
ten feet above. The model of a perfect drjing-house is easily to 
be obtained. Care should be taken not to dry the nuts by too 
great a heat, as they shrivel and lose their full and marketable 
appearance. It is therefore desirable to keep the nuts, when 
first collected, for eight or ten days out of the drying-house, ex- 
posing them at first for an hour or so to the morning sun, and 
increasing the exposure daily until they shake in the shell. The 
nuts ought never to be cracked until required for exportation, 
or they will be attacked and destroyed by a small weasel-like 
insect, the larvae of which is deposited in the ovule, and, becoming 
the perfect insect, eats its way out, leaving the nut bored through 
and through, and worth less as a marketable commodity. Liming 
the nuts prevents this to a certain extent, but limed nuts are not 
those best liked in the English market, whereas they are preferred 
in that state in the United States When the nuts are to be 
limed, it is simply necessary to have them well rubbed over 
between the hands with powdered lime. By the Dutch mode of 
preparation, they are steeped in a mixture of lime and water for 
several weeks. This no doubt will preserve them, but it must 
also have a prejudicial efiect on the flavor of the spice. 

After the nuts are thoroughly dried, which requires from six 
weeks to two months smoking, they cannot be too soon sent to 
market. But it is otherwise with* the mace ; that commodity, 
when fresh, not being in esteem in the London market, seeing 
that they desire it of a golden color, which it only assumes after 
a few months, whereas at first when fresh it is blood red ; now 
red blades are looked upon with suspicion, and are highly in- 
jurious to the sale of the article. 

This is one of those peculiar prejudices of John Bull, which 
somewhat impugns his wisdom ; but it must be attended to, as 
John is very ready to pay for his caprice ; therefore those who 
provide for him have no right to complain, although they may 
smile. 

The nutmeg tree was sent from Bencoolen to Singapore, the 
latter end of 1819, so that thirty-four years have elapsed since its 
first introduction. Sir Stamford Raffles shipped to the care of the 
resident commandant. Major Earquhar, 100 nutmeg plants, 25 
larger ditto, and 1,000 nutmeg seeds, which were committed to the 
charge of Mr. Brooks, a European gardener, who was specially 
engaged by the East India Company to look after their embryo 
spice plantations here. Some of these plants were set out in 
rather a bad soil and locality, but several of them are at present, 
and have been for the last ten years, fine fruitful trees. 315 of 
the trees in the Government garden yielded, in 1848, 190,426 
nuts, or at the average of 604 for each tree ; but of these not over 
60 were of the old stock, most having been planted since 1836 ; 
so that a planter may safely calculate on having a better average 
than is here set forth, provided he attends to his cultivation, and 



410 



SPICES A-ND ¥EAGRAI5"T WOODS. 



his trees are brought up to the age of fifteen years. If a plantation 
be attended to from the commencement after the manner I have 
endeavoured to explain, and the trees be in a good locality, the 
planter will undoubtedly obtain an average of 10 lbs, of spice from 
each tree from the fifteenth year ; this, at an average price of 
2s. 6d. per lb., is 25s. per annum. He can have about seventy such 
trees in an acre, so that there is scarcely any better or more 
remunerative cultivation when once established. But the race is a 
long one, the chances of life, and a high rate of interest in the 
country, make it one of no ordinary risk, and it is one that holds 
out no prospect of any return in less than ten years. 

A person commencing and stopping short of the bearing point, 
either by death or want of funds, will sufier almost total loss, for 
the value of such a property brought into a market where there 
are no buyers must be purely nominal. Again, if the property has 
arrived at the paying point, almost any person of common honesty 
can take charge of and carry it on, for the trees after twelve years 
are remarkably hardy, and bear a deal of ill treatment and neglect ; 
not that I would recommend any person to try the experiment. 
But it is some consolation for the proprietor to know that stupidity 
will not ruin him, and that even at the distance of thousands of 
miles he can give such directions, as, if attended to, will keep his 
estate in a flourishing and fruitful state. 

The total number of nutmeg trees in Singapore in 1848 was 
55,925, of which 14,914 only were in bearing. The produce of 
that year was 4,085,361 nutmegs, or 33,600 lbs. in weight. The 
greater number of the trees, it will be perceived, have not come 
into full bearing, but the produce is increasing rapidly, and in 
1849 it amounted to fully 66,670 lbs. 

Among the principal growers in that island are Dr. Oxley, Mr, 
C. li. Prinsep, and Mr. W. Montgomerie, who have each large 
plantations, with, from 2,000 to 5,000 bearing trees on them. 
Others, as Sir. J. d' Almeida, Mr. Nicol, and one or two more, have 
planted extensively, but have not yet got their trees to the bearing 
point. 

A large supply of nutmeg and clove plants arrived at Pinang 
in 1802, from the Molucca Islands. There were 71,266 nutmeg 
and 55,264 clove plants ; allowing one half of the former to have 
been male trees, there would only have been 35,633 useful nutmeg 
plants. It is believed that a mere fraction of .these ever reached 
maturity, but they served to introduce the cultivation permanently. 
Plants were likewise sent to Ceylon and Cape Comorin. It does 
not appear that the climates of these two localities suit the nutmeg 
tree, as it requires rain, or at least a very damp climate throughout 
the year. The East India Company's spice plantations in Pinang 
were sold in 1824, and the trees were dispersed over the island. 

The spice cultivators of the Straits' Settlements have for some 
time sought a further protective duty on nutmegs, and the ex- 
tension of a similar protection to mace and cloves, the produce of 
these settlements ; for singularly enough the present tariff affords 



ITTJTMEGS. 



411 



no protection to mace, the growth of British possessions. From 
tabular stateaients, furnished by the Chamber of Commerce of 
Pinang, drawn up apparently with great care, it appears that in 
1843 there were 3,046 acres cultivated with spice trees in Pinang 
and province Wellesley, containing 233,995 nutmegs, and 80,418 
clove trees, besides 77,671 trees in nurseries ready to be planted 
out ; and by a similar statement from. Singapore, which is however 
not so complete, that 743 acres are cultivated, containing 43,544 
nutmeg trees. The island of Pinang is estimated to contain 160 
square miles, nearly the whole of which, with the exception perhaps 
of summits of the hills, is well adapted to spice growing. Province 
AVellesley is of much greater extent, and the soil of it has already 
been proved to be equally Avell fitted fur that kind of cultivation ; 
and the settlements of Malacca and Singapore are said to be 
admirably suited, in many places, for that species of produce, the 
latter of which has already several plantations fast approaching to 
maturity. 

The cultivation is capable of great extension ; encouragement is 
only required to be held out, and new plantations will be rapidly 
formed in these settlements. The same tables show that the 
produce in 1842 was, in Pinang and Province Wellesley, 18,560,281 
nutmegs, 42,866 lbs. of mace, and 11,813 lbs. of cloves * ; and in 
Singapore, 842,328 nutmegs, and 1,962 lbs, of mace. Thus 
making the produce from the two settlements 19,408,608 
nutmegs in number (or in weight 147,034 lbs.), 44,822 lbs. of 
mace, and 11,813 lbs. of cloves. Now the consumption of these 
spices in Grreat Britain was, on an average of four years ending 
1841, as follows :— Nutmegs, 121,000 lbs. ; mace, 18,000 lbs. ; 
cloves, 92,000 lbs. Showing, therefore, that the Straits' Settlements 
already produce more than sufiicient of the two former to supply 
the home market. 

In the course of four or five years more, Pinang alone will more 
than double the present quantity of nutmegs and mace produced 
in the Straits, and the produce of cloves will be more than tripled. 

I have been able, from several elaborate papers in my " Colonial 
Magazine," to condense details, showing the progress of spice 
plantations in Prince of Wales Island and Province Wellesley. In 
the close of 1843 there were 64,902 nutmeg trees in bearing in 
the island ; 39,209 male trees, 103,982 not bearing ; making a 
total of 208,093 trees planted out, besides 52,510 plants in nursery. 
The quantity of ground under cultivation was 2,282 orlongs. The 
produce in 1842 was 15,116,591 good nuts, 1,461,229 inferior 
nuts, and 38,260 lbs. of mace. The gross value of the produce in 
1843, reckoning the good nuts at five dollars per thousand, and the 
inferior at one dollar, was 76,944 dollars. The estimated number 
of nuts in 1843 was 12,458,762 ; in 1844, 25,429,000. 

In Province Wellesley there were 247 orlongs under cultivation 

* Although this was the amount of produce for 1842, it must he remarked 
that that crop was a complete failure, and the average crop for some years past 
has been 46,666 pounds. 



412 



SPICES AND EEAaEAl^T WOODS. 



with the nutmeg, on which were 10,500 bearing trees, 8,095 male 
trees, and 7,307 not jet bearing, making in all 25,902 trees planted 
out. The produce was in 1842, 1,963,619 good nuts, 18,842 
inferior ditto, and 4,500 lbs. of mace. The ralue of the produce 
of nutmegs was 9,867 dollars. The estimated number of nuts in 
1843 was 1,980,000 ; in 1844, 2,958,000. There were in aU 423 
nutmeg plantations on the island and main land. 

There were annually exported in the four years ending 1850, 
48,000 lbs. of nutmegs from Pinang, and 57,400 lbs. of mace. 

The French at an early period cultivated the nutmeg at the 
Mauritius, and from thence they carried it to Cayenne. In 
Sumatra it appears to have been grown successfully, and according 
to Sir S. Eafiies, there was in 1819 a plantation at Bencoolen of 
100,000 nutmeg trees, one-fourth of which were bearing. At- 
tempts have been made in Trinidad and St. Vincent to carry out 
the culture, but for want of enterprise very little progress seems 
to have been made in the matter. 

Under the new duties which came into operation this year, 
nutmegs, instead of standing at Is. per pound all round, have been 
classified, and the so-called "wild" nutmegs of the Dutch islands 
are to pay only 5d per pound. This deprives the Straits' produce 
of its last protection against that of the Banda plantations, where 
the tree grows spontaneously, v^^hile it gives the long Dutch nut 
a high protection. If an alteration in this suicidal measure is not 
speedily obtained, the Straits' planters will be ruined. The 
Dutch have the power of inundating the market with the long 
aromatic nut. If the original plan of putting all British and all 
foreign nutmegs on the same footing had been adhered to, the 
Strail:s' planters would not have complained, as they would have 
trusted to their superior skill and care to compensate for the 
grand advantage the Dutch have in their rich soils. 

On observing this alteration of duty, Mr. Crawfurd and Mr. 
Grilman immediately prepared the following memorandum for the 
Chancellor of the'Exchequer, v/hich however failed to influence 
that Minister : — 

" ]\rE3I0IlAJfDITM ON THE DUTIES ON NUTMEGS. 

" The duty proposed to be levied on nutmegs is 1 s. per pound for cultivated, and 
5d. per pound for those commonly called wild. The ground on which this dis- 
tinction is founded, is said to be that the market value of the one is but half 
that of the other, and that the Customs can readily distinguish between them. 

Now it is admitted, on all sides, that there is but one species of culinary 
nutmeg, the MyriMica Moschata of botanists, although at least a score of the 
same genus, all unfit for human food. The parent country of the aromatic 
nutmegs extends from the Molucca Islands to New Gruinea, inclusive. In this 
they grow with facility, and even in the Banda Islands, where there are parks 
of them, they hardly undergo any cultivation, and may truly be said, even 
there, to be a wild product. It is only when grown as exotics, as in the 
British settlements of Pinang and Singapore, that they require cultivation, and 
that a more careful and expensive one than any other produce of the soil. 

Aromatic nutmegs are sometimes large and sometimes small — sometimes 
round, sometimes oblong, and sometimes long, and this will be found the case 
whether cultivated or uncultivated. How, then, the Customs are able to 
distinguish them it is difficult to understand. In the ordinary Prices Current 



J^ITTMEGS. 



413 



no mention whatever is made of the wHd and cultivated, the lowest quality 
being quoted in the most recent at 23. per pound, and the highest at 3s. lOd., 
— the best of what are called wild fetching a higher price than the lower 
qualities of what are called cultivated. 

But suppose the distinction could be made with the most perfect certainty, 
to make it would be a palpable departure frora the principle adopted with every 
other commodity, of charging a uniform rate of duty on quality. To give an 
example, the present price of black pepper is 3^d. to 4d. per pound, while that 
of white pepper is S^d to Is. 2d. per pound, both paying the same duty of 6d. ; 
yet nothing can be more easily distinguished than these two commodities, 
which, except as to curing, are the same article. 

Tea is a still more striking example. The duty is the same on all qualities, 
though prices range from ll^d. to 3s. 6d. per pound. It was the very circum- 
stance of the difficulty of distinguishing between the ditferent kinds of tea, 
especially between Bohea and Congou, which, after an eighteen months trial, 
overthrew the system of rated duties of Is. 6d., 23., and 3s., adopted on the 
abolition of the East India Company's monopoly in 1833. 

Unless the duty on nutmegs is equalised there will be no end of trouble and 
disputes, and however expert the Customs may be, they will certainly be out- 
witted, and long-shaped and small nutmegs, although really cultivated, will be 
introduced at the lower duty, by unscrupulous traders, as wild ones. 

It may be added that duties of 12d. and 5d. do not, even if a departure 
from the principle of charging on quality were justifiable, represent the just 
proportional rates which ought to be levied upon what are supposed to be, re- 
spectively, cultivated and wild, as they are represented in the ordinary Price 
Current by Jhe highest and lowest prices, which are 3s. lOd. and 2s. The just 
proportional duty ought to to be on the lowest, not od., but 7d. The duty, as 
first proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of Is. per pound on nut- 
megs, without distinction, was perfectly satisfactory to the planters, merchants, 
and the trade in general. 

It is a mistake to suppose that a duty of Is. would exclude the so-called wild 
nutmegs. They would be imported in large quantities, as the cost is low. 
In quantity it was 17 Spanish dollars per picul, and there is no reason to sup- 
pose it would be more now. The finest picked cost say 34 Spanish dollars. 

In Pinang and Singapore fcr cultivated the price is 65 to 70 dollars. 

The planters for the most part do not sell on the spot, but consign here for 
sale on their own account. 

London, May 23rd, 1853. 



NL'TMEGS 


IMPORTED 


AXD EXPORTED 


TO AND FROM 


SINGAPORE. 

Value of the 




Imported. 


Exported. 


Growth of 


native growth. 




piculs. 
227| 


piculs. 


Singapore. 


£ 


1841 


412 


1841 


3,323 


1842 .... 


258 


sag 


551' 


9,897 


1843 .... 


150| 


249 


98i 


1,760 


1844 .... 


52 


282 


230' 


4,131 


1845 


41 


383 


342 


6,143 


1846 .... 


79 


331 


252 


4,526 


1847 


139 


416 


277 


.... 4,275 



NUTMEGS EXPORTED FRQM JAVA. 

JSTutniegs. Mace, 

piculs. piculs. 

1830 1,304 177 

1835 5,022 1,606 

1839 5,027 1,581 

1843 2,133 486 



414 



SPICES FEAdEATfT WOODS. 



IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM. 



NUTMEGS, WILD AND CULTIVATED. 

Imports. Home consiimp. 



1847 
1848 
1849 
18o0 
1851 
1852 



lbs. 

367,936 
336,420 
224,021 
315,126 
358,320 
357,940 



lbs. 
150,657 
167,143 
178,417 
167,683 
194,132 
239,113 



1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 



MACE. 

Imports, 
lbs. 
60,265 
47,572 
45,978 
77,337 
77,863 
61,697 



Consumption. 

lbs. 
. 18,821 
. 19,712 
, 20,605 
. 21,997 
. 21,695 
. 21,480 



1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 
1845 
1846 
1847 



MACE EXPORTED — ACTUAL GROWTH OF SINGAPORE. 

Quantity— piculs. Value— £ 

25A 

72" 

40| 

16| 

71 

8 

75 



583 
1,616 

943 

359 
1,616 

179 
1,661 



109 piculs of imported mace were also re-sMpped in 1S47. 
40,000 lbs. of mace were imported into the United Kingdom 
from India in 1848. 



GINaER, OALANaALE, AND CAEDAMOMS. 

The rhizome of Zingiher qfficinals (Amomuni Zingiher), consti- 
tutes the ginger of commerce, which is imported chiefly from the 
East and West Indies. It is also grown in China. In the young 
state the rhizomes are fleshy and slightly aromatic, and they are 
then used as preserves, or prepared in syrup ; in a more ad- 
vanced stage the aroma is fully developed, their texture is more 
woody, and they become fit for ordinary ginger. The inferior 
sorts, when dried after immersion in hot water, form black ginger. 
The bbst roots are scraped, washed, and simply dried in the sun 
with care, and then they receive the name of white ginger. The 
rhizome contains an acid resin and volatile oil, starch and gum. 
It is used medicinally as a tonic and carminative, in the form of 
powder, syrup, and tincture. 

The root stocks of AJpinia racemosa, A. Gcilanga, and many 
other plants of the order, have the same aromatic and pungent 
properties as ginger. 

The consumption of ginger is about 13,000 or 14,000 cwt. a 
year. Of 16,004 cwt. imported in 1840, 5,381 came from the 
British "West Indies, 9,727 from the East India Company's pos- 
sessions and Ceylon, and 896 cwt. from Western Africa. 

The difference between the black and white ginger of the shops 
is ascribed by Dr. P. Browne and others to different methods 
of curing the rhizomes ; but this is scarcely sufiicient to account 
for them, and I cannot help suspecting the existence of some 
difference in the plants themselves. That this real!}' exists is 



415 



proved by tlie statements of Eumpliius (" Herb. Amb.," lib. 8, cap, 
xix., p. 156), that there are two varieties of the plant, the white 
and the red. Moreover Dr. "Wright (" Lond. Med. Journal," 
vol. viii.) says that two sorts are cultivated in Jamaica, viz., 
the white and the black ; and, he adds, " black ginger has the most 
numerous and largest roots." 

The rhizome, called in commerce ginger root, occurs in llattish= 
branched or lobed palmate pieces, called races^ which do not ex- 
ceed four inches in length. Several varieties, distinguished by 
their color and place of growth, are met with. The finest is that 
brought from Jamaica. A great part of that found in the shops 
has been washed in whiting and water, under the pretence of pre- 
serving it from insects. 

The dark colored kinds are frequently bleached with chloride of 
lime. Barbados ginger is in shorter flatter races, of a darker 
color, and covered with a corrugated epidermis. African ginger 
is in smallish races, which have been partially scraped, and are 
pale colored. East India ginger is un scraped ; its races are dark 
ash colored externally, and are larger than those of the African 
ginger. Tellichery ginger is in large plump races, with a re- 
markable reddish tint externally, 

Jamaica black ginger is not frequently found in the shops. The 
Malabar dark ginger is in uriscraped short pieces, which have a 
horny appearance internally, and are of a dirty brown color both 
internally and externally. 

Ginger is imported in bags weighing about a hundred-weight. 

The Malabar ginger exported from Calicut is the produce of 
the district of Shernaad, situated in the south of CaKcut ; a place 
chiefly inhabited by Moplas, who look upon the ginger cultivation 
as a most valuable and profitable trade, which in fact it is. The 
soil of Shernaad is so very luxuriant, and so well suited for the 
cultivation of ginger, that it is reckoned the best, and in fact 
the only place in Malabar where ginger grows and thrives to 
perfection. Gravelly grounds are considered unfit ; the same may 
be said of swampy ones, and whilst the former check the growth 
of the ginger, the latter tend in a great measure to rot the root ; 
thus the only suitable kind of soil is that which, being red earth, is 
yet free from gravel, and the sod good and heavy. The cultivation 
generally commences about the middle of May, after the ground 
has undergone a thorough process of ploughing, harrowing, &c. 

At the commencement of the monsoons, beds of ten or twelve 
feet long by three or four feet wide are formed, and in these beds 
small holes are dug at three-fourths to one foot apart, which are 
filled with manure. The roots, hitherto carefully buried under 
sheds, are dug out, the good ones picked from those which are 
affected by the moisture, or any other concomitant of a half- 
year's exclusion from the atmosphere, and the process of clipping 
them into suitable sizes for planting performed by cutting the 
ginger into pieces of an inch and a half to two inches long. These 
are then buried in the holes, which have been previously manured. 



416 



SPICES AKD EEAGRAIST WOODS. 



and the whole of the beds are then covered with a good thick 
layer of green leaves, which, whilst they serve as manure, also 
contribute to keep the beds from unnecessary dampness,' which 
might otherwise be occasioned by the heavy falls of rain during 
the months of June and July. Eain is essentially requisite for 
the growth of the ginger ; it is also however necessary, that the 
beds be constantly kept from, inundation, which, if not carefully at- 
tended to, the crop is entirely ruiued ; great precaution is there- 
fore taken in forming drains between the beds, and letting water 
out, thus preventing a superfluity. On account of the great 
tendency some kinds of leaves have to breed worms and in- 
sects, strict care is observed in the choosing of them, and none 
but the particular kinds used in manuring ginger are taken in, 
lest the wrong ones might fetch in worms, which, if once in the 
beds, no remedy can be resorted to successfully to destroy them ; 
thus they in a very short time ruin the crop. Worms bred from 
the leaves laid on the soil, though highly destructive, are not so 
pernicious to ginger cultivation as those which proceed from 
the effect of the soil. The former kind, whilst they destroy the 
beds in which they once appear, do not spread themselves 
to the other beds, be they ever so close, but the latter kind 
must of course be found in almost all the beds, as they do not 
proceed from accidental causes, but from the nature of the soil. 
In cases like these, the whole crop is oftentimes ruined, and the 
cultivators are thereby subjected to heavy losses. 

Gringer is extensively diffused throughout the Indian isles, it 
being especially indigenous to the East, and of pretty general 
use among the natives, who neglect the finer spices. The great 
and smaller varieties are cultivated, and the sub-varieties dis- 
tinguished by their brown or white colors. There is no production 
which has a greater diversity of names. This diversity proves, 
as usual, the wide diffusion of the plant in its wild state. The 
ginger of the Indian Archipelago is however inferior in quality to 
that of Malabar or Bengal. In the cultivation of ginger great in - 
provement may be adopted and expense saved. The garden plough 
and small harrow should be used. 

The present mode of preparing the land for this crop in the West 
Indies, is by first carefully hoeing off all bush and weeds from 
the piece you intend to plant ; the workmen are then placed in a 
line, and dig forward the land to the full depth of the hoe, cutting 
the furrow not more than from five to six inches thick. The land 
is then allowed to pulverise for a short time ; you then prepare it 
for receiving the plants by opening drills with the hoe, from ten 
to twelve inches apart, and the same in depth, chopping or 
breaking up any clods that may be in the land. Two or three 
women follow and drop the plants in the drills, say from nine to 
ten inches apart. The plants or sets are the small knots or 
fingers broken off the original root, as not worth the scraping. 
The plants are then covered in with a portion of the earth-bank 
formed in drilling. It requires great care and attention in keep- 



GINGER. 



417 



ing them clean from weeds until they attain sufficient age. It 
throws out a pedicle or foot stalk in the course of the second or 
third week, the leares of which are of similar shape to that of 
the Guinea grass. 

Gringer is a delicate plant, and very liable to rot, particularly 
if planted in too rich a soil, or where it may be subject to heavy 
rains. The general average of yield is from 1,500 to 2,000 lbs. 
per acre in plants, although I have known as much as 3,000 lbs. of 
ginger cured from an acre of land. The planting season generally 
commences in Jamaica in February and March, and the crop is 
got in in December and January, when the stalks begin to wither. 
The ginger is taken from the ground by means of the hoe, each 
laborer filling a good-sized basket, at the same time breaking off 
the small knots or knobs for future planting. 

A good scraper of ginger will give you from 30 to 40 lbs. of 
ginger per day. It is then laid on barbacues (generally made of 
boards) to dry. It takes from six to ten days to be properly 
cured. The average yield in weight is about one-third of what 
is scraped. "When intended for preserving, the roots must be taken 
up at the end of three or four months, while the fibres are tender 
and full of sap. 

The ginger grown in the West Indies is considered superior in 
quality to that of the East, doubtless because more care is paid to 
the culture and drying of the root, but it is of less importance to 
commerce. The quantities imported from these two quarters is 
however becoming more equal, and Africa is coming into the field 
as a producer, 1,545 casks and packages having arrived from the 
western coast in 1846. The annual average export of ginger from 
Barbados between the years 1740 and 1788, was 4,667 bags ; 
between 1784 and 1786, 6,320 bags ; in 1788, 5,562 cwt. were 
shipped ; in 1792, 3,046 bags and barrels. In 1738, so widely 
was the culture of this root diff"used in Jamaica, that 20,933 bags, 
of one cwt. each, and 8,864 lbs. in casks were shipped. The ex- 
ports may now be taken on an average at 4,000 cwt. ; but, like 
all the other staple products of the island, this has fallen off one- 
half since the emancipation of the negro population. 

In the three years which preceded the abolition of slavery, 
5,719,000 lbs. of ginger were shipped from Jamaica. In the 
three years ending with 1848, the quantity shipped had decreased 
2,612,180 lbs., as wiU be seen by the following returns: — 

GINGBR SHIPPED. 

lbs. lbs. 

1830 1,748,800 1846 1,462,000 

1831 1,614,640 1847 1,324,480 

1832 2,355,560 1848 320,340 

5,719,000 I 3,106,820 

In 1843 there were shipped from Jamaica 3,719 casks and bags; 
in 1844, 3,692 casks and 1730 bags ; in 1845, 3,506 casks, valued 
at £4 10s. each, and 1,129 bags, valued at £2 each, equal in all 

2 E 



418 



SPICES AND TEAaSAKT WOODS. 



to £18,037. From the island of Hayti 8,769 lbs. of ginger were 
exported in 1835, and 15,509 lbs. in 1836. 39 packages of ginger 
were sliivped from Barbados in 1851. 

In Maraniiam and one or two other provinces of Brazil, ginger 
of an excellent quality is grown, and a good deal is exported. It 
was very early an article of culture in South America. According 
to Acosta, it was brought to America by one Erancisco de Mendoza, 
from Malabar, and so rapidly did its cultivation spread, that as 
far back as 1547, 22,053 cvrt. were shipped to Europe. Southey, 
in his " History of Brazil " (vol. i., p. 320), says, " Ginger had been 
brought from the island of St. Thomas, and throve so well that in 
the year 1573, 4,000 arrobas of 25 lbs. each were cured ; it was 
better than what came from India, though the art of drying it 
was not so well understood. Great use was made of this root in 
preserves, but it was prohibited, as interfering with the Indian 
trade in that v^Tetched species of policy which regards immediate 
revenue as its main object." 

Ginger was worth in the London market 25s. to 60s. the cwt, 
in bond ; middling and fine qualities, 80s. to 160s. The duty is 
5s. per cwt. 

Amount of imports of ginger into the United Kingdom, with 
the quantities entered for home consumption : — 



"West India 


Entered for East India 


Entered for 




ginger. 


home consumption. 


gmger. 


home consumption 




cwts. 


cwts. 


cwts. 


CTTtS. 


1831 


3,551 


4,709 


849 


79 


1832 .. 


5,94'/ 


5,795 


2,508 


213 


1833 .. 


6,064 


6,570 


10,049 


1,099 


1834 .. 


9,913 


9,918 


10,004 


1,638 


1835 . . 


8,321 


8,982 


4,489 


1,647 


1836 .. 


10,226 


6,304 


13,589 


3,524 


1837 .. 


10,933 


9,905 


23,876 


3,386 


1838 .. 


13,366 


9,944 


25,649 


1,431 


1839 .. 


8,996 


7,213 


29,624 


914 


1840 . . 


5,381 


7,935 


9,719 


1,568 


1841 .. 


4,446 


5,523 


5,292 


1,177 


1842 .. 


4,671 


5,068 


3,680 


1,956 


1843 . . 


4,013 


6,953 


4,106 


3,254 




casks, &c. 


casks. 


bags. 


bags. 


1844 . . 


4,619 


3,128 


5,101 


6,964 


1845 . . 


6,033 


4,000 


8,165 


7,938 










Eetained for 






Total ginger imported. 


home consiimption. 






cwts. 




cwts. 


1845 




24,370 




15,937 


1846 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 




20,010 




15,163 




12,995 




9,744 




13,748 




10,454 




28,015 




12,880 




33,953 




16,543 




35,678 




19,855 




20,297 




18,691 



Galangale Eoot is a good deal used in China, and forms an 
article of commerce, fetching in the London market 12s. to 16s. 



CAEDAMOMS. 



410 



per cwt. in bond. It is the rhizoma of Alpinia Galanga. Its taste 
is peppery and aromatic. Externally the color of the root-stocks 
is reddish brown, internally pale reddish white. 

1,286 cwt. of galangale root, valned at 2,880 dollars, was ex- 
ported from Canton in 1850. 

CAEDAMOMS. 

Caeda:sioms are the production of various species of plants of the 
same tribe as the ginger, and might be profitably cultivated with 
that aromatic root, as well as the Turmeric {Curcuma longd), which 
see. 

Various species of Alpiuice, Amomum, JElettaria, and Renealmia, 
appear to furnish the cardamoms of the shops, which consist of 
the oval, trivalvular capsules containing the seeds. The bright 
yellow seeds are used in medicine as aromatic tonics and car^ 
minatives ; and for curries, ketchups, soups, &c. Their active 
ingredient is a pungent volatile oil. The least dampness injures 
the finer sorts. About 688 cwts. of cardamoms, and 5,000 cwts. 
of bastard cardamoms are annually exported from Siam. AVe im- 
ported about 300 tons in 1849. The price ranges from Is. 6d. to 
3s. the pound. The estimated value of the cardamoms and 
pepper shipped from Ceylon in the past few years was as fol- 
lows :— 1846, £208; 1847, £246; 1848, £205; 1849, £454; 
1850, £960 ; 1851, £771 ; 1852, £590. The following are some 
of the plants from which cardamoms are procured. 

1. Amomum Cardamomum, a Java plant, supplies the round 
cardamoms. It has pale brown flowers. The fruit varies in size 
from that of a black currant to a cherry. 

2. A. angustifolium (Pereira), a plant having red blossoms, fur- 
nishes the large Madagascar cardamoms, and also supplies some of 
the seeds called " Grrains of Paradise," which are, however, larger 
than those imported under that name. 

This species is found in Abyssinia, according to my friend Mr. 
Chas. Johnston, author of " Travels in Abyssinia," who favored me 
with some specimens. The seeds are pale olive brown, devoid of 
the fiery peppery taste of the grains of paradise. 

3. A. maximum, the great winged amomum, produces the Java 
cardamoms of the London market, and is also grown extensively 
in Ceylon, the Malay islands, Nepaul, Sumatra, and other islands 
of the Eastern Archipelago. There were exported from Ceylon 
in 1842, 5,364 lbs. ; in 1843, 9,632 lbs. ; 1844, 7,280 lbs. ; and in 
1845, 11,812 lbs. The pods are large and long, and dark colored, 
approaching to black, the taste nauseous and disagreeable, not the 
least resembling that of the Malabar cardamoms. It is propagated 
by cuttings of the rhizoma. The plants yield in three years, and 
afterwards give an annual crop. They are not used here, but 
sent to the continent. 

4. Alpinia Gardaniomum. — This is the source of the clustered 

2 E 2 



420 



SPICES A.TSD FEAGEANT WOODS. 



cardamoms, and fiimishes tlie best known sort. Its produce is 
in great request throughout India, fetching as much as £30 the 
candy of 600 lbs. About 192 candies are grown annually in 
Travancore, and the usual crop in Malabar is reckoned at 100 
candies annually. It flourishes on the mountainous parts of the 
Malabar coast, and among the western mountains of AVynaad, 
The bulbous plants, which grow three or four feet high, are pro- 
duced in the recesses of the mountains by felling trees, and after- 
wards burning them, for wherever the ashes fall in the openings 
or fissures of the rocks, the plant naturally springs up. In the 
third year the plants come to perfection, bearing abundantly for 
a year or two, and then die. In Soonda Balagat, and other places 
wher© cardamoms are planted, they are much inferior to those 
grown in the wild state. It may be propagated by cuttings or 
divisions of the roots. Not more than one-hundredth part of the 
cardamoms raised in Malabar are used in the country. They 
are sent in large quantities to the ports on the E,ed Sea, and the 
Persian Gulf, up the Indus to Scinde, to Bengal and Bombay. The 
price of Malabar cardamons at Madras, in June, 1853, was about 
£3 the maund of 25 lbs. They fetch in the Bombay market £4 10s. 
the maund of 40 lbs. Cardamoms form a universal ingredient in 
curries, pillaus, &c. The seed capsules are gathered as they ripen, 
and when dried in the sun are fit for sale. They should be chosen 
full, plump, and difficult to be broken ; of a bright yellow color, and 
piercing smell ; with an acrid bitterish, though not very unpleasant 
taste, and particular care should be taken that they are properly 
dried. 

5. Amomum Grana-Paradisi, which is indigenous to the islands 
of Madagascar and Ceylon, yields an inferior sort of cardamoms, 
known by the names of grains of paradise, or Meleguetta pepper. 
These are worth in the English market only from Is, 2d. to Is. 4d. 
per pound, while the long and Malabar cardamoms fetch 2s. 8d. 
to 3s. 3d. the pound. This plant is a native of Guinea, and the 
western parts of Africa about Sierra Leone. We imported from 
thence in 1841, 7,911 pounds. 

The taste of these Guinea grains is aromatic and vehemently 
hot or peppery. They are imported in casks from Africa, and are 
principally used in veterinary medicine, and to give an artificial 
strength to spirits, wine, beer, &c. The average quantity on which 
duty was paid in the six years ending with 1840, was 16,000 
lbs. per annum. They are esteemed in Africa the most wholesome 
of spices, and generally used by the natives to season their food. 

Dr. Pereira, from a careful examination and close inquiry, is 
of opinion that the Amomum Orana-Paradisi of Smith, and 
the Amomum Melegueta of Eoscoe, are identical species. 

In the second volume of the " Pharmaceutical Journal," Dr. 
Pereira states that the term "grains of paradise," or Melegueta, 
has been applied to the produce of no less than six scitamineous 
plants. At the present time, and in this country, the term is ex- 
clusively given to the hot acrid seeds imported into England from 



PEPPEE. 



421 



the coast of G-uinea, and frequently called Guinea grains ; and by 
the Africans Gruinea pepper. 

Mettaria Cardomomum, Don. — The fruit of this species consti- 
tutes the true, small, officinal Malabar cardamoms. It is an ovate 
oblong, obtusely triangular capsule, from three to ten lines long, 
rarely exceeding three lines in breadth, coriaceous, ribbed, greyish or 
brownish yellow. It contains many angular, blackish or reddish 
brown rugose seeds, which are white internally, have a pleasant 
aromatic odor, and a warm agreeable taste. 100 parts of the 
fruit yield 74 parts of seeds, and 26 parts of pericarpal coats. 

This seems to be identical with Amomum Cardamomum. 

Elettaria major, is a perennial, native of Ceylon, which grows 
in shady situations in a rich mixed soil. The dried capsules are 
known in commerce as wild or Ceylon cardamoms, and are of less 
value in the market than those of Malabar {Elettaria Cardamo- 
mum, Maton). It is chiefly grown about the Kandyan district; 
and in the eight years ending with 1813, the average export was 
nine and a-half candies per annum. The seeds in taste resemble 
our carraways, and are used for seasoning various dishes. 

Ceylon cardamoms are now worth in the London market (Sept., 
1853) Is. to Is. 3d. per lb. ; Malabar ditto, 2s. 3d. to 3s. 



PEPPER. 

The black pepper of commerce is obtained from the dried unripe 
fruit (drupes) of Piper nigrum, a climbing plant common in the 
East Indies, and of the simplest culture, being multiplied with 
facility by cuttings or suckers. The ripe fruit, when deprived of 
its outer fleshy covering by washing, forms the white pepper of 
the shops. The dried fruiting spikes of P. longum, a perennial 
shrub, native of Malabar and Bengal, constitute long pepper. The 
fruit of Xylopia aromatica is commonly called Ethiopian pepper, 
from being used as pepper in Africa. The seeds of some species 
of fennel-flower {Nigella sativa and arvensis), natives of the south 
of Europe, were formerly used instead of pepper, and are said to 
be still extensively employed in adulterating it. In Japan, the 
capsules of X.antlioxylwn piperitum, or Fagara Piperita, are used 
as a substitute for pepper, and so is the fruit of Tasmannia 
aromatica in Van Diemen's Land. According to Dr. Eoxburgh, 
P. trioicum is cultivated in the East, and yields an excellent pejDper. 

The pepper vine rises about two feet in the first year of its 
growth, and attains to nearly six feet in the second, at which time, 
if vigorous and healthy, the petals begin to form the corolla or 
blossom. All suckers and side shoots are to be carefully removed, 
and the vines should be thinned or pruned, if they become bushy 
at the top. Hank coarse weeds and parasitical plants should be 
uprooted. The vine would climb, if permitted, to the elevation of 
twenty feet, but is said to bear best when kept down to the height 
often or twelve feet. It produces two crops in the year. The fruit 



422 



SPICES AS"D EUAGEANT WOODS. 



grows abundantly from all tlie branches, in lonff small clusters of 
from 20 to 50 grains ; when ripe it is of a bright red color. After 
being gathered, it is spread on mats in the sun to dry, when it 
becomes black and shriTelled. The grains are separated from the 
stalks by hand rubbing. The roots and thickest parts of the 
stems, when cut into small pieces and dried, form a considerable 
article of commerce all over India, under the name of Pi^pula 
moola. 

Almost all the plants of the family Fiperace(B have a strong 
aromatic smell and a sharp burning taste. This small group of 
plants is confined to the hottest regions of the globe ; being most 
abundant in tropical America and in the East Indian Archipelago, 
but more rare in the equinoctial regions of Africa. The common 
black pepper, P. nigrum, represents the usual property of the 
order, which is not confined to the fruit, but pervades, more or less, 
the whole plant. It is peculiar to the torrid zone of Asia, and 
appears to be indigenous to the coast of Malabar, where it has 
been found in a wild state. Prom this it extends between the 
meridians of longitude 96 deg. and 116 deg. S. and the parallels 
of latitude 5 deg. S. and 12 deg. N., beyond which no pepper 
is found. "Within these limits are the islands of Sumatra and 
Borneo, with the Malay peninsula and part of Siam. Sumatra 
produces by far the greatest quantity of pepper. In 1842, the 
annual produce of this island was reckoned at 30,000,000 lbs., 
being more than the amount furnished by all the other pepper 
districts in the world. 

A little pepper is grown in the Mauritius and the West India 
Islands, and its cultivation is making some progress on the 
'W estern Coast of ilfrica, as we imported from thence 2,909 bags 
and casks in 1846, and about 110,000 lbs. in 1847. 

Mr. J. Crawfurd, F.E.S., one of the best authorities on all that 
relates to the commerce and agriculture of the Eastern Archi- 
pelago, recently estimated the produce of pepper as follows : — 



lbs. 

Sumatra (West Coast) . . . 20,000,000 

(East Coast) . . . 8,000,000 

Islands in the Straits of Malacca . . 3,600,000 

Malay Peninsula .... 3,733,333 

Borneo ..... 2,666,667 

Siam ..... 8,000,000 

Malabar . . . . .• 4,060,000 



Total . . 50,000,000 

If we add to this 

Western Coast of Africa and B. W. Indies . 53,000 ^ 

Java ..... 4,000,000 

Mauritius and Ceylon . . . 80,000 



It gives . . 54,133,000 



as the total produce of the world. 
Black pepper constitutes a great and valuable article of export 
from the Indian Islands ; which, as we have seen, alford by far the 



PEPPEK. 



423 



largest portion of what is consumed throughout the world. In 
the first intercourse of the Dutch and English with India, it con- 
stituted the most considerable and important staple of their com- 
merce. The production of pepper is confined in a great measui^e to 
the western countries of the Eastern Archipelago, and among these 
to the islands in the centre and to the northern quarter, including 
the Peninsula. It is obtained in the ports on both sides of the coast 
of the latter, bat particularly the north-eastern coast. The prin- 
cipal quarters (according to Mr. Crawfurd, my authority on this 
subject), are Patani, Tringanu, and Kalantin. In the Straits a 
large quantity is produced in the island of Singapore, and above all 
in Pinang, where the capital of Europeans and the skill and industry 
of the Chinese have been successfally applied to its culture. The 
western extremity of Sumatra, and the north-west coast of that 
island, are the most remarkable situations in it for tlie production 
of pepper, and here we have Acheen, Tikao, Bencoolen, Padang, 
and the country of the Lampungs. The production of the 
eastern extremity of Sumatra or Palembang is considerable, but 
held of inferior quality. In the fertile island of Java, the quantity 
of pepper grown is inconsiderable, nor is it remarkable for the 
goodness of its quality. 

The province of Bantam has always furnished, and still continues 
to produce, the most pepper ; but the culture of this creeper is fast 
giving place in Java to staples aff'ording higher profits and 
requiring less care. The exports were, in the following years : — 



The number of pepper vines in the district of Bencoolen, in the 
close of last year, 1852, was as follows : — 1,571,894 young vines ; 
2,437,052 bearing ditto ; total, 4,008,946. 

Up to the end of September there had been delivered to the 
Grovernment 1,145 piculs white pepper, and 1,128 piculs black 
pepper, while of the harvest of 1852 there were still probably to 
be received 330 piculs white, and 4,967 piculs black pepper. 

The south, the west, and the north coasts of the great island of 
Borneo produce a large quantity of pepper ; as early as 1721 it 
was a staple commodity of this island. Banjarmassin is the most 
productive place on the south coast, and the State of Borneo 
Proper on the north coast. The best pepper certainly does not 
grow in the richest soils, for the peppers of J ava and Palembang 
are the worst of the Archipelago, and that of Pinang and the 
west coast of Sumatra are the best. Care in culture and curing 
improves the quality, as with other articles, and for this reason 
chiefly it is that the pepper of Pinang is more in esteem than that 
of any other portion of the Archipelago. From the ports and 
districts of Siam 3,500 to 4,000 tons are exported annually. 

The duty at present levied on pepper in England is 6d. per lb., 



1830 
1835 
1839 
1841 



piculs. 
6,061 
11,868 
11,044 
13,477 



1843 
1848 
1851 
1852 



lbs. 

3,737,732 
461,680 
95,037 
135,690 



424 



SPICES AND FKAGEANT WOODS. 



while the wholesale price for that of Pinang, Malabar, and Sumatra 
is about 4d. per lb. White pepper ranges from 9d. to Is. 6d. per lb. 
The prime cost in Singapore is not more than l^d. per lb. 

About 70, 000 or 80,000 piculs of pepper are annually exported 
from Singapore, of which between 30,000 and 40,000 piculs have, 
until within the last two years, gone on to Grreat Britain. More 
than one-half of the pepper exported from Singapore is grown in 
the island by Chinese settlers. 

The low selling price of the article in the English market, the 
high duty levied upon it, and the large freight paid for its carriage 
to Grreat Britain, now leave so small a price to the cultivator in 
Singapore, that the cultivation ceases to be remunerative, and is 
carried on at a loss ; and has consequently within the last year 
or two begun to decrease rapidly, involving the Chinese growers, 
who are generally of the poorest class, and without capital, in great 
distress. A reduction in the duty on pepper has always been 
followed by a very large increase in the consumption of the article, 
as will appear from the following table, showing the importation 
and consumption in Great Britain during some of the first and 
last years of the different rates of duty : — 



1811 . 


. 1,457,383 . 


1 


10| . 


. 0 


7* 


to 


0 


7s 


1814 . 


941,569 . 


1 


io| . 


0 


11 


>) 
)) 


1 


1 


1S20 . 


. 1,404,021 


. 2 


6 . 


. 0 


6^ 


0 


6f 


1824 . 


. 1,447,030 


. 2 


6 . 


, 0 


4| 




0 


5i 


1826 . 


. 2,529,027 . 


1 


0 . 


. 0 


4 




0 


4i 


1836 . 


. 2,749,491 


1 


0 . 


. 0 


0 


>5 


0 


0 


1837 . 


. 2,625,075 . 


0 


6 . 


. 0 


0 


0 


0 


1845 . 


. 3,210,415 . 


. 0 


6 . 


. 0 


2i 




0 


4f 



In a memorial from the mercantile community of Singapore, 
sent home in 1848, it is asserted that a reduction in the duty of 
pepper being always attended by a large increase in the con- 
sumption, would not lead to any serious loss in the revenue, while 
it would confer a great boon on the poorer classes, to whom it 
has now become a necessary article of life. The reduction would 
also be of great advantage to British manufacturers, as well as to 
our Indian possessions, by giving rise to an increased demand 
demand for British goods and productions, and of the highest 
benefit to the agricultural settlers in the island of Singapore, by 
enabling them to procure for their labor an honest means of live- 
lihood. 

The pepper vines, which are allowed to climb poles or small trees, 
are tolerably productive at Singapore ; and pepper planting is 
esteemed by the Chinese to be a profitable speculation, particularly 
if they are enabled to evade the payment of quit-rent. An acre of 
pepper vines vnR yield 1,161 lbs. of clean pepper. In Sumatra a 
full grown plant has been known to produce seven pounds ; in 
Pinang the yield is much more. The average produce of one 
thousand vines is said, however, to be only about 450 lbs. 



Year. Quantity consumed. 



Duty. 
8. d. 



Singapore price, 
s. d. s. d. 



PEPPEE, 



425 



Colonel Low, in Ms " Dissertation on Pinang," published at 
Singapore some years ago, gives an interesting account of the 
culture : — 

"Pepper was, during many years, tlie staple product of Pinang soil, tlie 
average annual quantity having been nearly four millions of pounds ; but 
previous to the year 1810, the above amount had decreased to about two-and-a- 
half millions of pounds, which was the result of the continental system. 

The price having fallen at length to three and three-and-a-half dollars the 
picul — with only a few occasional exceptions of rises — the cultivation of this 
spice was gradually abandoned, and the total product at this day does not ex- 
ceed 2,000 piculs. The original cost, when pepper was at a high price, together 
with charges of transporting it to Europe, amounted to £36,357 for every five 
hundred tons, and the loss by wastage was estimated at £5, 405. In 1818 there 
remained on the islanr't' 1,480,265 pepper vines in bearing, and the average 
value of exports of pepper from Pinang, including that received from other 
places, was averaged at 106,870 Spanish dollars. 

As might have been foreseen, the fall of prices has so greatly diminished 
the cultivation of pepper to the eastward, that a reaction is likely to take place ; 
and has in fact partly shown itself already. Some Chinese in Pinang and 
Province "Wellesley seem to be preparing to renew the cultivation. There is 
abundant scope for the purpose on both sides of the harbour, and every facility 
is at hand for carrying it on. 

The pepper plant or vine requires a good soil, the richer the better, but the 
red soil of the higher hills is not congenial, the Chinese think, to it. The un- 
dulations skirting the bases of the hills, and the deep alluvial lands, where not 
saturated with water, or liable to be overflowed, are preferred. 

The Chinese have always been the chief cultivators, and when the speculation 
flourished they received advances from the merchants, which they paid back in 
produce at fixed rates. 

When pepper was extensively cultivated on Prince of "Wales Island, the 
European owner of the land had the forest cleared by contract, and the vines 
planted by contract, and when the vines came into bearing the plantation was 
farmed to the Chinese from year to year, on payment of a specific quantity of 
pepper. Any other plan would have ruined the capitalist, as the culture is 
almost entirely in their hands in the Straits' Settlements, and they will not 
work so well for others as when they are specially interested. 

The plants are set out at intervals, evert/ tvai/, of from seven to twelve feet, 
according to the degree of fertility of the soil, so that there are from 800 to 
1,000 vines in one orlong of land ; to each vine is allotted a prop of from ten 
to thirteen feet high, cut from the thorny tree called dadap, or where that is 
scarce, from the less durable hoonglai ; these props take root, thus aff'ording 
both shade and support to the plant. The plant may be raised from seed pepper, 
but the plan is not approved of, cuttings being preferable, as they soonest come 
into bearing. The pits in which these cuttings are set should be a foot-and-a- 
half square, and two feet in depth ; manure is not often applied, and then it is 
only some turf ashes. However unpicturesque a pepper plantation may be, 
still its neat and uniform appearance renders the landscape lively, and there 
can be little doubt that the island has suff'ered in its salubrity since the jungle 
usurped the extensive tracts formerly under pepper cultivation. 

When the vine has reached the height of three or four feet, it is bent down 
and laid in the earth, and about five of the strongest shoots which now spring 
up are retained and carefully trained up the prop, to which they are tied by 
means of ligatures of some creeping plants. 

One Chinese, after the plantation has been formed, can take care of two 
orlongs of land. The usual mode is this : — an advance i3 made by the capitalist 
to the laborer for building a house, and for agricultural implements ; he then 
receives two dollars monthly to subsist on, until the end of the third year, when 
the estate or plantation is equally divided betwixt the contracting parties. 

The Chinese and even European cultivators used formerly to engage the 
Chinese who had j ust arrived from China ; they paid ofi" their passage-money, 



426 



SPICES AND FRAGRANT WOODS. 



and then allowed them two dollars monthly, for provisions, for one year, with 
a suit of clothes, by which means the cost of the labor of one man averaged 
about three dollars monthly ; but this plan is attended with risks. 

The cost attendant on the cultivation of tvi^o orlongs of land, with pepper, 
for three years — the Chinese laborer receiving the usual hire of fiv& Spanish 
dollars monthly — will be nearly as follows : — 

Spanish dollars. 



Price of land, clearing, and planting ... 40 

Quit rent, at 75 cents per annum per orlong . 9 

Two thousand plants ..... 4 

,, dadap props .... 6 

Implements ...... 6 \ 

House ....... 10 

Labor . . . . . . . 200 

Interest, loosely calculated at ... 30 

Total Spanish dollars .. . 305 



In a very good soil a pepper vine will yield about one-eighth of a pound 
of dry produce at the end of the first year ; at the end of the second, about a 
quarter of a pound ; and at the expiration of the third, probably one pound ; 
at the end of the fourth, from three to three- and-a-half pounds; ditto fifth, 
from eight to ten pounds. After the fifth year up to the fifteenth, or even the 
twentieth year, about ten pounds cf dry merchantable produce maybe obtained 
from each vine, under favorable circumstances. The Chinese speculator used 
to rent out his half-share of a new plantation for five years, to his cultivating 
partner, after the expiration of the first three years, at the rate of thirty picula 
per annum ; the total produce of these five years giving about fifty-six piculs 
annually as an average. 

A pepper plantation never survives the thirtieth year, unless in extremely 
rich soil, and then it is unproductive ; nor will the young vine thrive on an old 
worn out pepper land, a peculiarity which is applicable to the cofiee tree. The 
chief crop lasts from August to February. Four pounds of dry produce, for 
ten of green, is considered a fair estimate. Great care is requisite in the 
management of the vine, and especially in training and tying it on the 
props. It is subject to be injured by the attacks of a small insect. The green 
pepper dries in two or three days, and if it is intended that it shall he black, it 
is pulled before it is quite ripe. To make white pepper, the berry is allowed to 
remain somewhat longer on the vine ; it is, when plucked, immersed in boiling 
water, by means of which process and subsequent friction, before drying, the 
husk is separated. 

The exports of pepper from Pinang in the last four years have been — In 1849, 
2,591,233 lbs. ; in 1850, 6,397,733 lbs. ; in 1851, 2,366,933 lbs. ; in 1852, 
2,112,133 lbs." 

A small quantity of pepper seems to be annuallj exported from 
Ceylon, which I presume is the growth of that island ; thus there 
were : — 

54 cwts. shipped in 1842 

83 „ „ 1843 

102 „ „ 1844 

In the Customs' returns of Ceylon, it is classed with cardamoms, 
and 160 to 170 cwt. of the two were shipped in each of the years 
1850 and 1851. Last year the quantity was smaller. 

Pepper cultivation has been introduced into the Mauritius, and in 
1839 more than 500,000 lbs. were imported from thence, but as the 
shipments have since decreased, I presume it has given place to the 
more profitable staple sugar. I have been able to glean no in- 
formation as to the progress it has made in the West Indies. In 



PEPPER. 



Cayenne it has been successfiillj carried on for many years ; and 
large shipments of pepper have been made thence to Prance. 

BLACK, PEPPER EXPORTED PROM SINGAPORE. 











1841 




66 810 






Growth of Singapore . , 


21,231 


. . 47,674 


1842 . 




74,228 






Grrowth of Singapore . . 


32,277 


. . 72,473 


1843 . 




57,883 




Growth of Singapore . . 


35,585 


. . 79,900 


1844 . 




67,148 




Growth of Singapore . . 


42,995 


. . 386,152 


1845 . 




65,892 






Growth of Singapore . . 


39,019 


. . 350,443 


1846 . 


. Exports 


56,709 






Growth of Singapore . . 


35,712 




1847 . 


. Exports 


60,994 




>> 


Growth of Singapore . . 


36,565 


.. 328,397 



Pliny, the naturalist, states that the price of pepper in the 
market of E-ome in his time was, in English money, 9s. 4icl. a pound, 
and thus we have the price of pepper at least 1,774 years ago. 
The pepper alluded to must have been the produce of Mala- 
bar, the nearest part of India to Europe that produced the 
article, and its prime cost could not have exceeded the present 
one, or about 2d. a pound. It w^ould most probably have come to 
Europe by crossing the Indian and Arabian ocean, with the 
easterly monsoon, sailing up the Eed Sea, crossing the desert, 
dropping down the Nile, and making its way along the Mediter- 
ranean by two- thirds of its whole length. This voyage, which 
in our times can be performed in a month, most probably then 
took eighteen. Transit and customs duties must have been paid 
over and over again, and there must have been plenty of extortion. 
All this will explain how pepper could not be sold in the E-oman 
market under fifty-six times its prime cost. Immediately previous 
to the discovery of the route to India by the Cape of Grood Hope, 
we find that the price of pepper in the markets of Europe had 
fallen to 6s a pound, or 3s. 4d. less than in the time of Pliny. 
What probably contributed to this fall, was the superior skill in 
navigation of the now converted Arabs, and the extension of their 
commerce to the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, which 
abounded in pepper. After the great discovery of Yasco de 
G-ama, the price of pepper fell to about Is. 3d. a pound, a fall of 
8s. Id. from that of the time of Pliny, and of 4s. 9d. from that 
of the Mahommedan Arabs, Turks, and Venetians. 

In 1826, 14,000,000 lbs. of pepper were imported into the 
United Kingdom, of which about 5,500,000 were re-exported. In 
1841, 15,000,000 lbs. were imported, of which 6,500,000 were re- 
shipped to other countries. 

The home consumption, it will be seen, now averages about 
3,250,000 lbs. :— 



428 



SPICES A-TSJ) PRAGEANT WOODS. 



Imports. Home coasumption 
lbs. lbs. 

1845 9,852,984 3,209,718 

1846 5,906,586 3,299,955 

1847 4,669,930 2,966,022 

1848 8,125,545 3,185,337 

1849 4,796,042 3,257,911 

1850 8,028,319 3,170,883 

1851 3,996,496 3,303,403 

1852 6,641,699 , 3,524,501 



The following return shows the number of bags of pepper im- 
ported into the United Kingdom, with the quantity retained for 
home consumption : — 

Eetained for home consumption. 



1843 
1844 
1845 
1847 
1848 
1849 



Imports. 
Black, 
bags. 
37,840 
60,705 
80,600 
37,194 
65,518 
43,65] 



White, 
bags. 
3,861 
2,123 
3,208 
1,236 
3,042 
2,616 



Black, 
bags. 
21,163 
23,525 
30,294 
28,768 
31,665 
32,246 



mite, 
bags. 
2,257 
2,122 
2,861 
2,654 
2,950 
3,859 



CHILLIES AND CAYENNE PEPPEE. 

Chillies or capsicum are long roundish taper pods, divided into 
two or three cells, full of small whitish seeds. When this fruit is 
fresh, it has a penetrating acrid smell ; to the taste it is extremely 
pungent, and produces a most painful burning in the mouth. 
They are occasiouallj imported dry, and form the basis of Cayenne 
pepper ; put in vinegar when green or ripe, they are an accept- 
able present in Europe. In Bengal the natives make an extract 
from the chillies, which is about the consistence and color of 
treacle. 

The consumption of chillies in India is immense, as both rich 
and poor daily use them, and it is the principal ingredient in all 
chutnies and curries ; ground into a paste, between two stones, 
with a little mustard, oil, ginger, and salt, it forms the only 
seasoning which the millions of poor in that country can obtain 
to eat with their insipid rice. They are worth in the Bombay 
market about 4iOs. the candy of 600 lbs. 

Immense quantities of the capsicum are used by the native 
population of the "\Yest Indies, Africa, and Mexico ; the con- 
sumption as a condiment being almost universal, and perhaps 
equal in quantity to salt. Ten barrels of these peppers were 
shipped from Montego Bay, Jamaica, in the first six months of 
1851. 

The wholesale price of chillies in the London market is from 
15s. to 25s. the cwt., and there is a duty of 6d. per pound on 
them. Cayenne fetches 9d. to 2s. the pound. 

Chilli is the Mexican name for all varieties of Capsicum. They 



CAXEIfJfE PEPPEE. 



429 



are natives of the East and ^^est Indies, and other hot climates. 
C. annuwn is the species commonly noticed, but there seems 
to he numerous varieties, which by many are reckoned species. 
Thus, G. frutescens is a shrubby plant, vrhich, along with O. 
minimiun, supplies the variety called bird-pepper, it grows to a 
larger and more bushy size ; C. haccatum has a globular fruit, and 
furnishes cherry or berry capsicum. They are all of the simplest 
culture, and may even be grown with very little care in England. 
Culture appears to increase the size, but to diminish the pungency 
of the fruit. In capsicums irritant properties prevail so asto obscure 
the narcotic action. Their acridity is owing to an oleaginous sub- 
stance called capsicin. Cayenne pepper is used in medicine chiefly 
in the form of tincture, as a rubefacient and stimulant, especially 
in cases of ulcerated sore throat. It acts on the stomach as an 
aromatic condiment, and when preserved in acetic acid it forms 
chilli vinegar. 

Red pepper may be considered one of the most useful vegetables 
in hygiene. As a stimulant and auxihary in digestion it has been 
considered invaluable, especially in warm countries. A kind 
called the tobacco red pepper, is said to possess the most pungent 
properties of any of the species. It yields a small red pod, less 
than an inch in length, and longitudinal in shape, which is so ex- 
ceedingly hot that a small quantity of it is sufficient to season a 
large dish of any food. Owing to its oleaginous character, it has 
been found impossible to preserve it by drying, but by pouring 
strong boiling vinegar on it a sauce or decoction can be made, 
which possesses in a concentrated form all the essential qualities 
of the vegetable. A single drop of this sauce will flavor a whole 
plate of soup or other food. 

The " wort" or Cayenne pottage may be termed the national 
dish of the Abyssinians, as that, or its basis "dillock," is invari- 
ably eaten with their ordinary diet, the thin crumpet-like bread of 
teff* or wheat flour. Equal parts of salt and the red cayenne pods 
are well powdered and mixed together with a little pea or bean 
meal to m.ake a paste. This is called " dillock," and is made in 
quantities at a time, being preserved in a large gourd-shell, 
generally suspended from the roof. The " wort" is merely a little 
water added to this paste, Avhich is then boiled over the fire, with 
the addition of a little fat meat and more meal to make a kind of 
porridge, to which sometimes is also added several warm seeds, 
such as the common cress or black mustard, both of which are 
indigenous in Abyssinia. — ("Johnston's Abyssinia,") 

A great quantity of Agi or Gruinea pepper is grown in Peru, 
the natives being very fond of this condiment. It is not uncom- 
mon for an American Indian to make a meal of twenty or thirty 
pods of capsicum, a little salt, and a piece of bread, washed down 
by two or three quarts of chica, the popidar beverage. 



430 



PIMENTO. 

The pimento, Eugenia Pimenta (Myrtus Pimento), is a native 
of Mexico, and the West Indies. It flourislies spontaneously 
and in great abundance on the north side of the island of Jamaica ; 
its numerous white blossoms mixing Mdth the dark green foliage, 
and with the slightest breeze diffusing around the most delicious 
fragrance, give a beauty and a charm to nature rarely equalled, and 
of which he who has not visited the shady arbors and perfumed 
groves of the tropics can have little conception. This lovely 
tree, the very leaf of which when bruised emits a fine aromatic odor, 
nearly as powerful as that of the spice itself, has been known to 
grow to the height of from 30 to 40 feet, exceedingly straight, and 
having for its base the spinous ridge of a rock, eight or ten feet 
above the surface of the hill or mountain. A single tree has fre- 
quently produced 150 lbs. of the raw, or 100 lbs. of the dried fruit. 

The fruit has an aromatic odor, and its taste combines that of 
cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves ; hence its common name of allspice. 
The fruit of Eugenia acris is used for pimento. 

The trunk is of a grey color, smooth and shining, and altogether 
destitute of bark. It is luxuriantly clothed with leaves of a deep 
green, somewhat like those of the bay tree, and these leaves are, 
in the months of July and August, beautifully contrasted and 
relieved by an exuberance of white flowers. The leaves yield by 
distillation a delicate odoriferous oil, which is said to be sometimes 
passed off for oil of cloves. 

The berries are gathered before they are ripe, and spread on a 
terrace, exposed to the sun for about a week, during which time 
they lose their green color, and acquire that reddish brown tint 
which renders them marketable. Some planters kiln-dry them. Like 
many of the minor productions of the tropics, pimento is exceed- 
ingly uncertain, and perhaps a very plenteous crop occurs but 
once in five years. 

In 1800 there were 12,759 bags and 610 casks of pimento 
imported from Jamaica ; in 1824 there were 33,308 bags and 599 
casks shipped from the island ; in 1829 the quantity exported Vv^as 
6,069,127 lbs. 

In the year ending October 1843, the export of pimento from 
Jamaica was 29,322 bags and 156 casks; in the year ending 
October 1844, 12,055 bags and 88 casks; in the year ending 
October 1845, 233 casks, valued at SOs. each, and 59,494 bags, 
valued at 203. 

Erom 1st January to 1st August, 1851, 128,277 lbs, pimento 
were shipped from the port of Montego Bay, Jamaica. 

There was a very considerable pimento plantation made in 
Tobago, some years ago, by a Mr. Pranklin, but it was abandoned 
by his sons, that they might attend the more exclusively to sugar 
culture. 

Jamaica exported nearly two millions of pounds of pimento 



YAT^ILLA. 



431 



less, in the three years ending 1848, than she did in the three 
previous to the emancipation of the slaves. The number of pounds 
shipped annually, in these periods, is shov^n by the following 
figures : — 



Year. 
1830 
1831 
1832 



lbs. 

5,560,620 
3,172,320 
4,024,800 



Year. 
1846 
1847 
1848 



lbs. 
2,997,060 
2,800,140 
5,231,908 



Pimento is imported into this country in bags of about 100 lbs. 
each. The imports have been : — 



Year. 

1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 



Imports. 

C"WtS. 

20,773 
24,994 
20,448 
14,840 
22,708 



Home consumption, 
cwts. 
4,230 
3,419 
3,467 
3,935 
3,872 



The following is a statement of the imports from the "West 
Indies, and the consumption of the United Kingdom, in pounds : — 



Tear. 

1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 
1837 
1838 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 



Imports. 

lbs. 
1,801,355 
1,366,183 
4,770,255 
1,389,402 
2,536,353 
3,230,978 
2,026,128 
892,974 
1,071,511 
999,068 
797,757 
1,643,318 
2,028,658 



Entries for 
home consumption, 
lbs. 
305,739 
296,197 
330,890 
320,719 
343,942 
400,941 
3834,01 
3839,97 
309,078 
338,969 
297,201 
450,683 
378.096 



The imports have been, in — ■ 
bags. 

1843 18,649 

1844 2,408 

1845 21,092 



bags. 

1847 9,649 

1848 18,196 

1849 .... 14,108 



Pimento is worth in the London market 6d. to 7d. per lb. 
duty is 5s. per cwt. 



The 



VANILLA. 



The fleshy, pod-like, odoriferous fruit of different species of 
Epidendrim constitute the substance called vanilla, which is used 
in confectionery for giving a delicious perfume to chocolate, 
liqueurs, &c. As an aromatic it is much sought after by con- 
fectioners, for flavoring ices and creams ; and also by perfumers, 
liqueurists, and distillers. The best comes from the forests round 



432 



SPICES AND TEAaRANT WOODS. 



the village of Zurtila, in the intendancy of Oaxaca, on the eastern 
slopes of the Cordillera of Anahuac, between the parallels of 19 deg. 
and 20 deg. JN". All the vanilla which is used in Europe is im- 
ported from Mexico, Venezuela, and Vera Cruz. 

It is a native of tropical America, and grows wild in Erazil, 
Peru, the banks of the Orinoco, and all places where heat, shade, 
and moisture prevail. There are many species indigenous to the 
Bahamas, Trmidad, Jamaica, Cuba, Dominica, Martinique and 
St. Vincent, which would produce considerable gain to the 
inhabitants if they would give themselves the trouble of cultivating 
or collecting its fruit. 

This parasitical plant has a trailing stem, not unlike the common 
ivy, but not so woody, by which it attaches itself to the trunks of 
trees, and sucks the moisture which their bark derives from the 
lichens and other cryptogamia, but without drawing nourishment 
from the tree itself, like the misletoe and loranthus. The Indians 
in Mexico propagate it by planting cuttings at the foot of trees 
selected for that purpose. It rises to the height of 18 or 20 feet ; 
the flowers are of a greenish yellow, mixed with white. The plant 
is subcylindrical about eight or ten inches long, of a yellow color 
when gathered, but dark brown or black when imported intoEurope. 
It is one-celled siliquose, and pulpy within, wrinkled on the out- 
side, and full of a vast number of seeds like grains of sand, having 
when properly prepared, a peculiar and delicious fragrance. It 
should be gathered before it is fully ripe. 

Different species of vanilla are natives of Guiana, and it is found 
in large quantities along the banks oi its rivers, and in the 
wooded districts which intersperse the savannahs. The oily and 
balsamic substance which the minute seeds possess, may be 
found to have medicinal qualities. Its cultivation can be 
connected with no difficulties; it needs only to plant the slips 
among trees, and to keep them clear of weeds. It would prove 
therefore a great addition to a cocoa plantation. In 1825 the price 
was, in Grermany, sixty-six dollars (equal to £9) per pound, and 
twenty-five to thirty dollars are paid for it in Martinique. 

Humboldt states that the annual value of vanilla exported from 
the state of Vera Cruz was 40,000 dollars, £8,000 sterhng. Some 
vanilla is exported from Maranham. The cultivation of vanilla, 
w^hich was introduced into J ava in the year 1847, is said to have 
made considerable progress, there being now no fewer than thirty 
plantations. 

The fruit of this orchideous plant is entirely neglected in the 
province of Caracas, though abundant crops of it might be gathered 
on the humid coast betw^een Porto Cabello and Ocumare, especially 
at Turiamo, where the pods attain the length of nearly a foot. The 
English and American merchants often seek to make purchases 
at the port of La Guayra, but with difficulty procure it in small 
quantities. 

In the valleys that descend from the chain of coast towards the 
Caribbean sea, in the province of Truxillo, as well as in the mission 



VANILLA. 



of G-uiana, near the cataracts of the Orinoco, a great quantity of 
the vanilla pods might be collected, the produce of which would 
be still more abundant, if, according to the practice of the Mexicans, 
the plant were disentangled from time to time from the other 
creepers, with which it is intertwined and stifled. 

AYhen collected to prepare it for the market, about 12,000 of 
the pods are strung like a garland by their lower end, as near 
as possible to their foot-stalk ; the whole are plunged for an instant 
into boiling water to blanch them ; they are then hung up in the 
open air and exposed to the sun for a few hom^s. By some they 
are wrapped in woollen cloths to sweat. Next day they are 
lightly smeared with oil, by means of a feather or the fingers, 
and are surrounded with oiled cotton to prevent the valves from 
opening. As they become dry, on inverting their upper end they 
discharge a viscid liquor from it, and they are pressed several 
times with oiled fingers to promote its flow. The di'ied pods, like 
the berries of pepper, change color under the drying operation, 
grow brown, wrinkled, soft, and shrink to one-fourth of their 
original size. In this state they are touched a second time with 
oil, but very sparingly, because with too much oil they would lose 
some of their delicious perfume. 

They are then packed for the market in small bundles of 50 or 
100 in each, enclosed in lead foil, or tight metallic cases. 

There are four local varieties, all differing in price and excel- 
lence ; viz., the vanilla jina, the zacate, the rezacate, and the 
vasura. 

One pod of vanilla is sufficient to perfume a pound and a half 
of cacao. It is with difficulty reduced to fine particles, but it 
may be sufficiently attenuated by cutting it into small bits, and 
grinding these along with sugar. 

As it comes to us, vanilla is a capsular fruit, of the thickness 
of a swan's quill ; straight, cylindrical, but somewhat flattened, 
truncated at the top, thinned off" at the ends, glistening, wrinkled, 
furrowed lengthwise, flexible, from five to ten niches long, and of 
a reddish brown color. It contains a pulpy parenchyma, soft, 
unctuous, very brown, in which are embedded black, brilliant, 
very small seeds. 

The kind most esteemed in Prance is called leq vanilla ; it is 
about six inches long, from one-fourth to one-third of an inch 
broad, narrowed at the two ends and curved at the base ; some- 
what soft and viscid, of a dark reddish color, and of a most de- 
licious flavor, like that of balsam of Peru. It is called vanilla 
giorees, when it is covered with efflorescences of benzcoin acid, 
after having been kept in a dry place, and in vessels not her- 
metically closed. 

The second sort, called vanilla simarona, or bastard, is a little 
smaller than the preceding, of a less deep brown hue, drier, less 
aromatic, destitute of efflorescence. It is said to be the produce 
of the wild plant, and is brought from St. Domingo. 

A third sort, which comes from Brazil, is the vanillon, or large 

2 r 



484 



5PICES AND rEAOEA^fT WOODS, 



vanilla of the FreDch market ; tlie vanilla pamprona or lova of 
the Spaniards. Its length is from five to six inches, its breadth 
from one-half to three-fourths of an inch. It is brown, soft^ 
viscid, almost always open, of a strong smell, but less agreeable 
than the leq^. It is sometimes a little spoiled by an incipient fer= 
mentation. It is cured with sugar, and enclosed in tin plate 
boxes, which contain from 20 to 60 pods *. 

The average annual import of vanilla into Havre, in the five 
years ending 1841, was about 16 boxes ; in 1842 it was 30 packages. 

ToiiTQUin- Beans. — The seeds of the Tongo tree {Dipteria^ 
odorata), a native of Gruiana, are the well-known tonquin beans 
used to give a pleasant flavor to snuff. 

TUEMEEIG, 

This article of commerce is furnished by the branches of the 
rhizome or root-stock of the Curcuma longa, and C. rotunda^ plants 
which are natives of Eastern Asia, but have been grown in England 
and the West Indies. They thrive well in a rich light soil, and 
are readily increased by offsets from the roots. 

In the East Indies, where it is known as Huldee, turmeric is 
much employed in dyeing yellow, principally silks, but the color 
is very fugitive. It is also used medicinally as an aromatic car- 
minative, and as a condiment ; it enters into the composition of 
curry sauce or powder, and many other articles of Indian cookery. 
It is cordial and stomachic, and considered by the native doctors 
of India an excellent application in powder for cleansing foul ulcers. 

It is grown in, and exported chiefly from, Bengal and Malabar, 
Madras, Ja^a, and China. The turmeric of Java is in high esti- 
mation in the European markets, ranking next to that of China^ 
and being much superior to that of Bengal. The seeds of 
Aneihwn Sowa, from their carminative properties, form an in- 
gredient in curry powder. 

The price of turmeric in London is from 12s, to 20s. per cwt., 
according to quality. The entries for home consumption are about 
4,000 to 5,000 cwts, annually. It is better shipped in casks or 
cases than in bags. 

A kind of arrowroot is prepared from C. angustifolia, another 
species of this tribe of plants. 

AmarantJius gangiticus, and another species, are much culti- 
vated by the Hindoos for their stews and curries. 

The quantity and value of the curry stuff" imported into Ceylon, 
chiefly from India, has been in the last few years as foUows : — 



Quantity. 

Years. CTvts. packages. Value. 

1847 .... .... — .... 6,866 

1848 .... — 9,981 

1849 26,347 109 .... 9,664 

1850 24,396 300 7,267 

1851 32,550 .... — 9,446 

1852 — - — 9,039 



* Ure's Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures. 



TUEMEBIC. 



435 



W bat is comprised under the term " curry stuff," I am not 
aware, but it appears to be a bulky article, for it was imported to 
the extent of 32,000 cwt. in 1852.^ 

There are two varieties of turmeric usually sent into Europe 
from the East (whence all the turmeric imported into Europe is 
obtained), the " long " turmeric (^Curcuma longd), and the 

round," or as it is better known the " Chinese turmeric," 
The latter description is very rare, the former is the common 
article of commerce. According to one of my correspondents, 
Mr. Hepburn, chemist, of Ealmouth, Jamaica, the common or 
long turmeric is indigenous to that island, growing luxuriantly 
in the mountainous districts, in rather damp soils, its locality 
being in the vicinity of rivers, water-courses and springs. In this 
respect it differs from ginger, which requires a rather dry soil for 
its culture. I am not aware that this plant possesses the pro- 
perty of impoverishing the soil like the ginger. Erom the 
general habits of the plant in its natural state, we may gather 
the following rules for our guidance in its culture. The plants 
should be laid down in rows of five or six inches distant from each, 
other, in a soil moderately damp, of an aluminous or clayey nature, 
and free to a great extent of the more soluble alkalies, potash and 
soda, as these, by absorption, may destroy the coloring matter of 
the plant, and so diminish its value as a dye-stuff. Einally, iu 
preparing the roots for exportation, they should be cleansed from 
all earthy particles, exposed for drying in the shade, and without 
any further preparation bagged for shipment. 

The coloring matter of turmeric is of an orange yellow color, 
exceedingly delicate and capable of change, either from the action 
of light or of alkalies, which turn it to a dark brown color. It 
is slightly soluble in water, and readily soluble in an alkaline 
solution, becoming dark brown. Alcohol extracts the coloring 
matter. The uses to which turmeric is applied are two : as an 
ingredient in the curry powder and paste, and as a dye for silk. 
It was some time ago used as a medicine ; but though retained in 
the " Pharmacopa3ias " of the present day, it is entirely discarded by 
the practitioner as a curative agent. The best Bengal and 
Malabar turmeric fetches a price nearly as high as that of ginger, 
and I see no reason why the West India planter could not send 
it into the British market quite as cheap as the East India trader. 
According to Dallas, 397 bags of turmeric were exported from 
Jamaica in 1797. 

Turmeric is grown about the city of Patna and Behar. It is 
much cultivated about Calcutta and all parts of Bengal. One 
acre yields about 2,000 lbs. of the fresh root. It is also grown 
on the central table land of AfFghanistan. The exports from 
Calcutta in 1841 were 11,000 Indian maunds, and 28,137 in 1842. 
The value of that exported from Madras in 1839 w^as 40,000 
rupees, or £4,000 ; iu 1840, £4,200. The quantity shipped from 
that Presidency in 1850 was 6,877 bags. 

In the neighbourhood of Dacca about 200 lbs. of seed is sown 

2 r 2 



430 



SPICES AlsB rEAGBA^'T WOODS. 



to the beegala, measuring 80 cubits bv 80, and tlie yield is from 
640 to 800 lbs. 

140 tons were imported into Liverpool in 1849, for dyeing and 
for curries ; 414 tons in 1850 ; 11,554 bags and packages in 1851 ; 
and onlj 3,595 ditio in 1852. The price in January 1853 was, for 
Bengal, 10s. to 12s. ; China, 12s. to 14s., and Malabar 9s. to 12s. 
the cwt. The imports into London were 18 tons in 1848, 191 
in 1849, and 980 in 1850. The deliveries for consumption, 192 
tons in 1848, 270 in 1849, and 870 tons in 1850. 

In China turmeric is used with Prussian blue in coloring and 
facing tea. 

&IXSEXG-. 

The produce of this plant, as an article of commerce, is confined 
to our transatlantic neighbours, who have the monopoly of the 
supply to China, 

The root of Panax qulnqy.efolium^ the American ginseng, is much 
esteemed by the Chinese, for certain supposed beneficial eifects 
upon the nerves, and for other presumed virtues ; but our physi- 
cians have not discovered any proofs of its efficacy in Europe. 
The plant is an herbaceous perennial, growing upon the confines 
of Tartary and China, near the great wall. It is found wild^ 
flourishing in moist situations, and attains the height of from two 
to three feet ; it is also now produced largely in the northernj 
middle, and western States of the Union, particularly Virginia, 
Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, and a considerable trade is carried 
on with it to China. A variety of the plant was discovered, a 
few years ago, in the Himalaya mountains, and small quantities 
have been thence sent to Canton. It is also found growing in 
Canada. The root is about three or four inches in length, and 
one inch in thickness. It resembles a small carrot, but not so 
taper at the end, and is sometimes single, sometimes divided into 
two branches. The stem is striated, without branches, and of a 
i^ed color near the root. The leaves, from four to six of which 
surround the stem where they form sheaths (bracteal), are simply 
pinnate. The flower stalk is long and green, the inflorescence a 
simple umbel. The fruit is a berry of a red color, and contains 
two seeds of the size of mustard seed. The of&cinal root differs 
in appearance, according to the country from which it is brought. 
In Korea and China it is white, corrugated when dry, and covered 
with a powder resembling starch. In Mandscharia and Dauria 
it is yellow, smooth and transparent, and vvhen cut resembles 
amber. The taste of the root is bitter. Crude ginseng now sells 
in the Canton market at 70 to 80 dollars per picul of 133 lbs., and 
cured or clarified root at 130 to 140 dollars. 

The stem of the plant, which is renewed every year, leaves, as 
it falls off", an impression upon the neck of the root, so that the 
number of these rings or marks indicates the age of the plant, and 



COEIAZ^DEE AXD CAKEAWAT SEEDS. 



437 



the Yalue of the root increases accordingly. The Chinese govern- 
ment ^Tere formerly in the habit of sending out annually 30,000 
Tartar soldiers to search for the plant, and each was obliged to 
bring home two ounces of the root gratis, and for all above that 
quantity he was paid its weight in silver. The Asiatic ginseng 
is said to be obtained from the root of P. Schinseng of Nees von 
Esenbeck, P. Pseudo ginseng of Wallich. This root might be pro- 
cared in Prince Edward's Island and some of the other British 
Korth American colonies. 

I have been able to trace, after some labor and research, the 
progressive exports of this curious article of trade from the 
United States, 

In 1790, 813 casks, of the value of 47,025 dollars, were ex- 
ported ; and in 1791, 29,208 lbs. From 1803 to 1807, the 
annual value of ginseng shipped was about 123,000 dollars, and 
from 1820 to 1830, it averaged 157,000 dollars. 

The following figures show the value of the article in subse- 
quent vears : — 1831, 115,921 dollars ; year ending 30th Septem- 
ber, 1835, 94,960 dollars; 1837, 212,899 lbs., valued at 108,548 
dollars ; 1840, 22,728 dollars ; 1841, 437,245 dollars. 

The quantity shipped in 1839, from Philadelphia alone, was 
317,443 lbs. "in 1841, 637,885 lbs. were exported from the 
United States, 

The value of that exported in the vears ending 30th June, was 
1844, 95,008 ill doUars, and in 1845,*117,146 dollars; 110,000 lbs, 
were collected at Toledo, Ohio, in 1845. The value of the exports 
in the followiug years, ending June 30th, were — 1847, 64,466 
dollars; 1849, 162,640; 1849, 182,966; 1850, 122,916 dollars. 

COEIAXDEE, CAEEAAVAT, AND OTHEE SEEDS. 

The fruits of anise, carraway, coriander, &C., (erroneously called 
seeds,) are in demand for various purposes. 

Caueaway seed is imported to the extent of 500 tons annually 
from G-ermany and Holland, the price being about 33s. per cwt. 
It is also now much grown in Essex and Kent. In the years 
1848 and 1849, 7,000 cwt. of this seed was imported, of which 
nearly the whole quantity was retained for home consumption. 

CoRiAXDEE SEED is chiefly used by distillers, to produce an 
aromatic oil. The quantity imported annually does not exceed 
50 tons, and it is brought principally to the port of Hull. It is 
also cultivated in Suffolk, Essex and Kent. 

Of MusTAED SEED the aggregate quantity imported annually is 
about 2.000 tons for home consumption, and the flour is used as 
a well-known condiment to food, &c., and in medicine ; the 
average price being about 9d. per pound. 

AxisE. — The frait of Pimpinilla anisum, under the name of 
aniseed, is principally imported from Alicant and Germany (the 
fii'st is preferred), but some is also brought from the 'East Indies. 



438 



SPICES AND rEAUEAlS'T WOODS. 



It is an annual plant, largely cultivated in Spain, Malta, and 
yarious parts of Germany, and also in the island of Scio, Egypt, 
and parts of Asia, The imports are not large ; 192 cwts. paid 
duty in 1833, and 315 cwts. in 1840c About 60 cwts. are annually 
received at Hull from Germany. It is used to flavor liqueurs, 
sweetmeats, and confectionery of various kinds. Oil of aniseed 
is obtained by distillation from the fruit, and 1,544 lbs. were im- 
ported in 1839. About two pounds of oil are obtained from one 
hundred-weight of seed. 

Star ai^ise, Illicum anisafum, is a native of the countries ex- 
tending from 23 1 deg. to 35 deg. of north latitude, or from 
Cauton to Japan. The capsules constitute in India a rather im- 
portant article of commerce, and are sold in all the bazaars. Large 
quantities are also used in Europe in the preparation of liqueurs, 
695 piculs of star aniseed were exported from Canton in 1850, 
valued at 8,200 Spanish dollars. 81 piculs of oil of aniseed were 
exported from Canton in 1848, and 105 piculs in 1850, valued at 
11,900 dollars. 3,000 piculs of aniseed are exported annually 
from Cambodia. 

PUTCHUK, OE COSTFS. 

The substance called costus was highly prized by the ancients, 
and specimens may be met wiih at a few of the London drug- 
houses. It has been sho^vn by Dr. Ealconer to be the produce of 
a genus of the thistle tribe, to whicii he has given the name of 
Aucklandia. The root of A. Costus is supposed to be the Costus 
Arahicus, on the following grounds : — It corresponds with the 
descriptions given by the ancient authors, and is used at the 
present day for the same purposes in China, as costus was formerly 
applied to by the Grreeks. The coincidence of the names — in 
Cashmere the root is called koot, and the Arabic synonym is said 
to be koost. It grows in immense abundance on the mountains 
which surround Cashmere. It is a gregarious herb, about six or 
seven feet high, with a perennial thick branched root, with an 
annual round smooth stem, large leaves and dark purple flowers. 
The roots are dug up in the months of September and October, 
when the plant begins to be torpid ; they are chopped up into 
pieces, from two to six inches long, and are exported without 
further preparation. The quantity collected, according to Dr. 
Falconer, is very large, amounting to about two million pounds 
per annum. The cost of its collection and transport to a mercantile 
depot in Cashmere, is about 2s. 4d. the cwt. The commodity is 
laden on bullocks and exported to the Puujaub, whence the larger 
portion goes down to Bombay, where it is shipped for the Bed Sea, 
the Persian Gulf, and China ; a portion of it iinds its way across 
the Sutlej and Jumna into Hindostan Proper, whence it is taken 
to Calcutta, and bought up there with avidity under the name of 
putchuk. The value is enhanced at Jugadree, on the Jumna, to 



LIGNTJM ALOES, 



439 



about 16s. 9d. or 23s. 4d. per cwt. In the Chinese ports it fetches 
nearly double that price the cwt. The Chinese burn the roots as 
an incense in the temples of their gods, and they also attach great 
efficacy to it as an aphrodisiac. The imports into Canton in 1848 
were 414 piculs ; in 1850, 854 piculs ; valued at 5,150 dollars. In 
Cashmere it is chiefly used for the protection of bales of shawls 
from insects. The exports from the port of Calcutta were, in 
1840-41, 19,660 maunds; in 1841-42, 12,847 ; in 1847-48, 2,050^ ; 
in 1848-49, 2,110| ;— worth about £1,500 annually. 

Specimens of amboyna wood, the odoriferous sandal wood from 
Timor, clove wood, and other choice woods from the Moluccas and 
Prince of "Wales Island, were sent home to the Great Exhibition 
in 1851. 

LiaifFM Aloes, the eagle wood and Calambak of commerce, 
yielding an aromatic perfume, is furnished by the Aquilaria malac- 
censis, and agalloclia, in Silhet, an ornamental evergreen shrub. A 
very high artificial value is placed on the better qualities of this 
product by the natives of the East ; the best quality being worth 
about £14 the picul of 133 lbs. 

This fragrant wood is probably the lign aloes of the Bible. 

Incense to the value of nearly one million and a quarter francs 
was exported from Alexandria in 1837. 

Calambak or eagle wood, the true lignum aloes so highly esteemed 
in the East as a perfume or incense, is said to be produced by the 
Aloexylum agallochum, Lour. This remarkable wood contains a 
large quantity of an odoriferous oleo-resin ; when heated it under- 
goes a sort of imperfect fusion, and exhales a fragrant and very 
agreeable odor. Its price in Sumatra is about £30 per cwt. Inferior 
specimens are obtained at Malacca. Eagle wood is also obtained 
from several other trees. The true eagle wood is however very 
scarce. 



SECTION IV. 



DYES A^"D COLOEIXa STTTPPS, AND TA^'NIXG 
SUBSTANCES. 

Of the several classes of materials collected at the Industrial 
Exhibition in Hyde Park, in 1851,few possessed so much importance 
in the eyes of the textile and leather manufacturer and chemist as 
the different products used in the arts and manufactures for color= 
ing and tanning purposes. These were in a great measure lost 
sight of by the public at large, being scattered about in small 
quantities in a great number of directions; and, from the minute 
samples shoTm, were in many instances oyerlocked altogether. 
Besides furnishing some norel and general statistical facts, which 
may prove interesting, I propose also in this section to draw at- 
tention more prominently to some of these products, which are 
at present little knovm or appreciated. 

Coloring substances for staining and dyeing are obtained indif- 
ferently from the animal, mineral, and vegetable kingdoms, but 
it is of the last alone that I shall have to speak. The importance 
of a more careful consideration of this subject will be admitted, 
if we consider how much the prosperity and extent of our cotton, 
silk, woollen, and leather manufactures depends on a liberal and 
cheap supply of dyes and tannin, to give beauty and color to the 
fabrics, and substance and utilitj' to the skins. Even oil colors, for 
painters' purposes, which do not come within the scope of my re- 
marks, form an item in our yearly exports of the value of £250,000, 
and when we calculate the large amount of cotton, silk and wool 
worked up, most of which requires various coloring agents, gums, 
starches, and mordants ; — that nearly 30,000 tons of hides are 
annually imported, exclusive of those obtained from our now 
slaughter-houses, besides goat, seal, and other skins — and that the 
exports of our various manufactures of cotton, linen, silk, wool and 
leather in 1852, setting aside our home consumption, amounted to 
nearly fifty millions sterling, we shall be able to form a better 
estimate of the importance of the various subjects we are about 
to notice. 

G-reat Britain does not pay less than £600^000 annually for 



DYES A^'D COLOEI^'G STUFrS. 



the di'ied carcasses of the tiny cochineal insect, while the produce 
of another small insect, that which produces the lac dye, is scarcely 
less valuable. Then there are the gall nnts nsed for dyeing and 
making black ink. Upwards of £3,000,000 is paid for barks of 
various kinds for tanners' purposes, about one million for other 
tanning substances and heavy dye woods, besides about £200,000 
for various extracts of tannin, such as G-ambier, Cutch, Divi-divi, 
and Kino. The aggregate value of the dye stuffs and gum it is 
difficult to estimate. 

The beautiful specimens of materials imported from China, 
India, Xew Zealand, the Continent, and other countries, and 
exhibited at the Crystal Palace, proves to us that we have yet 
much to learn from other nations in the art of fixing colors and 
obtaining brilliant dyes. The French are much our superiors in 
dyeing and the production of fast and beautiful colors. Their 
chemical researches and investigatious are carried out more sys- 
tematically and effectively than our own. Eussia imports dye- 
woods and dyestuffs to the value of five millions and a half of 
silver roubles annually. 

It was well observed by the Jury Keporters at the Grreat Exhi- 
bition, that " a vast number of new coloring materials have been 
discovered or made available, and improved modes have been 
devised of economically applying those already in use ; so that the 
dyer of the present time employs many substances of the very 
existence of which his practical predecessors were wholly ignorant. 
From the increased use of many of the vegetable colors, and from 
the improved modes of applying the coloring matters, a demand 
has naturally sprung up for various dye stuffs ; and at the present 
time, many of the dyeiug materials of distant countries are be- 
ginning to excite the attention of practical men ; for though they 
have been acquainted with many of these substances, it is only 
recently that the progress of the art has rendered their use 
desirable or even practicable." 

It would be quite impossible, within the limits which I have 
assigned myself, to make even a bare enumeration of the various 
plants and trees from which coloring substances and dye stuffs can 
be obtained, I must, therefore, be content to specify only a few. 

The roots of some species of Lithospermum afford a lac for 
dyeing and painting. Dried pomegranates are said to be used in 
Tunis for dyeing yellow ; the rind is also a tanning substance. 

Sir John Franklin tells us that the Crees extract some beautiful 
colors from several of their native vegetables. They dye a beautiful 
scarlet with the roots of two species of bed-straw, Galium tinc- 
torium and horeale. They dye black, with an ink made of elder 
bark and a little bog-iron ore dried and powdered, and they have 
various modes of producing yellow. They employ the dried roots 
of the cowbane {Cicuta virosci), the bruised buds of the Dutch 
myrtle, and have discovered methods of dyeing with various lichens. 

In the " Comptes Bendus," xxxv., p. 558, there is an account by 
M. J. Persoz, of a green coloring matter from China, of great 



442 



DYES A^TD COLORIXG STTFFS = 



stability, from which it appears that the Chinese possess a coioriug 
substance haying the appearance of indigo, which communicates a 
beautiful and permanent sea green color to mordants of alumina and 
iron, and which is not a preparation of indigo, or any deriyatiye of 
this dyeing principal. As furnished to M. Persoz bj Mr. Forbes, 
the American consul at Canton, it was in thin plates of a blue 
color, resembling Japanese indigo, but of a finer grain, differing also 
from indigo in its composition and chemical pro|)erties. On in- 
fusing a yery small quantity of it in water, this fluid soon ac = 
quired a deep blue color with a greenish tinge ; upon boiling and 
immersing a piece of calico on which the mordants of iron and 
alumina had been printed, it was dyed a sea green color of 
greater or less intensity according to the strength of the mordant 
■ — the portions not coated remaining white. 

A berry called MaMeica grows on a large forest tree at Bankok, 
which is used most extensiyely by the Siamese as a yegetabie 
black dye. It is merely bruised in water, when a fermentation 
takes place, and the article to be dyed is steeped in the liquid and 
then spread out in the sun to dry. The beny, when fresh, is of a 
fine green color^ but after being gathered for two or three days 
it becomes quite black and shrivelled like pepper. It must be 
used fresh, and whilst its mixtiu^e with water produces fermenta- 
tion. The bark of Datisca cannaMna also dyes yellow. It con- 
tains a bitter principle, like quassia. 

A coloring matter is prepared from the dried fruit of the 
HottJera t I'izctorici. Dy the natives of the East, to dye orange, which 
is a brilliant and tolerably permanent dye. It is apparently of a 
resinous nature. 

A small quantity of Alkanet root {AnG'>rusatinctoria),i^im^oi±e& 
from the Levant and the south of France, and is used to color 
gun stocks, furniture, cfec, of a deep red mahogany and rosev^'ood 
color. It is brought oyer in packages weighing about two cwt., the 
price being 40s. or 50s. per cwt. 

Turmeric is now imported to the extent of upwards of 800 tons, 
a portion of this is used in ctyeing. The culture and commerce 
has been already noticed in Section III. 

The bark and roots of the berberry are used in the East to dye 
yellow ; the color is best when boiled in ley. Some of the species of 
Symplocos, as aS'. racemosa, known as lodh about the Himalaya 
mountains, and S. tinctoria, a native of Carolina, are used for dyeiug. 
The scarlet flowers of JButea frondosa (the Dhaktree). and 
B. super^ha, natives of the Indian jungles, yield a beautiful dye, 
and furnishing a species of kino (Pulas kino) , are also used for 
tanning. Altliea 'rosea, the parent of the many beautiful yarieties 
of hollyhock, a natiye of China, yields a blue coioriug matter 
equal to indigo. Indigo of an excellent quality has been obtained 
in the East from a twining plant, Gymnema tingens or Asclepias 
ting ens. 

The juice of the unripe fruit of Mhamnus infectorius, cathartic us 
and virigatius, known as Turkey or French berries, is used for 



DYES AKD COLOEOa STUrFS. 



443 



dyeing leatlier vellow. AVhen mixed with lime and evaporated to 
dryness, it forms the color called sap-green. A great quantity of 
yellow berries are annually shipped from Constantinople ; 115 tons 
were imported into Liverpool last year. The average annual im- 
ports into the United Kingdom are about 450 tons. They come 
from the Levant in hair bales weighing three and a quarter cwt., 
or in tierces of four to five cwt., and are used by calico printers 
for dyeing a yellow color. They are sometimes called Persian 
berries. 

It is a subject of surprise that the common betel-nut of the 
East has never been introduced for dyeing purposes. The roots 
of the awl tree of Malabar and other parts of India, Morinda 
citrifolia, and of M. tincioria, found abundant in all the Asiatic 
islands, are extensively used as a dye stuff for giving a red color. 
It is usually grown as a prop and shade for the pepper \ane 
and coffee tree. The coloring matter resides principally 
in the bark of the roots, which are long and slender, and the 
small pieces are the best, fetching 8s. to 10s, a maund. It is ex- 
ported in large quantities from Malabar to Gruzerat, and the 
northern parts of Hindostan, but seldom finds its way to Europe, 

The wood and roots of another species, M. tmlellata, known in 
the eastern islands as " Mangkudu," are used extensively for their 
red dye, in Celebes and Java. Specimens of all these, and of the 
Lopisip bark, buuchong bulu wood, and the gaju gum (from un- 
described plants), have been introduced into England, They are 
said to furnish excellent dyes in the Asiatic islands. Native dyes 
from Arracan have also been imported, viz., thit-tel and the-dan 
yielding red dyes, ting-nget and reros, affording dark purple dyes ; 
and thit-nan-weng, a chocolate dye. These would be worth en- 
quiry, and particulars of the plants yielding them, the quantities 
available, and the prices might be procured. Dyes and colors from 
the following plants are obtained in India: several species of 
Terminalia, ISinecarpus Anacardimi, Myrica Sapide, NeluwMum 
speciosus, BiUea frondosa, and Nyctantlies arhoretristis. The 
bunkita barring, obtained from an undescribed plant in Borneo, 
produces a dark purple or black dye. A species of ruellia, under 
the name of "E-oom," is employed in its raw state bytheKhamp- 
tis and Lingphos to dye their clothes of a deep blue. It is de- 
scribed by the late Dr, Griffiths as " a valuable dye, and highly 
worthy of attention," It might, perhaps, be usefully employed 
as the ground for a black dye. In Nepaul they use the bark of 
Photinia ditbia or Mespilus Bengalensis for dyeing scarlet. The 
bark of the black oak, Quercus tinctoria and its varieties, natives 
of JSTorth America, are used by dyers under the name of quer- 
citron. 

In the south of Europe, Dapline Gnidium is used to dye yellow. 
The root of reilbon, a sort of madder in Chili, dyes red. A pur- 
ple tint or dye is obtained from the bark of an undescribed tree, 
known under the name of " Grana ponciana^' growing about 
Quito ; and Stevenson (Travels in South America) says, '* if 



DYES AKD COLOEOG STUrTS. 



known in Europe, it would undoubtedly become an article of 
commerce." Another much more expensive species of coloring 
matter (red) is obtained in various parts of South America from 
the leaves of the Bignonia Chica, a climbing evergreen shrub, native 
of the Oriuoco country, with large handsome panicles of flowers. 
The coloring substance is obtained by decoction, which deposits, 
when cool, a red matter ; this is formed into cakes and dried. Dr. 
Ure thinks it might probably be turned to account in the arts 
of civilization. The order of plants to which it belongs, contains 
a vast number of species, all natives of tropical regions, and their 
value for the production of coloring substances may be worth 
investigation. 

It is met vdth in British G-uiana, and the Indian tribes of that 
district prepare the pigment with which they stain their skin from 
it ; it is called by them " Caraveru." The coloring matter is used 
as a dye in the United States, and for artistical purposes would 
rival madder. Sir Eobert Schomburgk thinks it might form an 
article of export if it were sufficiently known, as its. preparation 
is extremely simple. The leaves are dried in the sun, and at the 
first exposure, after having been plucked from the vine which pro- 
duces them, they show the abundant feculent substance which they 
contain. 

'L^lS^. Dte. — A beautiful bluish-black color, known ns " Caruto," 
is procured in Demerara and Berbice from the juice of the fruit of 
the Genipa Americana, Linn. — a tree very common in the colony. 
The Indians use it for staining their faces and persons. The 
Lana dye was honorably mentioned by the jurors at the G-reat 
Exhibition in 1851. The bluish-black color obtained from it 
is remarkably permanent, a fact which has very long been 
knowD, though hardly any attempt appears to have been made to 
introduce it to the notice of European dyers. Another pigment is 
prepared by them from arnotto, mixed with turtle oil, or carap 
oil, obtained from the seeds of the Caraj^a giiianensis (Aubl.). 
The wild plantain {Urania guianensis) and the cultivated plantain 
(Musa parirlisiaca), the Mahoe {Thespesia yopulneo?), and the 
pear seed of the Avocado {Fersea gratissimd), furnish dyes in 
various parts of the "West Indies ; specimens of man}^ of these 
have been imported from British Gruiana and Trinidad. 

Russia produces good specimens of the wood of Statice coriaria, 
the leaves and bark of sumach, the bark of the wild pomegranate, 
yellow berries. Madia satica, saflron, safflower and madder roots 
for dyeing purposes. 

Avicenna tomentosa, a species of niangrove, is very common 
about the creeks of Antigua, Jamaica, and other West India 
islands, where it is used for dyeing and tanning. 

In N'ew Zealand, the natives produce a most brilliant blue- 
black dye from the bark of the Eno, which is in great abundance. 
Some of the borders of the native mats, of a most magnificent 
black, are dyed with this substance. It has been tried in New South 
Wales ; but, as with other local dyes, although found Avell suited 



DTES A]S"D COlOlimG STUFFS. 



445 



for flax, bemp, linen, or other vegetable productions, it coald not 
be lixed on wools or animal matter. Dr. Holroyd, of Sydney, some 
time since, imported a ton of it for a friend near Batliurst. It is 
of great importance that chemical science should be applied to 
devise some means of fixing this valuable dye on wool. As the 
tree is so common, the bark could be had in any quantity at about 
£3 10s. a ton ; and our tweed manufacturers are in great want of 
a blaciv dye for their check and other cloths. 

The principal hea^y woods used for dyeing are fustic, logwood, 
JMicaragua wood, barwood, camwood, red Sanders wood, Brazil 
wood, and sappan wood. AU the dyewoods are nearly £2 per ton 
higher than last year. 

Common Spanish fustic which in September, 1852, was only 
£3 10s. per ton, now fetches £6 10s. in the Liverpool market ; 
and there is a great demand for all kinds of dyewoods. Tampico 
and Puerto Cabello fustic are now worth £6 10s. to £7 the ton, 
Cuba ditto, £9 10s. to £10. 

Sappan wood is £4 higher than last year ; barwood has risen 
cent per cent ; logwoods are £2 per ton higher. 

The following were the prices of the different dyewoods in the 
Liverpool market, on the 1st September, 1853, per ton : — 



Tampico 

Puerto Cabello 

Cuba 

Logwood, Jamaica 

St. Domingo 

Campeachy, direct 

Indirect and Tobasco 

Nicaragua Wood. 

Rio de la Hache, solid 

,, small 

Lima 

Barwood, Angola 

Gaboon 

Camwood 

Eed Sanders Wood 

Sappan Wood , 

E-ED Saistdees wood (Pterocarptos santalinus), which is havd and 
of a bright garnet red color, is employed to dye a lasting reddish 
brown on wool. It only yields its color to ether or alcohol. The 
tree, which is a lofty one, is common about Madras and other 
parts of India ; it is also indigenous to Ceylon, Timor, and other 
Eastern islands. The exports of this wood from Madras in one 
year have been nearly 2,000 tons. 

The imports of red Sanders wood from Calcutta and Bombay 
chiefly into London are to the extent of 700 or 800 tons a year, 
worth £6 to £9 per ton. 

Of EusTic we import from 1,500 to 2,000 tons annually. "We 
derive our supplies from Brazil, Tampico, Puerto Cabello, Cuba, 
and Jamaica. The best is obtained from Cuba; for while the 



£ 




d. 


£ 


s. 


d. 


5 


10 


0 


to 6 


10 


0 


6 


10 


0 


7 


0 


0 


6 


10 


0 


7 


10 


0 


8 


0 


0 


9 


10 


0 


5 


0 


0 


5 


5 


0 


5 


5 


0 


5 


10 


0 


7 


12 


6 


8 


0 


0 


6 


10 


0 


7 


0 


0 


9 


0 


0 


11 


10 


0 


6 


0 


0 


6 


10 


0 


12 


0 


0 


14 


10 


0 


7 


0 


0 








25 


0 


0 


^0 


10 


0 


5 


15 


0 


6 


10 


0 


10 


0 


0 


15 


0 


0 



DYES ±yJ) COLOEIXG STUrTS 



common white fustic from Jamaica and the Spanisli Main fetches 
only £5 10s. to £8 10s. the ton, that of Cuba realizes from £8 to 
£9 10s. the ton. 

Sappa^t Wood {Gcesalpinia Sappaii) is an article of considerable 
commerce in the East. It is the bukkum wood of Scinde, and is 
procured in Mergui, Bengal, the Tenasserim Provinces, Malabar 
and Ceylon, In 1842 as much 78,000 cwts. were shipped 
fi'om Ceylon, but the export from thence has decreased. This 
island, however, sliips dyewoods annually to the amount of £2,000. 
A large quantity is exported from Siam and the Philippine Islands : 
as much as 200,000 piculs annually from the former, and 23,000 
piculs from Manila. 3,524 piculs were shipped from Singapore 
in 1851, and 4,074 piculs in 1852. The picul is about one cwt. 
and a quarter. Sappan wood yields a yeV lor, like that of 

Brazil wood (C. hrasiliensis) but it does e . \ of dye matter 

so much in quantity or so good in quality. 

It forms a large export from Ceylon : the shipments from 
thence were, in 1842, 77,694 cwt.; in 1843, 1,692; in 1844, 2,592 ; 
in 1845, 2,854. I have no detailed returns at hand, but in 
1837, 23,695 piculs of sappan wood, and 2,266 piculs of roots of 
ditto were shipped, and in the first six months of 1843, 22,326 
piculs were exported from Manila; a large portion of this comes 
to Europe, but some goes to China, the TTnited States, Singapore, 
&c. 15,500 piculs were shipped from Manila in 1844, 5,250 
ditto in 1845] and 1,210 tons in 1850. About 3,000 pic-ols of 
sappan wood and the same quantity of other dye-stuffs are an= 
naally imported into Shanghae. The price of straight sappan wood 
at Shanghae in July, last year, was thii-ty dollars per picul. 

In Calcutta, in June last year, 4,000 piculs of the root of 
Manila sappan wood sold freely at about 7s. 6d. per factory 
maund, Siam ditto 6s. 

75 tons were imported into Liverpool in 1849 ; and 120 tons in 
1850. from Calcutta. The imports of sappan wood into the United 
Eingdom, in 1850, amounted to 3,670 tons, worth £8 to £12 the 
ton, and this continued the price in January 1853. 

Camwood, red sanders wood, barwood, and other dye woods, are 
found in great quantities in many parts of Africa. The dyes of 
Africa are found to resist both acids and light, properties which 
no other dyes seem to possess in the same degree. About thirty 
miles east of Bassia Cove, in the republic of Liberia, is the com- 
mencement of a region of unknown extent, where scarcely any tree 
is seen except the camwood. This boundless forest of wealth, as 
yet untouched, is easily accessible from that settlement; roads can be 
opened to it with little expense, and the neighbouring kings would 
probably give their co-operation to a measure so vastly beneficial 
to themselves. It is impossible to ascertain the exact amoimt of 
export of these commodities to Europe and the United States, but 
it is very great, and employs a large amount of vessels. One 
Liverpool house imported 600 tons in a single year, worth £9,000, 



DYES AFD C0L0EI2s^G STTIFrs. 



447 



In 1841 upwards of 3,000 tons of dye woods were imported into 
Liverpool from tlie western coast of Africa. 

Camwood {BapJiia nitida) is used as a mordant and for pro- 
ducing the bright red color seen in English bandana handkerchiefs. 
The imports from Sierra Leone to Liyerpool in 1849 were 216 tons, 
worth £20 to £25 per ton. 

Gaboon barwood is another variety of this dyewood which is 
imported from the west coast of Africa, in straight flat pieces, from 
three to five feet in length ; the average annual import being 
about 2,000 tons, of the value of £4 a ton. 

The imports of barwood into Liverpool were in — 



Tons. Tons 

1835 2,000 

1836 1,000 



1837 1,150 

1838 650 



1839 350 

1841 2,012 



1850 1,710 



Dyewoods imported in 1850. Ee-exported. 

Logwood -32,930 4,332 

Fustic 9,808 l,77l 

Nicaragua 7,909 112 

Barwood 1,896 1,229 

Sappan 3,670 — 

Green Ebony, and ( 1 457 

Cocuswood j ' " 

Red Sanders 656 — 

Camwood 416 — 

Brazil and Brazillito 309 — 



59,051 7,444 

Thus we perceive the annual consumption of heavy dyewoods in 
this country, in dyeing cotton, linen, woollen and silk goods, &c., 
exceeds in weight 51,000 tons. 

Abnotto. — The plants of this family are chiefly natives of the 
warmest parts of South America, the East and West Indies, and 
Africa. In America the seeds are called achote or roucou. Erom 
the port of Barcelona, in Venezuela, about 2,000 quintals are 
annually exported. The species grown for its dye is the Bioca 
orellana. It is used to impart a bright orange color to silk goods, 
and to afford a deeper shade to simple yellows. The dry hard 
paste is also found to be the best of all ingredients for giving a 
golden tint to cheese of butter. A convenient liquid prepar ation 
is now sold to daiiymen. The Spanish Americans mix it with 
their chocolate, to which it gives a beautiful rich hue. 

It is of two sorts, viz. : — 

1. Elag or cake arnotto, which is by far the most important 
article in a commercial point of view, is furnished almost wholly by 
Cayenne. It is imported in square cakes, weighing two or three 
pounds each, wrapped in banana leaves, packed in casks. 

2. Boll arnotto is principally brought from Brazil. The rolls 
are small, not exceeding two or three ounces in weight. It is 



448 



BYES ASD COLORI?T& STUFFS. 



hard, dry, and compact, brownisli on tlie outside, and of a beautifal 
red color within. 

The dye is usually prepared by macerating the pods in boiling 
water for a week or longer, ^^hen they begin to ferment, the 
seeds ought to be strongly stirred and bruised with wooden pestles 
to promote the separation of the red skins. This process is repeated 
several times, till the seeds are left white. The liquor passed 
through close cane sieves, pretty thick, of a deep red color, and a 
very bad smell, is received into coppers. In boiling, it throws up 
its coloring matter to the surface in the form of scum, which is 
taken off, saved in large pans, and afterwards boiled down to a due 
consistence, and then made up, when soft, into balls or cakes of 
two or three pounds weight. 

The following description of the manufacture is from Dr.Ure : — 

" The pods of the tree being gathered, their seeds are taken out 
and bridsed ; they are then transferred to a vat, vrhich is called the 
steeper, where they are mixed with as much water as covers them. 
Here the substance is left for several weeks or even months ; it is 
now squeezed through sieves placed above the steeper, that the 
water containing the coloring matter in suspension may return into 
the vat. The residuum is preserved under the leaves of the pine- 
apple shrub, till it becomes hot by fermentation. It is again sub- 
jected to the same operation, and this treatment is continued till 
no more color remains. 

" The substance thus extracted is passed through sieves, in order 
to separate the remainder of the seeds, and the color is allowed to 
subside. The precipitate is boiled in coppers till it be reduced to 
a consistent paste ; it is then suffered to cool, and dried in the 
shade. Instead of this long and painful labor, which occasions 
diseases by the putrefaction induced and which affords a spoiled 
product, Leblond proposes simply to wash the seeds of 
arnotto till they be e?itirely deprived of their color, which lies 
wholly on their surface ; to precipitate the color by means of 
vinegar or lemon juice, and to boil it up in the ordinary manner, 
or to drain it in bags as is practised with indigo. 

" The experiments which Yauquelin made on the seeds of arnotto 
imported by Leblond, confirmed the ef&cacy of the process which 
he proposed ; and the dyers ascertained that the arnotto obtained 
in this manner was worth at least four times more than that of 
commerce ; that, moreover, it was more easily employed ; that it 
required less solvents ; that it gave less trouble in the copper, and 
furnished a purer color." — (" Diet, of Arts.") 

Our imports of arnotto for home consumption are from 200,000 
to 300,000 lbs. per annum. The plant is grown in Dacca and 
other parts of India, and the eastern Archipelago. At the 
Hawaiian Islands, Tongataboo, Bio Janeiro, Peru and Zanzibar, 
the arnotto is an indigenous shrub which rises to the height of seven 
or eight feet, produciDg oblong heavy pods, somewhat resembling 
those of a chesnut. Within these there are general^ thirty or 
forty irregularly -formed seeds, which are enveloped in a pulp of a 
bright red color, and a fragrant smell. 



CHAT ROOT. 



The imports of arnotto have been as follows : — ■ 

Eetained for 
lbs. home consumption, 

1834 • ■ 252,981 ...... _ 

1835 163,421 — 

1839 303,489 ...... 224,794 

1840 408,469 330,490 

1847 270,000 296,821 

1849 162,400 . . 145,824 

1850 301,504 231,280 

The price of flag arnotto in the London Diarket, in J une 1853, 
was Is. per lb. 

We imported from France, in 1850, 1,924 cwt. of roll or flag 
arnotto, of the official value of £21,499 ; and in 1851, 1,253 cwt., 
worth £13,968. 

Wood dje exported from Ceylon — 

Yalue Quantity 
£ cwts. 

1848 1,359 — 

1849 2,035 — 

1850 1,766 5,206 

1851 259 776 

1852 770 2,396 

Chat-eoot. — There is a plant called chay, the Oldenlandia 
umheUata, which is extensively cultivated as a dye plant in the 
East, especially on the coasts of Coromandel, Nellore, Masidipatam, 
Malabar, and other parts of India. The outer bark of the roots 
furnishes the coloriug matter for the durable red for which the 
chintzes of India are famous. Chay-root forms a considerable article 
of export from Ceylon. The wild plant there is considered prefer- 
able ; the roots, which are shorter, yielding one-fourth part more 
coloring matter, and the right to dig it is farmed out. It grows 
spontaneously on light, dry, sandy ground on the sea coast ; the 
cultivated roots are slender, with a few lateral fibres, and from one 
to two feet long. The dye is said to have been tried in Europe, but 
not with ver}^ advantageous effect. Dr. Bancroft suspects it may 
be injured by the long voyage, but he adds that it cannot produce 
^ny effbct which may not be more cheaply obtained from madder. 

This red dye, similar to Munjeet, is used to a great extent in 
the southern parts of Hindostan by the native dyers. 

It is not held in very good estimation in Europe but seems to 
deserve a better reputation than it at present possesses. Attention 
was drawn to it as a dye-stuff" in 1798, by a special minute of the 
Board of Trade recommending its importation ; but Dr. Bancroft, 
who made some experiments Avith a sample of damaged chay-root, 
considered it inferior to madder and hence discouraged its further 
importation. 

The bark and root of various species of Morinda {M. citrifolia 
and tinctoj'ict) are used in different parts of the East Indies, aud 
considered a very valuable red dye. The colors dyed with it are 
for the most part exceedingly brilliant, and the coloring matter is 

2 G 



450 



DTES AND C0L0RI2SG STUFFS, 



far more permanent than mixnj other red colors are, with improved 
management it wonld probably rival that of madder, and is, there- 
fore, worthy more attention from dyers. 

Maistgroye Bark {BliizopJiora mangle), is nsed to dye a choco- 
late color in the East and West Indies. This was one of the colors 
introduced by Dr. Bancroft, and for the exclusive use of which 
he obtained an Act of Parliament. It is procured in plenty at 
Arracan, Malabar, and Singapore in the East. 

Shtjmac or Sumach, sometimes called young fustic, is the 
powder of the leaves, peduncles, and young branches of a small 
deciduous plant (Bhus co^naria), native of the South of Europe, 
but which is also grown in Syria and Palestine, for its powerful 
astringent properties, which renders it valuable for tanning light- 
colored leather, and it imparts a beautiful bright yellow dye to cot- 
tons, which is rendered permanent by proper mordants. It is princi- 
pally imported from the Ionian Islands and the Morea. The species 
grown for the purpose in Spain, Portugal, and Italy is M. Cotinus, 
a shrub with pale purple flowers, whereas R. co^naria has greenish 
yellow blossoms. They may be propagated by cuttings of the' 
roots and layers. M. typhina and B. glcibia, with their varieties, 
are North American species, which are also used for tanning 
purposes. In Montpeliier and the South of Erance the twigs and 
leaves are known under the name of redoul or roudo. They are 
gathered every year, and the shoots are chipped or reduced to 
powder by a mill. 

The imports into the United IQngdom were in 1846, 10,256 tons ; 
in 1847, 11,975 tons ; in 1848, 9,617 tons ; in 1849, 12,590 tons ; 
in 1850, 12,929 tons, and in 1852, 9,758 ; which were all retained 
for consumption. In 1841, we received about 9,000 tons from the 
port of Leghorn. There were exported from Sicily in 1842, 
123,305 tons, valued at £68,894. It is imported in packages 
of about a cwt., wrapped in cloth, America takes a large 
quantity of sumach. The imports into the port of Boston 
alone, were 19,070 bags in 1847 ; 34,524 in 1848 ; and 30,050 
in 1849. 

The prices in Liverpool, duty paid, in the close of this year, 
are per cwt. : — 

s. d. s, d. 

Sicily, Messina .... 10 0 to 10 6 

„ Palermo 12 0 „ 13 0 

,, Trieste 7 0 „ 7 6 

„ Verona 5 6 „ 6 6 

„ Tyrolese . . . , 8 0 „ 9 0 

Safflower. — The dried flowers of Carthamus tinctorius yield 
a pink dye, which is used for silks and cottons, and the manufacture 
of rouge ; the color, however, is very fugitive. It is an annual 
plant, cultivated in China, India, Egypt, America, Spain, and some 
of the warmer parts of Europe ; and is indigenous to the whole 
of the Indian Archipelago. A large quantity is grown in and ex- 
ported from Bali. The Chinese salflower is conjfjdered the best. 



SAFFLO WEE. — GAMBOGE. 



451 



and that from Bombay is least esteemed. The annual quantity 
exported from the district of Dacca averages about 150 tons. The 
shipments from Calcutta exceed 300 tons to various quarters. 
Our imports are on the decline, and are now only about 1,200 cwt, 
per annum. Safflower was shown in the Great Exhibition from 
Celebes, Assam, the vicinity of Calcutta, Dacca, the states of 
Eajpootana, and other places. 

There are two species : O. tinctorius, which has small leaves and 
an orange flower ; and G. oxyacantlia, with larger leaves and a 
yellow flower, a native of Caucasus. The former is cultivated in 
Egypt, the Levant, &c., where it forms a considerable article of 
commerce. 6,633 CAvts. of safilower were imported into the 
United Kingdom in 1835, of which about one-half was retained for 
home consumption. Of 5,352 cwts. imported in 1840, nearly the 
whole came from our possessions in the East. In 1847, about 405 
tons were imported ; in 1848, 506 tons ; in 1849, 407 tons ; in 
1850, 522 tons. The price of safflower varies from £1 to £8 per 
cwt., according to quality. That from Bombay is least esteemed, 
fetching only 20s. to 30s. 

The annual quantity of safflower, according to Dr. Taylor, ex- 
ported from the district of Dacca for eight years ending with 1839, 
amounted to 4,000 maunds, or about 149 tons. The exports 
through the Calcutta Custom House are occasionally large : in 
1824-25 there were about 316 tons ; 8,500 Indian maunds were 
shipped from Calcutta in each of the years 1841 and 1842. 

The prices in the Liverpool market, in January 1853, were for 
Bengal, good and fine, £6 to £7 10s. per cwt. ; middling, £4 to 
£4 10s. ; inferior and ordinary, £2 10s. to £3. 

GrAMBOGE is extensively used as a pigment, from its bright 
yellow color. There are two kinds known in commerce, the Cey- 
lon and the Siam. The former is procured from the Hehradendron 
Camlogoides, Oraham ; a tree which grows wild on the Malabar 
and Ceylon coasts, and affords the coarsest kind. The pipe gam- 
boge of Siam is said to be obtained from the bruised leaves and 
young branches of Stalagmites camhorjoides. The resinous sap is 
received into calabashes, and allowed to thicken, after which it is 
formed into rolls. Several other plants, as the Mangostana Gam- 
hogia, Gaertner, and the Sgpericum hacciferum and Cayanense^ yield 
similar yellow viscid exudation, hardly distinguishable from gam- 
boge and used for the same purpose by painters. The Garcinia 
elliijtica, Wallich, of Tavoy and Moulmeiu, affords gamboge, and 
approaches very closely in its characters to Oraliam's Hehraden- 
dron. In like manner the Mysore tree bears an exceedingly close 
resemblance to that species. It is common in the forests of 
Wynaad in the western part of Mysore, and has been named by 
Dr. Christison Hehradendron pictorium. Another gamboge tree 
has recently been found inhabiting the western Burmese territories. 
Both these seem to furnish an equally fine pigment. As it can be 
obtained in unlimited quantity, it might be introduced into 
European trade, if the natives learn how to collect it in a stats 

2 G 2 



452 



DYES AND COLORIlSra STUFFS. 



of purity, and make it up in homogenous masses in imitation of 
pipe gamboge, the finest Siam variety. It seems to possess more 
coloring matter, more resin and less gum than the ordinary ga.m- 
boge of commerce. Gamboge owes its color to the fatty acid. 
The resin must be regarded as the chief constituent, and is most 
abundant in that imported from Ceylon, whicli contains about 76 
per cent., and is therefore best adapted for painting. Gramboge 
also has its medicinal uses. 

Various species of Lecanora, particularly X. tartarea, known as 
cudbear, are used in dyeing woollen yarn, The Bocella tinctoria 
and fiisiformis furnish the orchil, or orchilla w^eed of commerce, 
which is sometimes sold as a moist pulp, but usually in the form of 
dry cakes, known under the ns^meoi li/mtis; it produces a fine purple 
color. Our imports, w'hich have amounted to 6,000 or 7,000 cwts. 
annually, are derived chiefly from the Canary, Azores, and Cape 
Verd Islands. Eock orchilla w-as shown at the Exhibition, from 
the Berlingen Isles, from Angola, Madeira and the Cape de Yerds. 
Orchilla weed is very plentiful about the shores of the islands of 
New Zealand, some being sent from thence to the Exhibition ; 
but from a want of knowledge as to the time at which it should 
be gathered, and the mode of preparing it for the market, it has 
not 3^et become a saleable commodity there. The rich varieties 
of lichens on the rocks and plains of Australia have not been 
tested, as they ought to be, with Helot's lichen test. Various 
lichens, and Bocella imctoria, from Tenasserim and other parts of 
India, have been introduced by the East India Company. In the 
Admiralty instructions given to Capt. Sir James C. Eoss, on his 
Antarctic voyage, a few years ago, his attention was specially called 
to the search and enquiry for substitutes for the JRocella, which 
is now becoming scarce. A prize medal w^as awarded, in 1851, to an 
exhibitor from the Elbe for specimens of the w'eed, and an extract 
of red and violet orchil. Specimens of varieties of the lichens 
used in the manufacture of cudbear, orchil and litmus, and of the 
substance obtained, w^ere also shown in the Britisli department, 
which were awarded prize medals. 

The beauty of the dyes given by common materials, in the 
Highlands of Scotland, to some of the cloths which w^ere exhibited, 
should lead our botanists and chemists to examine, more closely 
than they have hitherto done, the dye-stuff's that might be ex= 
tracted from British plants. Woad (Isafis tinctoiia) and the 
dyers' yellow woad (Seseda lutea), are both well known. A piece 
of tweed, spun and woven in Eoss-shire, was dyed brown and black, 
by such cheap and common dyes as moss and alder bark, and the 
colors were unexceptionable. 

Sutherlandshire tweed and stockings, possessing a rich brown 
color, were produced with no more valuable dye than soot ; in 
another piece, beautifully dyed, the yellow was obtained from 
stoney rag, brown from the crops of young heather, and purple 
from the same, but subjecting the yarn to a greater action of the 
dye than was necessary to produce brown. Tiiere is very little 



453 



doubt but that beautiful and permanent dyes, from brown to a 
very rich purple, might be cheaply procured by scientific pre- 
parations of the common heather {Genista tinctoria). The in- 
habitants of Skye exhibited cloth with a peculiarly rich dye, ob- 
tained from the "crobal" moss. In the Spanish department, 
specimens of vegetable dyes from many cultivated and wild plants 
were furnished by the Agricultural Board of Saragossa, aud of 
several of these it would be important to obtain descriptions and 
particulars. 

Grums are of essential importance to the dyer, and the imports 
of these, therefore, are large, averaging about 8,000 tons. 



USTDiaO. 

The plants which afford this dye grow chiefly in the East and AVest 
Indies, in the middle regions of America, in Africa and Europe. 
They are all species of the genera Indigofera^ Isatis and Nerium. 
Ijidigofera tinctoria or ccerulea, furnishes the chief indigo of com- 
merce, and affords in Bengal, Malabar, Madagascar, the Isle of 
France, and St. Domingo, an article of middling quality, but not 
in large quantity. The Indigofera disperma, a plant cultivated in 
the East Indies and America, grows higher than the preceding, 
is woody, and furnishes a superior dye-stuff. The G-uatamela 
indigo comes from this species. 

Indigofera Anil grows in the same countries, and also in the 
West Indies. The Indigofera Argentea, which flourishes in Africa, 
yields little indigo, but it is of an excellent quality. I pseudo- 
tinctoria, cultivated in the East Indies, furnishes the best of all. 
/. glauca is the Egyptian and Arabian species. There are also 
the cinerea, erecta (a native of Guinea), hirsuta, glabra, with red 
flowers, species common to the East, and several others. 

The Wriglitia tinctoria, of the East Indies, an evergreen, with 
white blossoms, affords some indigo, as does the Isatis tinctoria, 
or AVoad, in Europe, and the Polggonum tinctorium, with red 
flowers, a native of China. Baptisia tinctoria furnishes a blue 
dye, and is the wild indigo of the United States. 

Sources oe supply. — Indigo is at present grown for com- 
mercial purposes in Bengal, and the other provinces of that 
Presidency, from the 20th to the 30th deg. of north latitude ; m 
the Province of Tinnevelly ; in the Madras Presidency ; in Java, 
in the largest of the Philippine islands, in Gruatemaia, Caraccas, 
Central America and Brazil. Bengal is, however, the chief mart for 
indigo, and the quantity produced in other places is comparatively 
inconsiderable. It is also still cultivated in some ot the V/ est India 
islands, especially St. Domingo, but not in large quantities. Indigo 
grows wild in several parts of Palestine, but attention seems not to 
have been given to its cultivation or collection. On most parts of 
the eastern and western coasts of Africa, it is indigenous ; at iSierra 
Leone, Natal, aud other places it is found abundant. 



45i 



DYES AlsD COLOEIFG STUFl'S. 



In our settlements of Honduras, Demerara, and various portions 
of the American continent, it would- amply reward the labor of 
the cultivator ; several inferior sorts of Indigofera being found 
there indigenous, and only requii'ing care and culture to improve 
them. 

The quality of indigo depends upon the species of the plant, 
its ripeness, the soil and climate of its growth, and the mode of 
manufacture. The E;ist India, and Brazilian indigo arrives here 
packed in chests, the Guatemala in ox-hides, called serous. 

The indigo imported from the western hemisphere was for some 
time considered superior in quality to that of the East. Its cul- 
vation, however, has been neglected, and the Bengal indigo is 
preferred at present to any imported from South America, where 
ic is now only cultivated by the Brazilians and Colombians. If 
proper attention were paid to the cultivation of the plant, and to 
the preparation of the dye, it is very likely part of that important 
trade would be brought back. It thrives best in a moist climate, 
and the interior of Gruiaua, chiefly newly-cleared land, would be 
well adapted for it. 

The late Mr, Danlop (" Travels in Central America") gives an 
interesting description, w^hich, at the risk of repetition in some 
points, I shall give entire. 

" Several vessels generally arrive at the Union from South 
America at the time of the periodical fairs, where nearly all the 
indigo (the only produce of any importance), is disposed of; 
formerly it reached 10,000 bales, but at present it does not at most 
exceed 3,000 bales of 150 lbs. each. 

The indigo well known in Europe by the name of Guatemala 
indigo, was never cultivated in that province (in the same manner 
as not a grain of the Honduras cochineal is grown there), being 
entirely grown in the state of San Salvador, in the vicinity of San 
Miguel, San Yicenti, and the City of Salvador, with the exception 
of a small quantit}^ of very superior quality grown in the state of 
Nicaragua, and a few bales in Costa Eica, which is all consumed 
in the State. Under the government of Spain, the produce of the 
state of San Salvador alone had reached 10,000 bales, and that of 
JSicaragua 2,000 ; the produce of San Salvador in 1820, two years 
before its independence, being 8,323 bales. But since 1822 the 
annual produce had graduall}'- declined, and in 1846 it did not 
exceed 1,000 to ].,200 bales, nearly all the indigo estates being 
abandoned, partly, no doubt, from the great fail iii the price of the 
article, but more on account of the impossibility of getting laborers 
to work steadily. 

The plant cultivated in Central America for the manufacture 
of indigo, is the triennial plant, supposed to be a native of America ; 
but there is also an indigenous perennial plant, abounding in 
many parts of Central America, which produces indigo of a very 
superior quality, but gives less than half the weight which is pro- 
duced by the cultivated species. The ground for sowing the indigo 
seed is prepared in April, — a piece of good forest land near one of 



INDIGO. 



455 



the towns being selected, a part is cut to make a rude fence, and 
the remainder burnt, which is easily accomplished, as everything 
is very dry at that season ; and the. ground is afterwards scratched 
with two sticks, fastened crosswise, to resemble somewhat the 
shape of a plough, and the seed scattered over it by hand. The 
rainy season always commences early in May, and the indigo is 
ready for cutting about the middle of July, taking about two 
and a half months to come to perfection. The growing crop some- 
what resembles lucerne, and is in the best state for making indigo, 
when it becomes covered with a sort of greenish farina. 

The crop of the first year is small, and sometimes not worth 
manufacturing ; that of the second year is the best, and the third 
is also very good, if it has been carefully weeded ; but many indigo 
fields have lasted more than ten years without being re-sown, as 
the seed which falls naturally springs up again, and where the land 
is good yields nearly as large a crop as a new sown field. When 
the plant is ready for manufacturing, a number of men are col- 
lected, each of whom is either provided vrith, or brings his own 
mule or horse, if he has one. Two men always go together, cut 
the plant, then about the height of full-grown red clover, and take 
it to the vats, which are large tanks made of brick and lime, 
holding at least 1,000 gallons, and some as much as 10,000. Into 
these the plant is thrown till they are nearly full, when weights 
are put above it to prevent its floating, and the vats filled with 
water till it covers the mass of the indigo plant. After remaining 
from twelve to twenty-four hours, according to the state of the 
plant, weather, and other circumstances (the time required being- 
determined by the color which the water assumes), the herb is 
taken out, and the water beaten with paddles in the very small 
vats, and by a wheel suspended above and turned by men or horses 
in the larger ones, till it changes from a green color, which it lias 
acquired ere the removal of the herb, to a fine blue, when it is 
allowed to stand for some hours, till the coloring matter lias 
settled to the bottom of the tank, a process which is generally 
hastened by throvviug in an infusion of certain herbs to facilitate 
its settlement, or as the natives term it curdle (cuaja^-) the 
colored water. As soon as all the color has settled, the water is 
drawn off, and the blue, which is of the consistency of thick mud, 
is taken out of the vat and spread upon cotton, or coarse woollen 
cloth, and dried in the sun. The color in a great measure depends 
upon removing the herb exactly at the proper time, and upon 
properly beating the water, neither too long, or too short. Unless 
these processes are properly performed, the indigo will not be of 
first-rate quality ; but some estates will never produce the best 
indigo, whatever car3 may be bestowed on the manufacture. 

A mansana, of 100 yards square, which is nearly two British 
statute acres, produces generally about 100 to 120 lbs. of indigo, 
the carriage and cutting of the herb costing about twenty dollars, 
and the cleaning of the field and all other expenses connected Avith 
it, including the manufacture of the indigo, about as much more. 



456 



DYES A]S"D COLOEI^fG STUFFS. 



The indigo of Central America is not put into moulds -when 
drying, as that of Bengal, bat is allowed to remain in the rough 
shape in which it dries, and without further preparation is ready 
for baling and esportation. 

Tlie bales are generally made up in 150 lbs. each, and the 
quality is classed by numbers, from 1 to 9 ; JSTos. 1 to 3 being 
of the quality called <?o5re5 in Europe; 'Nob. 4 to 6 of that called 
cortes, and l^fos. 7 to 9 of that called^ores ; K'os, 1 to 6 do not at 
present pay the expenses of mamifacture, and are never intention- 
ally made. No doubt, with a little more skill in the manufacture, 
the whole might, as in Bengal, be made of the quality called ^^ores ; 
but such improvements cannot be expected till a new race of 
people inhabit Central America. At present about one-half of the 
indigo produced is under No. 7, and as the cultivation is said not 
to pay at the present prices — and, indeed, hardly can be supposed 
to compete with Bengal, a country where labor is so much cheaper, 
and capital abundant — it is probable, that the cultivation will 
shortly be entirely abandoned, unless the price should again rise in 
Europe." In 1846, 21,933 lbs. of indigo were exported from 
Angostura. 

The following particulars were contributed to my " Colonial 
Magazine," by the late Dr. Edward Binns, of Jamaica: — 

The species generally cultivated is the /. tinctoria., which. req\iires a rich moist 
soil and warm weatner. The seed, which is at first sight not unlike coarse 
gunpowder, is sown three or four inches deep, in straight lines, twelve or fifteen 
inches' apart. The shoots appear above ground in about a week ; at the end of 
two months the plant fiowers, when it is fit for cutting, which is done with a 
pruning knife. It must be mentioned that great care is requisite in weeding 
the indigo field when plants first shoot throui'h the earth. In the State of St. 
Salvador, large vats made of mahogany, or other hard wood, are constructed for 
the reception of the plant, v/here it is allowed to undergo maceration and fer- 
mentation. In a short time the water becomes greenish, and emits a strong 
pungent smell, while carbonic acid gas is freely evolved. In about twenty-four 
hours it is run off into large fiat vessels, and stirred about until a blue scum ap- 
pears, when additional water is added, and the blue flakes sink to the bottom. 
The supernatant water has now acquired a yellowish tinge, when it is run off 
carefully, and the blue deposit or sediment put into bags to drain. It is subse- 
quently dried in the shade, or sometimes in the sun, then placed in cotton bags 
and carried to the indigo fair, or forwarded to the city of Guatemala. 

The East Indian mode of manufacturing the indigo difiers materially, and 
many suppose it preferable to the Salvador, It consists in steaming the fer- 
mented mass in large pipes enclosed in h^ige boilers. I am inclin^^d to believe 
this to be the most economical, if not the best way of manufacturing indigo. 
From Guatemala alone, it is computed that from 6,000 to 8,CC0 seroLS of indigo 
are exported annually; while San Miguel, Chalatenaugo, Tejulta, Secatecolnca, 
St. Vincent, Sensuntepejx;, not only, it is said, produce a larger quantity, but 
the four last-mentioned places have the advantage as to quality. The Belize 
Advertiser stated, some time since, that the value of this dye from one State in 
1839 produced 2,000,000 dollars^ the minimum of an immense sum ■vhich has 
been most unjustly and unv/isely wrested from the peoijle of Jamaica, and the 
"West India islands. 

Bridges ("Annals of Jamaica," p. 584, Append.), speaking of the vast returns 
of an indigo plantation, saj's, " The labour of a single negro would often bring 
to his owner £30 sterling per annum clear profit, — a sum which was at the time 
the laborer's highest price. Ii continued the sta2)le of Jamaica till an intolerable 
tax oppressed it, while its price was lowered by the competition of other colonies. 



IKDIGO. 



457 



Its cultivation immediately declined throughout them all, but notrhere so ra- 
pidly as here. The financial error \yas quicJdy discovered, — a remedy was at- 
tempted by a bounty ; but it came too late, the plantations were thrown up, and 
the planters, attracted by the temporary gain, abused the tardy boon, by intro- 
ducing, as of their own growth, large quantities of foreign indigo." As Bridges 
may be said in this passage to be merely a commentator on Edwards, who has 
entered more largely upon the subject, I shall condense from the latter, state- 
ments connected with the manufacture and decay of this branch of industry, 
once the staple of Jamaica. 

Edwards West Indies," vol. ii., p. 275, 2nd edition) reckons three kinds of 
indigo — the wild, Guatemala, and Erench. The first is the hardest, and the 
dye extracted from it of the best quality as regards color and grain ; but one or 
other of the two species is commonly preferred by the planter, as yielding a 
greater return. Of these the French surpasses the Guatemala in quantity, but 
yields to it in fineness of grain and beauty of color. The indigo thrives almost 
on any land, though the richest soils produce the most luxuriant plants, and the 
longest dry weather will not kill it. The cultivation and manufacture our author 
thus describes: — "The land being prepared, trenches, two or three inches in 
depth, are made by the hoe. These are ten or twelve inches asunder. The 
seeds are then strewed in the trenches by the hand, and slightly covered with 
mould. When the plants shoot, they are carefully weeded, and kept constantly 
clean, until they rise high enough to cover the ground, A bushel of seed is 
sufiicient for four or five acres. The best season for planting is March ; but if 
the land be good, it may be sown at any time, and in three months the plants 
attain matmity. In seasonable situations, they have four cuttings in the year. 
The subsequent growths fi'om the plants ripen in six or eight weeks ; but the 
produce diminishes after the second cutting, so that the seeds should be sown 
every second year. A species of grub, or worm, which infests the plant on the 
second year is avoided by changing the soil; or, in other words, by a rotation 
of crops. The produce per acre of the first cutting is about 60 lbs. It is nearly 
as much in Xoi th America ; but when the thermometer falls to sixty, the returns 
ai e very uncertain, that degree of heat being too low ftr the necessary vegetation, 
maceration, and fei-mentation. The yieldings for the subsequent cuttings some- 
what diminish ; but in Jamaica and St. Domingo, if the land is new, about 
300 lbs. per acre of the second quality may be expected annually from ail the 
cuttings together ; and four negroes are sufiicient to carry on the cultivation of 
five acres, besides doing other occasional work, sufiicient to reimburse the ex- 
penses of their maintenance and clothing." 

The process for obtaining the dye, according to the same author, wns conducted 
through the n.eans of two cisterns, the one elevated above the other, in the 
manner of sti'ps. The higher, which was also the longer, was named the sleeper 
■ — its dimensions sixteen teet square and two and a half in depth. The second, 
into which the fiuid was discharged, was called the hatter ij ; it was about twelve 
feet square, and four and a hall in depth. These cisterns were of stone ; but 
strong tnnber answered remarkably well. There was also a lime-vat, six feet 
square and four feet deep, the plug of which was at least eight inches from the 
bottom. This was for the pui'pose of permitting the lime to subside, before the 
lime-vs^ater was withdrawn. The plants then being ripe, or fit for cutting, were 
cut with reaping-hooks, or sickles, a few inches from the ground— six was the 
minimum — and placed by strata in the sleeper, until it was about three parts 
full. They were then pressed with boards, either loaded with weights or wedged 
dDwn, so as to prevent the plants from floating loosely ; and as much water was 
admitted as they woidd imbibe, until it covered the mass four or five inches 
deep. In this state it was allowed to ferment until the water had extracted the 
pulp. To know when this had been thoroughly effected, required extreme at- 
tention and great practical knowledge ; for if the fluid Vv'ere drawn off too soon, 
much of the pulp was left behind ; and if the fermentation continued too long, 
the tender tops of the plants were decomposed, and the whole crop lost. When 
the tincture or extract was received in the battery,, it was agitated or churned 
until the dye began to granulate, or float in little flakes upon the surface. This 
was accomplished at one period in Jamaica by paddles, worked by manual labor, 
and, in the t rench islands, by buckets or cylinders, worked by long poles ; but 



458 



DTES AJfD COLOEmG STUFFS. 



subsequently — that is, at tlie time Edwards wrote — convenient apparatus was 
constructed, the levers of which were worked by a cog-wheel, kept in motion 
by a horse or mule. When the fluid had been churned for fifteen or twenty 
minutes, a small quantity was examined in a cup or plate, and if it appeared 
curdled or coagulated, strongly impregnated lime-water was gradually added, 
not only with a view to promote separation, but to prevent decomposition. 
Browne remarks (" Civil and Nat. Hist, of Jamaica," art. " Indigo"), tiie plan- 
ters " must carefully distinguish the different stages of this partot the operation 
also, and attentively examine the appearance and color as the work advances, 
— for the grain passes gradually from a greenish to a fine purple, which is the 
proper color when the liquor is sufficiently worked, — too small a degree of agita- 
tion leaving the indigo green and coarse, while too vigorous an action brings it 
to be almost black." The liquor being then, as we shall suppose, pi'operly 
worked, and granulation established, it was left undisturbed until tne flakes 
settled at the bottom, when the liquor was drawn ofl", and the sediment (which 
is the indigo) placed in little bags to drain, after which it was carefully packed 
in small square boxes, and sufl'ered to dry gradually in the shade. 

Such is the account, nearly word for word, -whicii Edwards gives of the mode 
of manufacturing indigo. I shall now quote his remarks upon the outlay and 
gain upon the article verbatim. — " To what has been said above of the uatm-e 
of the plant suiting itself to every soil, and producing four cuttings in the year, 
if we add the cheapness of the buildings, apparatus, and labor, and the great 
value of the commodity, there will seem but little cause for wonder at the 
splendid accounts which are transmitted down to us concerning the great opu- 
lence of the first indigo-planters. Allowing the produce of an acre to be 300 lbs., 
and the produce no more than 4s. per pound, the gross profit of only twenty acres 
will be £1,200, produced by the lab^r of only sixteen negroes, and on capital in 
land and buildings scarce deserving consideration." Yet, notwithstanding this 
statement, the author informs us afterwards that he knew, in the course of 
eighteen years' residence in the West Indies, upwards of twenty persons who 
tried to re-establish indigo manufactories, but failed. This appears strange, 
since it is plain that what has once been done can be done again, but especially 
in the manufacture of an article requiring a capital so very small in proportion 
to the profits as almost to tempt the most cautious and the most timid man to 
embark in it. 

I quote the following passage from the same author, for the purpose of show- 
ing the very loose manner in which statements are made on the authority of 
others, who are as incompetent to decide the merits of a question as the party 
himself chronicling their opinion. Speaking of the twenty unfortunate indigo- 
planters, our author thus writes: — "Many of them were men of foresight, 
knowledge, and property. That they failed is certain; but of the causes of their 
rAiLURB I confess I can give no satisfactory account. I was told that disappoint- 
ment trod close upon their heels at every step. At one time the fermentation 
w^as too long continued, at another the liquor was drawn off too soon ; now the 
pulp was not duly granulated, and now it was worked too much. To these in- 
conveniences, for which practice would doubtless have found a remedy, were 
added otiiers of a much greater magnitude — the mortality of the negroes, from 
the vapour of fermented liquor (an alarming circumstance, that, I am informed, 
both by the French and English planters, constantly attends the process), the 
failure of the seasons, and the ravages of the worm. These, or some of these 
evils, di'ove them at length to other pursuits, where industry might find a surer 
recompense."^ — (p. 283.) 

The fallacy of much of this requires no comment, as it must strike even the 
most careless reader, — for if the so-called indigo-growers did not know the pro- 
cess of manufacturing the commodity, then it could not be surprising that they 
failed. Thus the cause of their failure required no comment, and no explanation. 
Were a ploughman taken from the field and placed at the helm of a ship, and 
the vessel in consequence wrecked, would any one be astonished but at the folly 
of those who placed him there This was the case with t'le indigo-growers, — 
they attempted what they did not understand, and, consequently, lost their labor 
and their money. The mortality of the negroes employed, stated as another 
reason for abandoning tlie attempt, requires a somewhat more lengthy notice. 



IIS-DIGO. 



459 



I can briefly say, tliat I have learaed that in the Central States of America, 
deaths among indigo-laborers are not more frequent than in other branches of 
tropical industry ; and I never heard or have read that the original growers 
complaiued of the mortality attending the progress. The truth is, that this 
statement is not founded on fact. There is nothing whatever in the manufac- 
ture of indigo, either in the cultivation or the granulation, or even the macer- 
ation and fermentation of the plant, which is directly or indirectly, per se, 
injurious to human life. I have certainly never seen the indigo plant macerated 
on a large scale ; but I have myself steeped much of it in water, and allowed 
it even to rot, and found nothing in the mass diiiering in any marked degree 
from decomposed vegetable matter. It seems to me that this idea of the manu- 
facture of indigo being especially inimical to human life, is as unfounded as the 
belief, even by Humboldt, up to a very recent period, that none of the Cercalia 
would grow in tropical climates. In conversing with an old gentleman in 
Jamaica, some twelve years since, who had tried the manufacture of indigo, and 
with every prospect of success, but abandoned it, as he confessed, for the culti- 
vation of the sugar cane, since it was then more profitable, he suggested the 
solution, that as the manufacture was light work, probably aged and debilitated, 
in place of youthful and vigorous slaves, were too frequently employed in the 
process — hence the mortalicy. This may be cotrect to a certain extent ; but I 
am also inclined to think that another cause ot mortality might be found in the 
mode and manner in which the negro was led and clothed, and not because aged 
persons were exclusivelv engaged in the manufacture. I believe 1 may state, 
without fear of contradiction, that the real cause of the decline and consequent 
abandonment of the indigo plant was the monstrous duty levied upon it by the 
English government. Indeed, this has been already stated in the extract from 
Bridges ; while the cause of the failure of the attempt to renew it, over and 
above the reasons we have given, was the greater temptation to embark capital 
in sugar plantations, — the West Indies enjoying a monopoly in this article, 
while they had competitors in the Southern States of America in the other. I 
have, therefore, no hesitation in saying, that, with a trifling capital, under 
prudent management, indigo might be cultivated to a very great extent, and 
with considerable profit, even now, in Jamaica. But the adventurer is not to 
expect to count his gains, as the original growers did, by thousands ; he must 
be content with hundreds, if not fifties ; for at the present day every branch of 
industry is laden with difficulties, encumbered by taxation, and obstructed by 
competition. There are two objections, however, which I have not removed, — 
I allude to " the failure of the seasons and the ravages of the worm." Very 
little need be said to combat those. Seasons are mutable, and the same heaven 
that frowns this year on the labors of the husbandman, may smile the next ; 
while a remedy for the "ravages of the worm" may be found in the mutation 
of the soil, the destruction of the grub, or the rotation of crops, — accessories to 
success which seem not to have entered into the vocabularies of the twenty 
pseudo indigo-growers, "many of them men of knowledge, foresight and 
property." 

Tile following passage from Bryan Edwards w ill corroborate much that I have 
endeavored to enforce. It furnishes not only a solution which has been hinted at 
before, of the enigma why indigo ceased to be cultivated in Jamaica, but also an 
incentive to re-introduce the culture. He says (p. 444), " It is a remarkable and 
well-known circumstance, after the cultivation of indigo was suj)pressed by an 
exorbitant duty of near £20 the hundred- weight, Great Britain was compelled to 
pay her rivals and enemies £200,000 annually for this commodity, so essential to 
a great variety of her most important manufactures. At length, the duty being 
repealed, and a bounty some time after substituted in its place, the States of 
Georgia and South Carolina entered upon, and succeeding in the culture of this 
valuable plant, supplied at a far cheaper rate than the French and Spaniards 
(receiving too our manufactures in payment) not only the British consumption, 
but also enabled Great Britain to export a surplus at an advanced price to 
foreign markets." — It is therefore plain that the manufacture of indigo was 
lost to J amaica, not from any difficulty in growing the plant, or from any loss of 
life attending the process of manufacturing it, but from the ruinously heavy duty 
of £20 the hundred-weight— and that now,, when no duty exists, it might be 
again cultivated with great advantage. 



460 



DYES AXD COLOEIXG STrFPS. 



The cultivation of indigo has been repeatedly attempted in 
Cuba, but never with much success ; although the shrub called 
the Xiquihte, from which it is extracted, grows wild in several 
districts of the island, but more especiallv towards the eastern 
extremity. The ^Ynt anileria, or manufactory of indigo, was esta- 
blished in 1795, under the patronage of the Aijuntaraento of the 
Havana, who made an advance of 3,500 dollars, without interest, 
to the party engaging in the speculation, in order to eucotu\age 
the enterprise ; but the undertaking proved tmsuccessful, and 
the same fate has befallen every subsequent attempt to introduce 
this branch of industry. In 1S27, the whole produce amounted 
only to 56 arrobas. In 1537 the imports of indigo greatly ex- 
ceeded the exports ; the former having amounted to 121,350 lbs., 
and the latter to 82,890 lbs. In 1833, 5,184 lbs. reached the 
United Kingdom from the Havana, and in 1843, 62,675 lbs. 

In 1826 British Hondiu-as exported 358,552 lbs. ; in 1830, 
2,650 serons ; in 1844, 1,247 serons ; and in 1845, 1,052 serons. 

The indigo shrub is one of the most common bushes in 
Trinidad, where it grows Avild on almost all the indifferent soils. 
In 1783, there were 'several plantations and manuflietories of 
indigo established in Trinidad ; these were stibsequently abandoned, 
on account of a supposition that they were unliealthy. Prior to 
1783, the colonists had a kind of simple process by which they 
extracted sufficient coloring matter to serve domestic consumption. 
This process is at present unknown, hence all the indigo used 
there is imported from Europe, although the plant from which it 
can be made vegetates in everv direction, 

In 1791 Hayti imported 930,016 lbs. of mdigo, while in 1804 
the export had dwindled to 35,400 lbs. 

Indigo, as I have already stated, was once a most important 
crop in South Carolina, some attention has recently again 
been given to it by an individual or two in Louisiana, and the 
enterprise is said to promise sur-cess ; enough might undoubtedly 
be raised in the ITnited States to supply the home market. Some 
indigo produced at Baton Eouge was pronounced to have been 
equal to the best Caraccas, which sells at two dollars per pound; 
and the gentleman who cultivated it remarks, that one acre of 
ground there, well cultivated, will yield from 40 to 60 lbs. ; that it 
requires only from July to October for cultivating it ; that there 
is not connected with it one-third of the expense or time that is 
generally required for the cultivation of cotton. 

I take the following from Smyth's "Tour in the United 
States." 

" This plant is somewhat like the fern when grown, and when 
young is hardly distinguishable from lucern grass, its leaves in 
general are pinnated, and terminated by a single io-be ; die flowers 
consist of five leaves, and are of the papilonaceous kind, the 
uppermost petal being longer and rounder than the rest, and 
lightly furrowed on the side, the lower ones are short and end in 
a point ; in the middle of the flower is formed the style, wliich 
afterwards becomes a pod containing the seeds. 



IXDIGO. 



401 



" Tliey cultivate three sorts of iudigo in Carolina, ^ hicli demand 
the same variety of soils. First, the French or Hispaniola in- 
digo, which striking a long tap root will only flourish in a deep 
rich soil, and therefore, though an excellent sort, is not so much 
cultivated in the maritiuia parts of the State, which are generally 
sandy, but it is produced in great perfection one hundred miles 
backwards ; it is neglected too on another account, for it hardly 
bears a winter so sharp as that of Carolina. The second sort, 
which is the false Gruatemala, or true Bahamas, bears the winter 
better, is a more tall and vigorous plant, is raised in greater quan- 
tities from the same compass of ground, is content with the worst 
8oil in the country, and is therefore more cultivated than the first 
soil, though ioferior in the quality of its dye. 

" The third sort is the wild indigo, which is indigenous here ; 
this, as it is a native of the country, answers the purposes of the 
planter best of aU, vrith regard to the hardiness of the plant, the 
easiness of the culture, and the quantity of the produce. Of the 
quality there is some dispute not yet settled amongst the planters 
themselves ; nor can they distinctly tell when they are to attri- 
bute the I'aults of their indigo to the nature of the plant, to 
the seasons, which have much influence upon it, or to some 
defect in the manufacture. 

" The time of plantmg the indigo is generally after the first 
rains succeeding the vernal equinox ; the seed is sown in small 
straight trenches, about eighteen or twenty inches asunder ; when 
it is at its height, it is generally eighteen inches tall. It is fit 
for cutting, if all things answer well, in the beginning of July. 

" Towards the end of August a second cutting is obtained, and 
if they have a mild autumn, there is a third cutting at Michaelmas. 
The indigo land must be weeded every day, the plants cleansed 
from worms, and the plantation attended with the greatest care 
and diligence. About twenty-five hands may manage a plantation 
of fifty acres, and complete the manufacture of the drug, besides 
providing their o^n necessary subsistence and that of the 
planter's family. 

" Each acre yields, if the land be very good, 60 or 70 lbs. weight 
of indigo, at a medium the produce is 50 lbs. This however, is 
reckoned by many skilful planters but a very indifferent crop. 

" "When the plant is beginning to blossom it is fit for cutting, 
and when cut great care ought to be taken to bring it to the 
steeper without pressing or shaking it, as great part of tlie beauty 
of the indigo depends upon the fine farina, which adheres to the 
leaves of this plant. The apparatus for making indigo is incon- 
siderable and not expensive, for besides a pump, the whole con- 
sists only of vats and tubs of cypress wood, common and cheap 
in this country. 

" The indigo, when cut, is first laid in a vat, about twelve or 
fourteen feet long and four feet deep, to the height of about 
fourteen inches, to macerate and digest ; then this vessel, which is 
called the steeper, is filled with water ; the whole having laid from 



462 



DTES AN"D COLORINa STUFFS. 



about twelve to sixteen hours, aceordiug to tlie weather, begins to 
ferment, swell, rise, and grow sensibly warm. At this time spars 
of wood are run across, to mark the highest point of its ascent ; 
when it falls below this mark, they judge that the fermentation 
has attained its due pitch, and begins to abate ; this directs the 
manager to open a cock, and let off the water into another vat, 
which is called the heater ; the gross matter that remains in the 
first vat is carried off to manure the ground, for which purpose it 
is excellent, and nevv^ cuttings are put in, as long as the harvest 
of the weed continues. When the Avater, strongly impreg- 
nated with the particles of indigo, has run into the second 
vat or beater, they attend with a sort of bottomless buckets, 
with long handles, to work and agitate it, when it froths, 
ferments, and rises above the rim of the vessel that contains 
it. To allay this violent fermentation, oil is thrown in as 
the froth rises, which instantly sinks it. "When this beating 
has continued for twenty, thirty, or thirty-five minutes, according 
to the state of the weather (for in cool weather it requires the 
longest continued beating), a small muddy grain begins to be 
formed ; the salts and other particles of the plant united, dissolved, 
and before mixed with the water, are now re-united together, and 
begin to granulate. To discover these particles the better, and to 
find when the liquor is sufficiently beaten, they take up some of it 
from time to time on a plate, or in a glass ; when it appears in a 
hopeful condition, they let loose some lime water from an adjacent 
vessel, gently stirring the whole, which wonderfully facilitates the 
operation ; the indigo granulates more fully, the liquor assumes a 
purplish color, and the whole is troubled and muddy ; it is now 
suffered to settle ; then the clearer part is permitted to run off 
into another succession of vessels, from whence the water is con- 
veyed away as fast as it clears on the top, until nothing remains 
but a thick mud, which is put into bags of coarse linen. These 
are hung up and left for some time until the moisture is entirely 
drained off. 

" To finish the drjdng, this mud is turned out of the bags, and 
worked upon boards of some porous timber, with a wooden 
spatula; it is frequently exposed to the morning and evening sun, 
but for a short time only ; and then it is put into boxes or frames, 
which is called the curing, exposed again to the sun in the same 
cautious manner, until, with great labor and attention the operation 
is finished, and the valuable drug fitted for the market. The greatest 
skill and care is required in every part of the process, or there may 
be great danger of ruining the whole ; the water must not be 
suffered to remain too short or too long a time, either in the 
steeper or beater ; the beating itself must be nicely managed, so 
as not to exceed or fall short ; and in the curing the exact medium 
between too much or too little drying is not easily attained. 
JSTothing but experience can make the overseers skilful in these 
matters. There are two methods of trying the goodness of 
indigo ; by fire and by water. If it swims it is good, if it sinks 



IITDIGO. 



463 



it is inferior, the heavier the worse ; so if it wholly dissolves in 
water it is good. Another way of proving it, is by the fire ordeal ; 
if it entirely burns away it is good, the adulterations remain 
untouched." 

Indigo to the extent of 220,000 lbs, per annum is grown in Egypt. 
The leaves are there thrown into earthen vessels, which are buried 
in pits and filled with water ; heat is applied, and the liquid is 
boiled away until the indigo becomes of a fit consistence, when it 
is pressed into shape and dried. Many Armenians have been 
invited from the East Indies to teach the fellahs the best mode 
of preparation, and, in consequence, nine indigo works have been 
established belonging to the government. 

The indigo plant is found scattered like a weed abundantly over 
the face of the country in the district of Natal, Eastern Africa. 
It is said that there are no less than ten varieties of the plant 
commonly to be met with there. Mr. Blaine submitted, in 1848, 
to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, a small specimen of 
this dye-stuff, which had been extracted by a rude process from a 
native plant, which was pronounced by good authority to be of 
superior quality, and worth 3s. 4d. per pound. Mr. W. Wilson, 
a settler at Natal, in a letter to the editor of the Natal Witness, 
thus speaks of the culture : — 

" My attention was first forcibly drawn to the cultivation of indigo by some 
seed imported by Mr. Kinlock, from India. This seed, on trial, I found to 
grow luxuriantly ; and after a few experiments I succeeded in manufacturing 
the dye. The success which thus attended my first attempts has encouraged 
me to try indigo planting on a more extensive scale. For this purpose I am 
allowing all the plants of this season to run to seed, and intend to plant equal 
quantities of Bengal and native indigo. 

While my attention was engaged in these preliminary experiments, I ob- 
served that the country abounded in a variety of species of indigo, and by a 
series of experiments found it rich and abundant, and have since learnt that it 
is known and in use among the natives, and called by them Umpekumbeto. 

This of course induced further inquiry, and on consulting different works I 
find that the Cape of Good Hope possesses more species of indigo than the 
whole world besides. Now I take it for granted that if Providence has placed 
these materials within our reach, it was evidently intended that we should, by 
the application of industry, appropriate them to our use. It becomes, then, a 
matter of necessity that indigo must thrive, this being its native soil and 
climate ;■ and the experiments I have successfully made, go to support me in 
the opinion that the cultivation of indigo will bring an ample reward. Indeed 
it seems contrary to the laws of nature that it should be otherwise. 

I have obtained from the 140th part of an acre the proportion of 300 lbs. of 
indigo per acre. That the plant will cross successfully, I have also ascertained." 

Cultivation in India. — During the nine years which preceded the 
opening of the trade with India in 1814, the annual average pro- 
duce of indigo in Bengal, for exportation, was nearly 5,600,000 lbs. 
But since the ports were opened, the indigo produced for expor- 
tation has increased fully a third ; the exports during the sixteen 
years ending with 1829-30, being above 7,400,000 lbs. a year. 

The consumption in the United Kingdom has averaged, during 
the last ten years, about 2,500,000 lbs. a year. 



DYES AjS"D COLORmG STUFFS. 



In 1839-40 the export of indigo from Madras amounted to 
1,333,808 lbs. A small quantity is also exported from the Erenck 
settlement of Pondicherrj. In 1837 the export from Manila 
amounted to about 250,000 lbs. The export from Batavia in 
1841 amounted to 913,693 lbs., and the production in 1843 was 
double that amount. The annual exports of indigo, from all parts 
of Asia and the Indian Archipelago, were taken by M'Culloch, in 
1840, to be 12,440,000 lbs. The imports are about 20,000 chests 
of Bengal, and 8,000 from Madras annually, of which 9,000 or 
10,000 are used for home consumption, and the rest re-exported. 

The total crop of indigo in the Bengal Presidenc}^ has ranged, 
for the last twenty years, at from 100,000 to 172,000 factory 
maunds ; the highest crop was in 1845. The factory maund 
of indigo in India is about 78 lbs. 

In the delta of the Ganges, where the best and largest quantity 
of indigo is produced, the plant lasts only for a single season, 
being destroyecl by the periodical inundation; but in the dry 
central and western provinces, one or two ratooii crops are 
obtained. 

The culture of indigo is very precarious, not only in so far as 
respects the growth of the plant from year to year, but also as 
regards the quantity and quality of the drug which the same 
amount of plant will afford in the same season. 

The fixed capital required, as I have already shown, in the 
manufacture of indigo, consists simply of a few vats of common 
masonry for steeping the plant, and precipitating the coloring 
matter; a boiling and drying house, and a dwelling for the planter. 
Thus a factory of ten pair of vats, capable of producing, at an 
average, 12,500 lbs. of indigo, worth on the spot £2,500, will 
not cost above £1,500 sterling. The buildings and machinery 
necessary to produce an equal value in sugar and rum, would 
probably cost about £4,000. 

The indigo of Bengal is divided into two classes, called, in com- 
mercial language, Bengal and Oude ; the first being the produce 
of the southern provinces of Bengal and Bahar, and the last that 
of the northern provinces, and of Benares, The first class is 
in point of quality much superior to the other. The inferiority 
of the Oude indigo is thought to be more the result of soil and 
climate, than of any difference in the skill with which the manu- 
facture is conducted. The indigo of Madras, which is superior 
to that of Manila, is about equal to ordinary Bengal indigo. The 
produce of Java is superior to these. 

Large quantities of indigo, of a very fine quality, are grown in 
Scinde. I have to acknowledge the receipt, from the Indian 
Grovernment, of an interesting collection of documents on the 
culture and manufacture of indigo in Upper Scinde. The papers 
are chiefly from the pen of Mr. "Wood, Deputy Collector of 
Sukkur, though there are several others, perhaps of much value, 
from various other of the revenue officers of Scinde. 

Mr. Wood is of opinion that Scinde is much better suited than 



INDIGO. 



465 



Bengal for the production of this dye-stuff — the alluvial soil on 
the banks of the Indus is equal in richness to that on those of 
the Granges, and the climate seems equally well suited for the 
growth of the plant. But in two years out of three, the crops 
of the Bengal planter are injured by excessive inundations, while 
the work of gathering and manipulation is necessarily performed, 
during the rainy season, under the greatest imaginable disad- 
vantages. In Scinde, on the other hand, the inundation of 
the river is produced almost solely from the melting of the snows 
in the Himalayas, and it is not liable to those excessive fluctuations 
in amount, or that suddenness in appearance peculiar to inunda- 
tions chiefly arising from falls of rain. The Granges sometimes 
rises ten feet in four-and-twenty hours, and at some part of its 
course its depth is at times forty feet greater during a flood than 
in fair weather, while the Indus rarely rises above a foot a day, 
its extreme flood never exceeding fifteen feet, the limits and amount 
of the inundation being singularly uniform over a succession of 
years. Moreover, as rain hardly ever falls in Scinde, and when 
it does so only continues over a few days, and extends to the amount 
of three or four inches, no danger or inconvenience from this 
need be apprehended. Mr. "Wood mentions that hemp may be 
grown in profusion on the indigo gTounds, and that were the pro- 
duction of the dye once introduced, it would bring hundreds of 
thousands of acres now barren into cultivation, and secure the 
growth or manufacture of a vast variety of other commodities for 
which the country is eminently fitted. An experimental factory 
might, it is believed, be set up for from two to three thousand 
pounds, but this appears to be an amount of adventure from 
which the Government shrinks. 

The districts of Kishnagar, Jessore, and Moorshedabad, in 
Bengal, ranging from 88 to 90 degs. E. latitude, and 22^ to 
24 degs. N. longitude, produce the finest indigo. That from the 
districts about Burdwan and Benares is of a coarser or harsher 
grain. Tirhoot, in latitude 26 degs., yields a tolerably good 
article. The portion of Bengal most propitious to the cultivation 
of indigo, lies between the river Hooghly and the main stream of 
the Granges. 

In the East Indies, after having ploughed the ground in 
October, November, and the beginning of December, they sow 
the seed in the last half of March and the beginning of April, 
while the soil, being neither too hot nor too dry, is most pro- 
pitious to its germination. A light mould answers best ; and 
sunshine, with occasional light showers, are most favorable to its 
growth. Tvvelve pounds of seed are sufficient for sowing an acre 
of land. The plants grow rapidly, and will bear to be cut for the 
first time at the beginning of July ; nay, in some districts so early 
as the middle of June. The indications of maturity are the 
bursting forth of the flower buds, and the expansion of the 
blossoms ; at which period the plant abounds most in the dyeing 
principle. Another indication is taken from the leaves, which, if 

2 H 



466 



DYES AND COLOEING STUPPS. 



they break across when doubled flat, denote a state of maturity. But 
this character is somewhat fallacious, aud depends upon the poverty 
or richness of the soil. When much rain falls, the plants grow 
too rapidly, and do not sufficiently elaborate the blue pigment. 
Bright sunshine is most advantageous to its production. 

The first cropping of the plants is the best ; after two months 
a second is made ; after another interval a third, and even a fourth ; 
but each of these is of diminished value. 

Gidture in India, — Eor the following excellent account of the 
modes of culture, and practice, &c., in Bengal, and other parts of 
India, I am indebted to Mr. W. J olmson, one of the corre- 
spondents of my " Colonial Magazine." Mr. Johnson, besides 
his own Indian experience, has consulted all the best authorities, 
and the opinions of contributors to the leading periodicals of 
Calcutta on this important subject : — 

When America became known to Europeans, its indigo became to them a 
principal object of cultivation, and against their skill the native Hindostanee 
had nothing to oppose, but the cheapness of his simple process of manufacture. 
The profit and extent of the trade soon induced Europeans to bra ve the perils of 
distance and climate to cultivate the plant in Hindostan ; but these obstacles, 
sdded to the superior article manufactured by the French and Spaniards in the 
West Indies, would long have held its produce in India in subordination, if the 
anarchy and wars incident to the French Eevolution, especially when they 
reached St. Domingo, had not almost annihilated the trade from the West, and 
consequently proportionally fostered that in the East. The indigo produce of 
St. Domingo was nearly as large as that of all the other West India islands 
together. From the time that the negroes revolted in that island, the cultivation 
of indigo has increased in Hindostan, until it has become one of its principal 
exports, and the quality of the article manufactured is not inferior to that of any 
other part of the world. 

The most general mode of obtaining the necessary supply of weed, as it is 
called by the planter, is as follows : — The land atached to the factory is parcelled 
out among the ryots or farmers, who contract to devote a certain portion of their 
farm to the cultivation of indigo, and to deliver it, for a fixed price per bundle^ 
at the factory ; a sum of money, usually equal to half the probable produce, 
has to be advanced to the ryot by the planter, to enable him to accomplish the 
cultivation, and to subsist upon until the crop is ready for cutting. 

If, as is generally the case, sufiicient land is not attached to the factory to 
supply it with plant, the owner obtains what he requires by inducing the ryots 
in his vicinity to cultivate it upon a part of their land. Yet it is with them far 
from a favorite object of cultivation ; and, indeed, if it were not for the money 
advanced to each ryot by the planter, to provide seed, &c., and which gives him 
a little ready money, bearing no interest, it is doubtful whether he would engage 
in the cultivation at all. Even this advance of money does not induce him to ap- 
propriate it to any but the worst part of his farm, nor to bestow upon it more than 
the smallest possible amount of labor. The reasons for this neglect are valid, 
for the grain crops are more profitable to the ryot, and indigo is one of the most 
precarious of India's vegetable products. 

In Bengal the usual terms of contract between the manufacturer and the ryot 
are, that the latter, receiving at the time a certain advance of money, perhaps one 
rupee (23.) per biggah, with promise of a similar sum at a more advanced period of 
the season, undertakes to have a certain quantity of land suitably and seasonably 
prepared for sowing, to attend and receive seed whenever occasion requires, and to 
deliver the crop, when called upon, at the factory, at a specified price per bundle 
or 100 bundles. The particular conditions of these contracts vary generally in 
Bengal ; they amount to advancing the ryot two rupees for every biggah of 
land, furnishing him with seed at about one-third its cost, on an engagement 



INDIGO. 



467 



&om. him to return whatever his lands may produce (which, as has been said, is 
generally none at all), at the price charged, and receiving the plant from him at 
six, seven, eight, or sometimes nine bundles for a rupee — much oftener the 
former than the latter rates. A ryot cultivating alluvial lands, and having no 
•seed, can hardly ever repay his advances ; but it does not follow that he has 
been a loser, for he, perhaps, could not value his time, labor, and rent altogether 
at half the amount ; and as long as this system is kept within moderate bounds, 
it answers much better than private cultivation to the manufacturer, and has 
many contingent advantages to the cultivator. 

In Tirhoot similar engagements are entered into with the ryots, who are there 
called Assam-ees. These engagements with Assamees are generally made in the 
month of September, on a written instrument called a noviskaun, by which they 
agree for a certain quantity of land, for five years, to be cultivated with indigo 
plant, and for which they are to be paid at the rate of six rupees per biggah, 
for every full field of plant measured by a iuggie or measuring-rod. The luggie, 
it must be observed, varies in size throughout the district. In the southern and 
eastern divisions of Tirhoot and Sarun it is eight-and-a-half to ten feet 
long ; and in the northern and western from twelve to fourteen feet. The 
Assamee receives, on the day of making his bundobust^ or settlement, three rupees 
advance on each biggah he contracts for, another rupee per biggah when the 
crop is fit to weed, and the remaining two rupees at the ensuing settlement of 
accounts. Exclusive of the price of his maul or plant, the Assamee is entitled 
to receive two or three rupees per biggah (as may be agreed on) for gurkee, or 
lands that have failed, as a remxmeration for his trouble, and to enable him t© 
pay his rent. The foregoing are the principal stipulations of the noviskaun, 
but the Assamee further engages to giv^e you such land as you may select, pre- 
pare it according to instructions from the factory, sow and weed as'often as he is 
required, cut the plant and load the hackeries at his own cost, and in every 
other respect conform to the orders of the planter or his aumlah (managing 
man). The Assamee is not charged for seed, the cartage of his plants, or for the 
cost of drilling. I should mention that a penalty is attached to the non-fulfil- 
ment of the Assamees engagements, commonly called hurjah, viz., twelve 
rupees for every biggah short of his agreement, and this for every year that the 
noviskaun has to run. This is, however, seldom recoverable, for if you sue the 
Assamee in court and obtain a decree (a most expensive and dilatory process)., 
he can in most instances easily evade it by a fictitious transfer of his property 
to other hands. 

The planter generally finds it his interest to get the Zemindar of the village 
in which he proposes cultivating, to join in the noviskaun, as a farther security ; 
or he engages with a jytedar, or head Assamee, having several others subordinate 
to him, and for whose conduct he is responsible. But a still better system is 
lately gaining ground in this district, I mean that of taking villages in ticka, 
or farm, by far the best and cheapest plan that has ever been resorted to for the 
cultivation of indigo. 

"When the planter cultivates the ground himself, it is called in Tirhoot Zerant 
cultivation. Zerants, or Neiz^ are taken on a pottah or lease for five years, at 
the average rent of three rupees per biggah. The~ heavy cost attending this 
cultivation has occasioned its decrease in most factories in Tirhoot and particu- 
larly since the fall in prices. About a third, I believe, was the proportion it 
formerly bore to the whole cultivation of the district, but of late such factories 
only have retained it as cannot procure sufiicient good land under the Assamewar 
system ; but now that the plan of taking villages in farm is becoming more 
and more prevalent here, it is very likely that Zerants will be entirely aban- 
doned. From all the information I have been able to collect, the cost of a 
biggah of Zerant (ten feet luggie) may be estimated at sixteen rupees ; that of 
Assamewar is generally twenty- five per cent, less, both exclusive of interest, 
agents' charges, and private expenses. 

It can only be the reluctance of the ryot to cultivate indigo that induces a 
manufacturer to grow it himself, for it has been found an expensive plan, profit- 
able only when the dye is at its highest rate, and even then scarcely furnishing 
an adequate return. They not only could not cultivate so cheaply as the native 
laboring husbandman, but ordinarily had to engage extensive tracts of laQd,, 



468 



DXES AND COLORING STUFFS. 



much of -^liicli was not suitable for their purpose, or, perhaps, for any other, and 
consequently, although the average rate of rent was even low on the whole, it 
constituted a very heaxj charge on the portion from which they obtained their 
return. 

In Oude there are three systems of obtaining a supply of the plant, viz., 
Kush Kurreea, Bighowty, and Nij ; but the latter is a mere trifle in proportion 
to the others, and is, therefore, not worth mentioning. On the Bighowty system, 
•which prevails chiefly in the Meerut and Mooradabad districts, the planter ad- 
vances for a biggah of Jumowah (irrigated sowings) nine rupees, and for a biggah 
of Assaroo (rain sowings) five rupees four annas. The next year's plant, or 
khoonti, becomes his on an additional payment of eight annas per biggah. He 
also supplies the seed at the rate of six seers per biggah, being almost double the 
quantity made use of in Bengal, but which is necessary to make up for the 
destruction of the plant the year following by the frost, white ants, hot winds, 
grass cutters, and, I may add, the village cattle, which are let loose to graze on 
the khoonte during the latter period, when not a blade of grass or vegetation is 
to be seen anywhere left. 

The Bighowty system is a sadly ruinous one, as, independently of the attempts 
to assimilate Assaroo, at five rupees four annas, with Jumowah, at nine rupees 
per biggah, which is very easily eflected if the planter is not very vigilant, he 
is obliged to maintain an extensive and imposing establishment of servants, not 
only to enforce the sowings, weeding, and cutting, but also to look after his 
khoonte, and protect it from being destroyed by bullocks and grass cutters, or 
from being ploughed up clandestinely by the Zemindars themselves. 

The Kush Kurreea system again has its evils, as the planter never gets 
plant for the full amount of his advances, and hence often leads to his ruin. 

Soils. — Indigo delights in a fresh soil ; new lands, of similar staple to others 
before cultivated, always surpass them in the amount and quality of their pro- 
duce. Hence arises the superior productiveness of the lands annually over- 
flowed by the Ganges, the earthy and saline deposits from which in effect 
renovate the soil. The further we recede from the influence of the inunda- 
tion, the less adapted is the soil for the cultivation of indigo. The staple of the 
soil ought to be silicious, fertile, and deep. Mr. Ballard, writing on the indigo 
soils of Tirhoot, says that high " soomba," or light soils, are generally preferred, 
being from their nature and level less exposed to the risk of rain or river inun- 
dation ; but they are difficult to procure, and, moreover, require particular care 
in the preparation. Next in estimation is " doruss," a nearly equal mixture of 
light earth and clay ; a soil more retentive of moistm'e in a dry season than any 
other. Muttyaur," or heavy clay soils, are generally avoided, although in 
certain seasons, with mild showers of rain, they have been known to answer. 
The safest selection I should conceive to be an equal portion of soomba and 
doruss. In a country, however, interspersed with jheels and nullahs, it is 
difficult to form a cultivation" without a considerable mixture of low lands, more 
or less, according to the situation of the Assamee's fields. Great care should ba 
taken, at all events, to guard against oosur lands, or such as abound with salt- 
petre ; these can be most easily detected in the dry months. PuchJcatah, that 
is, lands slightly touched with oosur, have been known to answer, as partaking 
more of the nature of dorms soil ; but the crop is generally thin, although 
strong and branchy. 

There is another description of land that should be cautiously avoided. It 
goes by the name of jaung, and is a light soil, with a substratum of sand from 
six to twelve inches below the sui-face. The plant generally looks very fine in 
such fields till it gets a foot high, when the root touching the sand, and 
having no moisture to sustain it, either dies away altogether, or becomes so 
stunted and impoverished as to yield little or nothing in the cutting. Of the 
dauh or dearab (alluvial) land, says Mr. Ballard, there is scarcely any in the 
district except what falls to the lot of my own factories, being situated on the 
banks of the Ganges and Great Gunduck. Of bungur^ a stiff reddish clay soil, 
there is little in Tirhoot ; it pervades the western provinces, and is best adapted 
for Assaroo sowings, which do not succeed in Tirhoot. 

Preparation of the soil. — The root of the indigo plant being fusiform, and 
extending to about a foot in length, requires the soil to be loosened thoroughly 



INDIGO. 



469 



to that depth at least. Experience teaches that the finenesa of the tilth to 
•which the soil ia reduced previously to the seed heing committed to it, is one 
rery influential operation for the obtaining a productive crop. Yet in some 
districts of Bengal, particularly about Fru-udpore, the solving is performed 
without any previous ploughing. This is where the river, when receded, has 
left the soil and deposit so deep, that about October, or a little later, the seed 
being forcibly discharged from the sower's hand, buries itself, and req^uires no 
after covering by means of the rake or harrow. 

In Tirhoot they are indefatigable in this first step of the cultivation. Mr. 
Ballard says, that the preparation of indigo lands should co mm ence in Sep- 
tember, as soon as the cessation of the rains will permit ; and as we do not 
rely on rain for our sowings (as is the custom in Bengal and elsewhere, and 
irrigation is never resorted to, from the heavy expense attending it), our 
principal aim ia to preserve as much moisture in the fields as possible. They 
should receive, for this purpose, not less than eight ploughings, besides a 
thorough tm-ning up with the spade, after the fourth ploughing, to clear the 
field from stubble, grass and weeds. It is absolutely indispensable to get all 
this done on our light soils, especially before the end of October, and have the 
land carefully han'owed down, so as to prevent the moisture escaping. 

Should there be heavy rains between the interval of preparing and sowing, it 
will be necessary to turn the fields up with either one or two ploughings, 
and harrow them down as before. If only a slight shower, ranning the harrow 
over them will be sufficient to break the crust formed on the surface, and which, 
if allowed to remain, would quickly exhaust the moistm-e. This, with the 
occasional use of the weeding-hook, is all that the lands will require till the 
time of sowing. — (" Transactions of the Agri.-Hort. Society of Calcutta," 
vol. ii., p. 22.) 

Sowing. — The time when the seed is committed to the soil varies in different 
parts of India, and, even in the same place, admits of being performed at two 
• different seasons. The periods of sowing in Bengal are first immediately after 

the rains, from about the latter end of October. The rivers are then rapidly 
retiring within their beds, and as soon as the soft deposit of the year has 
drained itself into a consistency, though not solid enough to keep a man from 
sinking up to his knees in it, they begin to scatter the seed broadcast. This 
is continued until the ground has become too hard for the seed to buiy itself; 
the plough is then used to loosen the crust, and the sowing continued to about 
the middle, or even the end of Xovember, from which period the weather is 
• considered too cold, imtil February. These autumnal sowings are called 

October sowings, from the month in which they generally commence. Much 
of the plant perishes during the months of December and January, and 
more again in the spring, unless there are early and moderate showers. The 
crop that remains is not so productive ordinarily in the vat, as that obtained 
from spring sowings, and some think the quality of the produce inferior. But 
there is no expense of cultivation, and the liabilities of the crop to failure are 
such a discouragement to cost and labor in rearing it, that the October sowing 
is followed by most planters who can obtain suitable land. The second period 
of sowing is the spring, with the first rains of March, or even the end of 
February. The land having been measured and placed under its slight course 
of tillage during the two or three preceding months, is sown broadcast as soon 
as the ground has been well moistened, or even in prospect of approaching rain. 
The quantity of seed used for this autumn sowing is generally more than what 
ifl considered requisite for spring sowing ; six seers at the former and four at 
the latter season per biggah, in Bengal, is the quantity usually allowed. 

Some cultivators commence the autumn sowing as early as at the close of 
September, or as soon as the low lands are in a state to permit the operation 
after the inimdation has subsided. This seed time may be said to continue 
imtil the end of December, and the crops from these sowings often yield an 
average produce, if the lands are not very low and wet. If they are, the 
sowing had better be delayed until January, or even February, for the 
crops n-om these latter sowings are usually the most productive, and the d-^e 
obtained from them the finest. The object for thus delaying the sowing is, 
that the young plants may have a more genial season for vegetation. Those 



470 



DYES AITD COLOEINa STUrFS. 



"who prefer sowing earlier, and yet are aware of the importance of saving the 
young plants as much as possible from the comparative low temperature of the 
season, sow some other crop with their indigo. Til, the country linseed, is 
good for this purpose in high lying soils. But I never knew an intermixture 
of crops that was not attended by inconveniences and injuries more than was 
compensated by the advantages gained. 

The success of sowings during March and April is very doubtful. It depends 
entirely upon the occurrence of rain, which in those months is proverbially 
uncertain. If the season should be sufiiciently wet, the sowing may be per- 
formed in May,' but a June sowing is very rarely remunerating. The rains- 
setting in during the latter part of this month so promote the growth of weeds, 
that the young plants are choked and generally destroyed. The exceptions- 
only occur in high lands, in unusually propitioiES seasons, and ought never to 
be relied upon except when the earlier sowings have failed. To protract the 
manufacturing season, some planters begin sowing upon low lying lands in the 
hot season, for the chance of a crop at the commencement of the rains ; and 
they sow at the close of the rains with the hope of, as it were, stealing another 
in the next year. In the western provinces sowing necessarily occurs in the 
dry weatht-.^r, usually in March and April, though occasionally either a little 
earlier or later. 

In Tirhoot the sowings commence about the latter end of February or the 
beginning of March, if by that time there is sufficient warmth in the atmo- 
sphere to ensure a healthy vegetation. Light soils are sown on one close plough- 
ing ; heavy soils on two, Avith from four to eight seers of seed, in proportion 
to the size of the biggah. After strewing the seed, the iield should be harrowed 
down by two turns of the harrow, and then again by two turns more after the 
third day. In case of rain before the plant appears (which it ought to do on 
the sixth or seventh day), if a slight shower, the harrow should be used again; 
if very heavy, it were best to turn up the ground and re-sow. If rain fall 
after the appearance of the plant, and before it has got past four leaves, 
and attained sufficient strength to resist the hard crust before alluded to, im- 
mediate recourse must be had to drilling. In fact, the closest attention is 
required to watch the state of the young crop for a month at least after the 
sowings ; if it yield the least, or assume a sickly appearance, drills are the only 
resource. These, if applied in time, in all March, for instance, or before the 
middle of April at latest, are generally successful, not only in restoring plants, 
but recovering such as may have become sickly from want or excess of moisture,, 
or any other cause. In dry seasons they have been knoAvn to give a crop when 
broadcast sowings have failed. Each drill, with a good pair of bullocks, should 
do five biggahs a day. They are regulated to throw from three to four seers 
per biggah, but the cj_uantity can be increased or diminished at pleasure. The 
natives do not employ them in their grain sowings, but commonly adopt a con- 
trivance with their ovm plough for sowing in furrows, whenever their fields 
are deficient in moisture. The drill employed in Tirhoot resembles con- 
siderably the implement known by that name in England. It is found not 
only to effect a great saving of seed, ten seers being there sown broad- 
cost on a biggah of 57,600 feet square, and only seven seers by this drill ; but 
also materially to improve the quality and regularity of the growth of the 
plant. Experience has demonstrated, that the more lateral room the plants 
have, the more abundant is their produce of leaves, in which the coloring 
matter chiefly resides. The seed employed should always be as new as possible, 
for though, if carefully preserved, it vegetates when one year old, and even when 
nearly two years old has produced a moderate crop, yet this has been under 
circumstances of an unusually favorable season and soil. The plants from old 
seed rarely attain a height of more than a foot before they wither and die. As 
frauds are very likely to be practised by giving old seed the glossiness and 
general appearance of new, great circumspection should be shown by the 
planter, who does not grow his own, in obtaining seed from known parties. 

Planters in the lower provinces are induced to use up-country seed, because, 
coming fi-om a colder climate, it vegetates, and the plants ripen rapidly, so as to 
"be harvested more certainly before the annual inundation, but they employ 
one-fourth more. Three seers per Bengal biggak are sufficient, if it is 



471 



" Dassee " seed; but four is not too mucli if it is up-country seed. A Bengal 
biggah is only a third of the size of that of Tirhoot, If the weather is dry, 
the seed very often does not germinate until the occurrence of rain, and it 
has been known in a dry, light soil, to remain in the ground without injury 
for six weeks. If seasonable sbowers occur, the plants make their appearance 
in four days, or eyen less ; and they must be watched, in order that they may 
be weeded on the earliest day that they are sufficiently establisbed to allow the 
operation to be safely performed. In dry weather, it must not be done while 
they are very young, otherwise many of the seedlings will have tbeir roots 
disturbed, and perish from the drought. However, not more than a fortnight 
should be allowed to pass, after the seedlings have appeared, before the weeds 
are carefully removed, and this clearing should be frequently repeated until 
the plants so overshadow the ground that they of themselves keep back the 
advance of the weeds. The first weeding is best performed immediately after 
a shower of rain. 

Irrigation is rarely adopted for the indigo crops in the lower provinces of 
Bengal, unless they happen to be grown in some situation very favorable to 
the operation, such as the bank of a river. It is much more attended to in the 
western provinces, and in Oude, the water being obtained from wells, which 
are dug in nearly every cultivated plot. In Oude, Mr. Ballard says that a 
biggah of land employs three persons to irrigate it, and occupies never less 
than six days. The ryot, or cultivator, requires for the work a pair of bullocks, 
which cost him at least 32s., a bucket made of a white bullock hide, at 2s., and 
a rope for 2s. more, both of which do not last him above a year. He never 
pays less than 8s. for the rent of a biggah of land near a well. 

In Bengal the plant requires three months to attain its highest state of per- 
fectionfor manufacturing, but is often cut, from necessity, within half that time ; 
for the approach of the river compels the premature removal of the crop, unless, 
indeed, its growth has been so retarded that it would not pay the expense of 
working. Most indigo factories have consequently to begin in June, or 
early in July, whenever they may have effected their spring sowings, and the 
labors of the season are commonly terminated by the middle or end of 
August. 

When the plants begin to flower is considered the best time for cutting them, 
and this is just what the botanist would have suggested, because then the 
proper sap of all plants is most abundant, and most rich in their several 
peculiar secretions. A vividly green, abundant and healthy foliage, downy at 
the back, is the surest intimation of the plants being rich in indigo. Plants 
that are ready for cutting in Jiily and August, are usually the most pro- 
ductive. 

In the western provinces from sixteen to twenty maunds of plant is considered 
a good produce per biggah. In the upper provinces the produce of the best 
crop, which is sown directly the rains commence, is not more then ten maunds 
per biggah. The factory maund is equal to about seventy-eight pounds. One 
thousand maunds of plant are considered as producing quite an average quantity 
of indigo if this amounts to four maunds. Adopting another mode of estimate, 
Mr. Ballard says, that in Bengal an average crop may be considered to be from 
ten to twelve bundles, over an extensive cultivation, in ^a good season, from each 
Bengal biggah ; the sheaf or bundle being measured by a six-feet cord or chain. 
Speaking of the produce in Tirhoot, the same gentleman says the " luggie," or 
measuring rod, varies throughout the district. The common Tirhoot biggah, is, I 
believe, equal to two-and-a-half or three Bengal biggahs (about an Engiish acre). 
Its pi oduce varies according to the size of the luggie, the fertility of the soil, and 
accidents of season; eight to ten hackery loads, however, is generally considered ' 
a good average return. South and east of Tirhoot, one hundred niaunds from 
six hrmdred biggahs, including " khoonti," or a second cutting, is reckoned a 
successful result. In another part of the district, including Sarun, where the 
"luggie" is larger, the average produce is about one-third better. As we 
measure our plant on the ground (he adds), the bundle system is unknown here; 
but, I believe, forty-five or fifty Tirhoot hackery loads of plants (estimated to 
yield a maund of dry indigo), will be found equal to two hundred Bengal 
bundles.— (" Trans. Agri. Hort. Soc, vol. ii. p. 23.") 



472 



DYES AND COLOBIKG STUEPS. 



In Oude the jamowah, or crop sown in May, yields on an average twenty 
maujids, or say thirteen bundles, per biggah (160 feet square). The " assaroo," 
or rain sowings, producing a very inferior plant, the average return is not more 
than three maunds, or two bundles. The " khoonti," or crop of the next yeas 
from the same plants, averages fifteen maunds, or ten bundles per biggah. 

In Central and Western India, the plants are allowed to produce the second 
and even the third year, according to some statements ; but in Bengal the same 
stocks are rarely suffered to yield a second crop ; being nearly all on lands that 
are under water in the height of the inundation, the stock is rotted in the 
ground. Mr. Ballard, speaking of the duration of the plant, says that, as for three 
years' plant and " khoonti," it is a mere chimera, like the many others with 
which the planters have hitherto deluded themselves, and which it only requires 
a little reflection to overthrow. A biggah may be cut here and there, on an 
extensive cultivation, but it can never be relied upon as forming a part of the 
cultivation. 

The uncertainty of the indigo crop has been already noticed, and is, indeed, as 
proverbial as that from the hop plant in England. In Bengal the crop is 
particularly subject to be destroyed by the annual inundation of the river, if it 
occurs earlier than usual. A storm of wind, accompanied by rain and hail, as 
completely ruins the crop as if devoured by the locust ; neither from this latter 
Bcourge is the crop exempt. 

This proneness to injury extends throughout its growth. The seedlings are 
liable to be destroyed by an insect closely resembling the tirrnip-fly, as well as 
by the frog. Caterpillars feed upon the leaves of older plants, and the white 
ant destroys them by consuming their roots. To these destructive visitations 
are to be added the more than [ordinary liability of the plant to injury, not 
merely from atmospheric commotions, but even from apparently less inimical 
visitations. Thus not only do storms of wind, heavy rains, and hail, destroy 
the indigo planter's prospects, but even sunshine, if it pours out fervently after 
showers of rain, is apt, as it is properly termed, to scorch the plants ; and if it 
occurs during the first month of their growth, is most injurious to their future 
advance. The reason of this effect appears to be the violent change from a 
state of imbibing to a rapid transpiration of moisture. No himian invention 
or foresigh-t can preserve the croj) from the atmospheric visitations. To destroy 
and drive away the little coleopterous insects which attack the seedlings, it 
would be a successful method to spread dry grass, &c., over the surface intended 
to be cultivated, and to bum the litter immediately before the sowing. The 
heat and smoke produced has been found perfectly efficacious against the turnip - 
fly in England. To destroy the caterpillar, slacked lime dusted over the leaves, 
while the dew is upon them, is an effectual application. The white ants may 
be driven away or destroyed by frequent hoeings, which is the best preventive 
of the scorching, for hoeing preserves the soil^ in an equable and fitting state of 
moisture. 

The great supply of seed for Bengal cultivation is obtained from the western 
provinces, and forms an article of trade of no inconsiderable magnitude. The 
stubble in the low lands of Bengal is generally submerged before it has time to 
throw out fresh shoots, on which the blossom and subsequent seed- pod are 
formed. There are, however, some high tracts reserved for that purpose, and on 
these the plant is found well in flower in September, and the seed fit to gather 
in November or early in December. 

Two methods are pursued to extract the indigo from the plant ; 
the first effects it by fermentation of the fresh leaves and stems ; 
the second, by maceration of the dried leaves ; the latter process 
^ being most advantageous. They are thus described by Dr. Ure, 
in his "Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures :" — 

1. From the recent leaves. — In the indigo factories of Bengal, there are two 
large stone- built cisterns, the bottom of the first being nearly upon a level with 
the top of the second, in order to allow the liquid contents to be run out of the 
one into the other. The uppermost is called the fermenting vat, or the steeper ; 



iNDiao, 



473 



its area is twenty feet square, and its depth tliree feet ; the lowermost, called the 
beater or beating vat, is as broad as the other, but one-third longer. The cuttings 
of the plant, as they come from the field, are stratified in the steeper, till this 
be filled within five or six inches of its brim. In order that the plant, during 
its fermentation, may not swell and rise out of the vat, beams of wood and 
twigs of bamboo are braced tight over the surface of the plants, after which 
water is pumped upon them till it stands within three or four inches of the edge 
of the vessel. An active fermentation speedily commences, which is completed 
within fourteen or fifteen hours ; a little longer or shorter, according to the 
temperatui'e of the air, the prevailing winds, the quality of the water, and the 
ripeness of the plants. Nine or ten hours after the immersion of the plant, the 
condition of the vat must be examined ; frothy bubbles appear, which rise like 
little pyramids, are at first of a white colour, but soon become grey, blue, and 
then deep purple red. The fermentation is at this time violent, the fluid is in 
constant conmiotion, apparently boiling, innumerable bubbles mount to the 
svirface, and a copper colored dense scum covers the whole. .As long as the liquor 
is agitated, the fermentation must not be disturbed, but when it becomes more 
tranquil, the liquor is to be drawn ofi" into the lower cistern. It is of the 
utmost consequence not to push the fermentation too far, because the quality 
of the whole indigo is deteriorated ; but rather to cut it short, in which case 
there is, indeed, a loss of weight, but the article is better. The liquor possesses 
now a glistening yellow color, which, when the indigo precipitates, changes to 
green. The average temperature of the liquor is commonly 85 deg. Fahr. ; its 
specific gravity at the surface is 1"0015 ; and at the bottom 1*003. 

As soon as the liquor has been run into the lower cistern, ten men are set to 
work to beat it with oars, or shovels four feet long, called biisquets. Paddle 
wheels have also been employed for the same purpose. Meanwhile two other 
laborers clear away the compressing beams and bamboos from the surface of 
the upper vat, remove the exhausted plant, set it to dry for fuel, clean out the 
vessel, and stratify fresh plants in it. The fermented plant appears still green, 
but it has lost three-fourths of its bulk in the process, or from twelve to fourteen 
per cent, of its weight, chiefly water and extractive matter. 

The liquor in the lower vat must be strongly beaten for an hour and a half, 
when the indigo begins to agglomerate in flocks, and to precipitate. This is the 
moment for judging whether there has been any error committed in the fermen- 
tation, which must be corrected by the operation of beating. If the fermentation 
has been defective, much froth rises in the beating, which must be allayed with 
a little oil, and then a reddish tinge appears. If large round granulations are 
formed, the beating is continued, in order to see if they wUl grow smaller. If 
they become as small as fine sand, and if the water clears up, the indigo is al- 
lowed quietly to subside. Should the vat have been over-fermented, a thick 
fat-looking crust covers the liquor, which does not disappear by the introduction 
of a flask of oil. In such a case the beating must be moderated. Whenever 
the granulations become round, and begin to subside, and the liquor clears up, 
the beating must be discontinued. The froth or scum diffuses itself spontane- 
ously into separate minute particles, that move about the surface of the liquor, 
which are marks of an excessive fermentation. On the other hand, a rightly 
fermented vat is easy to work ; the froth, though abundant, vanishes whenever 
the granulations make their appearance. The color of the liquor, when drawn 
out of the steeper into the beater, is bright green ; but as soon as the agglomera- 
tions of the indigo commence, it assumes the color of Madeira wine ; and speedily 
afterwards, in the course of beating, a small round grain is formed, which, on 
separating, makes the water transparent, and falls down, when all the turbidity 
and froth vanish. 

The object of the beating is three-fold ; first, it tends to disengage a great 
quantity of carbonic acid present in the liquor ; secondly, to give the newly- 
deyeloped indigo its requisite dose of oxygen by the most extensive exposure 
of its particles to the atmosphere ; thirdly, to agglomerate the indigo in distinct 
flocks or granulations. In order to hasten the precipitation, lime water is oc- 
casionally added to the fermented liquor in the progress of beating, but it is not 
indispensable, and hag been supposed capable of deteriorating the indigo. In 
the front of the beater a beam is fixed upright, in which three or more holes arc 



474 



DYES A]S^D COLOEIIfa STUFrS. 



pierced, a fe^r inclies in diameter. These are closed with plugs during the beat" 
ing, but two or three hours after it, as the indigo subsides, the upper plug is 
"withdraTrn to run off the supernatant liquor, and then the lower plugs insuceeS'= 
sion. The state of this liquor being examined, aifords an indication of the 
success of both the processes. When the vrhole liquor is run off, a laborer 
enters the vat, sweeps all the precipitate into one corner, and enters the 
thinner part into a spout which leads into a cistern, alongside of a boiler, 
twenty feet long, three feet wide, and three feet deep. "When all this liquor is 
once collected, it is pumped through a bag, for retaining the impurities, into the 
boiler, and heated to ebullition. The fi'oth soon subsides, and shows an oily 
looking film on the liquor. The indigo is by this process not only freed from 
the yellow extractive matter, but is enriched in the intensity of its color, and 
increased in weight. From the boiler the mixture is run, after two or three 
hours, into a general receiver called the driiyping vat, or table, which, for a 
factory of twelve pairs of preparation vats, is twenty feet long, ten feet wide, 
and three feet deep, having a false bottom two feet under the top edge. This 
cistern stands in a basin of masomy (made water-tight with Chunam, hydraulic 
cement), the bottom of which slox^es to one end, in order to facilitate the drain- 
age. A thick woollen web is stretched along the bottom of the inner vessel, 
to act as a filter. As long as the liquor passes through turbid, it is pumped 
back into the receiver ; whenever it runs clear, the receiver is covered with 
another piece of cloth to exclude the dust, and allowed to drain at its leisure. 
Next morning the drained magma is put into a strong bag, and squeezed in a 
press. The indigo is then carefully taken out of the bag, and cut with a brass 
wire into bits, about three inches cube, which are dried in an airy house, upon 
shelves of wicker work. During the diying a whitish effloresence comes upon 
the pieces, which must be carefully removed with a brush. In some places, 
particularly on the coast of Coromandel, the dried indigo lumps are allowed to 
effloresce in a cask for some time, and when they become hard they are wiped 
and packed for exportation. 

2. Indigo from dried leaves. — The ripe plant being cropped, is to be dried in 
sunshine from nine o'clock in the morning till four in the afternoon, dming two 
days, and threshed to separate the stems from the leaves, which are then stored 
up in magazines till a sufiieient quantity be collected for manufacturing opera- 
tions. The newly dried leaves must be free from spots, and friable between the 
fingers. N^Tien kept dry, the leaves undergo, in the course of four weeks, a 
material change, their beautiful green tint turning into a pale blue-grey, previous 
to which the leaves afford no indigo by maceration in water, but subsequently a 
large quantity. Afterwards the product becomes less considerable. 

The following process is piu'sued to extract indigo from the dried leaves : — 
They are infused in the steeping vat with six times their bulk of water, and 
allowed to macerate for two hours, with continual stirring, till all the floating 
leaves sink. The fijie green liquor is then drawn into the beater vat, for if 
it stood longer in the steeper, some of the indigo would settle among the leaves 
and be lost. Hot water, as employed by some manufacturers, is not necessary. 
The process with dry leaves possesses this advantage, that a provision of the 
plant may be made at the most suitable times, independently of the vicissitudes 
of the weather, and the indigo may be uniformly made ; and, moreover, that the 
fermentation of the fresh leaves, often capricious in its course, is superseded by 
a much shorter period of simple maceration. 



prodtjCtigx op I^^)IGO ix india. 



1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 
1844 



maunds. 




maunds. 


120,000 


1845 


197,862 


162,318 


1846 


101,328 


79,000 


1847 


110,000 


143,207 


1848 


126,565 


127,862 


1849 


126,000 



Average of the ten years 126,744 maimds. 
Tlie yield from tlie different districts in 1849, was nearly as 
follows :— 



iisDi&o, 475 
maunds, 

Bengal - 84,500 

Tirhoot 24,500 

Eenares ..... 9,500 

Oude 6,500 



125,000 

In 1790 the general object of cultivation in Mauritius was 
indigo, of which from foiu* to five crops a year were prociu^edo 
One person sent to Europe 30,000 lbs., in 1789, of very superior 
quality. 

Cetlo^^". — Indigo, though indigenous in Ceylon, is still imported 
from the adjoining continent, but its growth in this island would be 
subject to none of the vicissitudes of chmate, that in the course of 
a single night have devastated the most extensive plantations in 
Bengal, and annihilated the hopes and calculations of the planter 
at a time when they had attained aU the luxuriance of approaching 
maturity. 

The district of Tangalle, in the southern province, is the best 
adapted to the culture and manufacture of indigo for various reasons, 
such as the abundance of the indigenous varieties of the plant, 
the similarity of the climate to that of the coast of Coromandel, 
where the best indigo is produced ; facility of transport by water 
to either of the ports of export, Galle or Colombo, during the 
south-east, or to Trincomalee by the south-west monsoon ; every 
necessary material is at hand for building a first rate indigo 
factory, including drying yards, leaf godowns (stores), steeping 
vats and presses, except roof and floor tiles — which may be ob- 
tained in any quantity from Colombo, during the south-west 
monsoon, at a moderate rate, compared with their cost at home. 

In 1817 an ofl'er was made to the Grovernment to introduce 
the cultivation of indigo, on condition of a free grant of the 
land required for the purpose and freedom from taxation for thirty 
years, after which the usual tax was to be levied ; and in case the 
cultivation were abandoned, the land was to revert to the Crown. 
Eut whether from the disturbed state of the colony at the time 
or from incredulity on the part of the Grovernment, as to the 
capability of the colony in this respect, the application was un- 
heeded. A subsequent proposal, emanating from a Swedish 
gentleman of great ability, skill and enterprise, was defeated by 
his death, although a company was on the point of formation to 
carry out the scheme. It would not be difficult, says Mr. Barrett, 
to select 500,000 acres, the property of the Crown, which at a 
comparatively smaU expenditure might be brought into a proper 
state of cultivation for the reception of indigo seed ; for very 
little Avould be required to be done beyond clearing the land of 
weeds, burning the grass, and then lightly ploughing and levelling 
the ground ; and whenever manure might be requisite, the fecula 
of the leaf affords one of the richest that could be employed. 
Ceylon produces two other plants from which a very valuable blue 
dye may be obtained by a similar process to that of making in- 
digo. The Singhalese head men of the Tangalle district have 



476 



DYES A5y"D COLOEI]S'Q STUrrS. 



long been anxious for the establishment of an indigo plantation 
there, and would readilj take shares in a company established for 
that purpose. Indigo would seem to have been exported by the 
Dutch from Ceylon so late as 1794. The wild varieties of indigo 
which grow on the sea-shore are used by the dobies {icasherme-a) . 

Indigo gi'ows in a wild state in Siam, and all the dye used in 
the country is manufactiu-ed from these plants. The extensive low 
grounds are admirably suited for the cultivation of this plant. 

A large quantity is raised in Manila, but I have no full details 
of the cultivation in the Philippines. However, in the first six 
months of ISiS, 1,039 piculs of indigo were shipped to Europe, 
and about 650 to other quarters — equal in all to about 226,000 lbs. 
in the half year. In the year 1817 the exports of indigo were 
30,631 arrobas, equal to about 7.658 cwt. ; in 1850 the total 
exports from Manila were 4,225 quintals. 

Jata. — The cultivation of indigo was introduced into Java in 
the time of the company. It was so much neglected during the 
administration of Grovernor Daendels, that the exportation ceased. 
It however revived subsequently, and in 1823 the exports were 
close upon 17,000 lbs. In 1826 it had risen to 46,000 lbs. In 
the single province of \Yesfcbaglen, about 60 square miles in ex- 
tent, 86 indigo factories were established in the course of seven 
or eight years. In 1889, the exports of this dye-stuff from Java 
were 588,764 kilogrammes, valued at 7^ million fi^ancs. 

It has been found by experience that a good sod is essentially 
necessary for the plant, and the indigo transplanted from elevated 
grounds to the rice fields succeeds better and yields more coloring 
matter than when raised du-ect on the spot fi'om the seed. The 
residencies of Cheribon, Bagien and Madion, are those in which 
the crop succeeds best. Prom being so exhaustiug a crop, and 
finding it prejudicial to their rice grounds, they are gradually 
abandonino^ indisfo cultiu-e in Java, and about two-thirds of the 
indigo plantations have withiu the last year or two been replaced 
with sugar. 

The value of the Java indigo is set down at 250 rupees (£25) 
per maund. If this be the average price, and it cannot be manu- 
factui'ed lower, Bengal has little to fear from Javanese competition. 
The product of indigo rose from 276 maunds in 1825, to 28,000 in 
1842, and the quantity sold by the Dutch Trading Company in 
thelast-namedyear was 10.500 chests, of about the same dimensions 
as those usually exported from Calcutta. 

Some further statistics of the cultui'e in Java M-e shown in the 
following returns of the quantity exported : — 



lbs. 

1830 ..... 22,063 

1835 ..... o3o,7o3 

1839 ..... 595,818 

1841 ..... 913,693 

1843 ..... 1,890,429 

1851 ..... 769,580 

1852 ..... 838,288 



The produce iu 1848 was l,i51.368 lbs. 



INDIGO. 



477 



1840. 1841. 

Residencies in which this culture is introduced . , 9 . . 10 

Number of factories 728 . . 728 

Families occupied with this culture 197,085 . , 192,159 

Extent of fields where the cutting has been made 

in hahus of 71 decametres 40,844 . . 38,829 

Quantity of 5a7«(^s planted before the gathering . . • 317 .. 538 

Quantity of indigo crop in pounds 2,032,097 . . 1,663,427 

average pounds per hahu 49f . . 43 

The extent of fields destined for the crop of 1842 was 37,970 
bahus, and the amount of the crop was calculated by approximation 
at 1,862,000. 

The gradual increase of the export in the eighteen years end- 
ing 1842, is shown as follows : — 

Maundg. 
3,310 
7,023 
5,365 
10,822 
9,778 
15,680 
27,946 
24,044 
28,000 

Total imports of indigo into the United Kingdom, and quantity 
retained for home consumption : — 

Home consumption, 
cwts. 
9,032 
12,270 
16,374 
27,947 
16,381 





Maunds. 




1825 


76 


1834 


1826 


126 


1835 


1827 


109 


1836 


1828 


310 


1837 


1829 


600 


1838 


1830 


480 


1839 


1831 


563 


1840 


1832 


.. 2,213 


1841 


1833 


.. 2,861 


1842 



1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 



Imports, 
cwts. 
59,127 
81,449 
70,482 
89,994 
83,565 

IMPORTS OP INDIGO. 



Mexico and the ports 
of South America, 
lbs. 



East Indies, 
lbs. 

1831 6,996,062 — 

1832 6,196,080 66,363 

1833 6,315,529 125,264 

1834 3,595,697 64,638 

1835 3,861,853 88,306 

1836 7,218,991 198,003 

1837 5,706,896 365,091 

1838 6,578,352 142,739 

1839 4,651,542 363,148 

1840 6,940,192 124,766 

1841 7,451,653 247,031 

1842 8,931,112 155,003 

1843 6,319,294 130,836 

Entered for home consumption about two millions and a half pounds annually. 
("Pari. Eeturns No. 656, September 1843, and 426, September 1844.") 

The consumption of indigo in Europe and North America in 
round numbers, estimated from authentic sources, is thus set down 
by Mr. Macculloch in 1849 



478 



DYES AND COLOEIlfG STUrrS, 



chestSr 

In Great Britain for home consumption 9,820 

France total for ditto 10,400 

„ American ports from London and Liverpool. 2,500 

Calcutta 700 

,, „ Holland, &c 400 

Other European countries export from London and Liverpool. 21,530 

„ „ Holland 4,270 

„ Calcutta 120 

„ „ France 300 



50,040 

MADDEE. 

This suL stance, wHcli is so extensively nsed in dyeing red, is the 
product of the long slender roots of the Ruhia iinctorum^ a plant 
of which there are several varieties. Our principal supplies of 
this important article of commerce are obtained from Holland, 
Belgium, Erance, Turkey, Spain, and the Balearic Isles, the 
Italian States, India, and Ceylon. 

The plant is generally raised from seed, and requires three years 
to come to maturity. It is, however, often pulled in eighteen 
months without injury to the quality ; the quantity only is 
smaller. A rich soil is necessary for its successful cultivation, 
and when the soil is impregnated with alkaline matter, the root 
acquires a red color ; in other cases it is yellow. The latter is 
preferred in England, from the long habit of using Dutch madder, 
which is of this color, but in France the red sells at two francs 
per cwt. higher, being used for the Turkey-red dye. Madder 
does not deteriorate by keeping, provided it be kept dry. It con- 
tains three volatile coloring matters, madder purple, orange, and 
red. The latter is in the form of crystals, having a fine orange 
red color, and called Alizaine. This is the substance which yields 
the Turkey-red dye. The chay root is employed in the East Indies 
as a substitute for madder, and so is the root of Morinda citrifolia, 
under the name of Sooranjee. 

Turkey madder roots realise about SOs. per cwt. About 1,100 
tons are annually shipped from Naples, worth about £30 per ton. 

Madder has become an article of great request, on account of 
the fine scarlet color produced from its roots, and is so essential 
to dyers and calico printers that without it they cannot carry on 
their manufactures. It is cultivated extensively in Holland, from 
whence it is imported in large quantities into both England and 
Erance, though it is cultivated to some extent in both countries. It 
has also been raised as a soiliDg crop, but the coloring matter is 
of so penetrating and subtile a character, that the flesh, milk, and 
even the bones of animals fed upon it are said to be tinged to a 
considerable degree with it. The soils best adapted, and which 
should be selected for its cultivation, are dry, fertile, and deep 
sandy loams ; the roots are long and fibrous, and descend to a 
depth of from two to three feet. It may be propagated by seed, 



MADDEE. 



479 



wliicli, bj some, is thought the best method, but the more usual 
mode is by the division of, and transplanting, the roots. The 
ground should be thoroughly and deeply pulverised, clean, 
and well-manured for the preceding crop, that the manure may 
be thoroughly rotted and incorporated with the soil : in April 
or May the suckers will be fit for taking from the older 
plantations — those of two or three years producing the best. 
The sets should have roots four or five inches long. Mark out 
rows two feet apart, with a line, and set the plant with a dibble, 
one foot apart in the rows. The roots should be dipped in a 
puddle of fine rich earth and water, beaten to the consistence of 
cream, previous to planting ; let the crown of the plant be clearly 
over ground, and secure the earth well around the root, to keep 
out drought. The plantation requires nothing more but to be kept 
perfectly clean and well-hoed during the summer months ; and 
after the top decays in the autumn, to be earthed up by the plough 
for the winter, each year, till the plants are three years old, when 
they are of the proper size and age for lifting, wliich must be done 
by trenching the land two feet deep — several hands accompanying 
the digger to pick out the roots, which must be thoroughly cleaned 
and dried on a kiln till they are so brittle as to break across, when 
they are fit to be packed in bags, and sold to the dye-stuft' manu- 
facturers who grind and reduce them to powder for use. The 
produce is variable ; usually from eight to twenty cwt. per 
acre, but as much as 3,000 to 6,000 lbs. is frequently obtained. 
The forage amounts to about 15,000 lbs. the first year, and 
7,500 lbs. the second year. In a new and good soil manure 
may be dispensed with for the fii^st crop. Some cultivators 
interline and grow other crops between the rows, but the best 
cultivators state that such a practice is objectionable. The 
breadth of land under this crop in England is much reduced, in 
consequence of the reduction in price from the competition of 
the Dutch growers. 

Madder is extensively grown on the central table land of 
Affghanistan, forming one of the leading products of Beloochistan ; 
and, according to Mr. Pottinger, it sells in the Kelat Bazaar at 
about 10 lbs. for 2s. The cultivation there pursued is as follows : — 
The ground is repeatedly ploughed, and laid out finally in small 
trenches, in which the seed is sown, covered slightly with earth, 
and then the whole is flooded. Whilst thus irrigated, the trenches 
are fiUed with a mixture of rich maniu-e and earth. The plants 
appear in about ten days, and attain a height of three or four feet 
during the first summer. They are cut down in September and 
used as fodder for cattle. Subsequently, and until spring arrives, 
the ground is manured and repeatedly flooded. During the second 
year's growth, the plants which are intended to produce seed are 
set apart, but the stems of the remainder are cut every four or 
six weeks, in order to increase the size and goodness of the 
roots. 

Madder is said to repay a nett profit of 200 doUars to the acre, 



480 



DYES AE"D COLOIUKU STUFFS. 



when properly managed. It produced on the farm of a gentleman, 
who has devoted some attention to this product in Ohio, at the 
rate of 2,000 lbs. per acre, and it may be made to produce 3,000 lbs., 
which is a greater yield than the average crops of Germany and 
Holland. Nine acres were planted by another person in the United 
States, in 1839, which he harvested in 1842. The labor required 
is said to be from 80 to 100 days work per acre. 

In the third year the stems are pruned as in the two preceding, 
and in September the roots are dug up. The roots are fusiform 
and thin, without any ramifications, and usually from three to 
five feet long. As soon as raised, they are immediately cut into 
small pieces and dried, and are then merchantable, 

Mr. Joseph Swift, an enterprising American farmer, of Erie 
county, Ohio, who occupies about 400 acres of choice land, mostly 
alluvial, in the valley of the Vermilion river, seven miles from 
Lake Erie, has detailed his practice in the " l^ew Grenesee Ear- 
mer" (an agricultural periodical), for March, 1843. His directions 
must be understood as intended for those who wish to cultivate 
only a few acres, and cannot aflbrd much outlay of capital. Those 
who desire to engage in the business on an extensive scale, would 
need to adopt a somewhat different practice : — ■ 

Soil and preparation.— -^^ The soil should be a deep, rich, sandy loam, free from 
weeds, roots, stones, &c., containing a good portion of vegetable earth. Alluvial 
" bottom" land is the most suitable, but it must not be wet. If old upland is 
used, it should receive a heavy coating of vegetable earth, from decayed wood 
and leaves. The land should be ploughed very deep in the fall, and early in the 
spring apply about one hundred loads of well-rotted manure per acre, spread 
evenly, and ploughed in deeply ; then harrow till quite fine and free from lumps. 
Next plough the land into beds four feet wide, leaving alleys between three 
feet wide, then harrow the beds with a fine light harrow, or rake them by hand, 
BO as to leave them smooth and even with the alleys ; they are then ready for 
planting. 

Preparing sets and planting. — Madder sets or seed roots are best selected 
when the crop is dug in the fall. The horizontal uppermost roots (with eyes) 
are the kind to be used ; these should be separated from the bottom roots, and 
buried in sand in a cellar or pit. If not done in the fall, the sets may be dug 
early in the spring, before they begin to sprout. They should be cut or broken 
into pieces, containing from two to five eyes each ; i. e., three to four inches 
long. The time for planting is as early in the spring as the ground can be got in 
good order, and severe frosts are over, which in this climate (America) is usually 
about the middle of April. With the beds prepared as directed, stretch a line 
lengthwise the bed, and with the corner of a hoe make a drill two inches deep 
along each edge and down the middle, so as to give three rows to each bed, 
about two feet apart. Into these drills drop the sets, ten inches apart, covering 
them two inches deep. Eight or ten bushels of sets are requisite for an acre. 

After culture. — As soon as the madder plants can be seen, the ground should 
be carefully hoed, so as to destroy the weeds and not injui-e the plants ; and 
the hoeing and weeding must be repeated as often as weeds make their appear- 
ance. If any of the sets have failed to grow, the vacancies should be filled by 
taking up parts of the strongest roots and transplanting them ; this is best dona 
in June. As soon as the madder plants are ten or twelve inches high, the tops 
are to be bent down on the surface of the ground, and all except the tip end 
covered with earth, shovelled from the middle of the alleys. Bend the shoots 
outward and inward in every direction, so as in time to fill all the vacant space 
on the beds, and about one foot on each side. After the first time covering, re- 



MADDES. 



481 



peat the "needing when necessary, and run a single horse plough through the 
alleys several times to keep the earth clefin and mello%r. As soon as the plants 
again become ten or twelve inches high, bend down and cover them as before, 
repeating the operation as often as necessary, which is commonly three times 
the first season. The last time may be as late as September, or later if no frosts 
occur. By covering the tops in this manner, they change to roots, and the 
design is to fill the ground as full of roots as possible. 'WTien the vacant spaces 
are all full, there is bat little chance for weeds to grow ; but all that appear 
must be pulled out. 

The second year. — Keep the beds free from weeds ; plough the alleys and 
cover the tops, as before directed, two or thi-ee times during the season. The 
alleys will now form deep and narrow ditches, and if it becomes diificult to ob- 
tain good earth for covering the tops, that operation may be omitted after the 
second time this si^ason. Care should be taken, when covering the tops, to keep 
the edges of the beds as high as the middle ; otherwise the water from heavy 
showers will run off, and the crop suffer from drought. 

The third year, — Very little labor or attention is required. They will now 
oover the whole ground. If any weeds are seen, they must be pulled out ; 
otherwise their roots will cause trouble when harvesting the madder. The 
crop is sometimes dug the third year ; and if the soil and cultivation have been, 
good, and the seasons warm and favorable, the madder will be of a good quality; 
but generally it is much better in quality, and more in quantity, when left until 
the fo"rth year. 

Bigying and harvesting. — This should be done between the 20th of August 
and the 20th of September. Take a sharp shovel or shovels, and cut off and 
remove the tops with half an inch of the surface of the earth ; then take a 
plough of the largest size, with a sharp coulter and a double team, and plough 
a furrow outward, beam-deep, around the edge of the bed ; stir the earth with 
forks, and carefully pick out all the roots, removing the earth from the bottom 
of the furrow; -then plough another furrow beam -deep, as before, and pick over 
and remove the earth in the same manner ; thus proceeding until the whole is 
completed. 

Washing and drying. — As soon as possible after digging, take the roots to 
some running stream to be washed. If there is no running stream convenient, 
it can be done at a pump. Take large round sieves, two-and-a-half or three feet 
in diameter, with the wire about as fine as wheat sieves ; or if these cannot be 
had, get from a hardware store sufficient screen wire of the right fineness, and 
make frames or boxes, two-and-a-half feet long and the width of the wire, on 
the bottom of which nail the wire. In these sieves or boxes, put half a bushel 
of roots at a time, and stir them about in the water, pulling the branches apart 
so as to wash them clean ; then, having a platform at hand, lay them on to dry. 
(To make the platform, take two or three common boards, so as to be about 
four feet in width, and nail deals across the under side). On these spread the 
roots about two inches thick for drying in the sun. Carry the platforms to a 
convenient place, not far from the house, and place them side by side, in rows 
east and west, and with their ends north and south, leaving room to walk 
between the rov^^s. Elevate the south ends of the platforms about eighteen 
inches, and the north ends about six inches from the ground, putting poles or 
sticks to support them — this will greatly facilitate drying. After the second or 
third day's drying, the madder must be protected from the dews at night, and 
from rain, by placing the platforms one upon another to a convenient height, 
and covering the uppermost one with board. Spread them out again in the 
morning, or as soon as danger is over. Five or six days of ordinarily fine 
weather will dry the madder sufficiently, when it may be put away till it is 
convenient to kiln-dry and grind it. 

Kiln-drying . — The size and mode of constructing the kiln may be varied to 
suit circumstances. The following is a very cheap plan, and sufficient to 
dry one ton of roots at a time. Place four strong posts in the ground, 
twelve feet apart one way, and eighteen the other ; the front two fourteen feet 
high, and the other eighteen ; put girts across the laottom, middle, and top, and 
nail boards perpendicularly on the outside as for a common barn. The boards 

2 I 



482 



DYES A^D COLOEIXG STTJrFS, 



must be well seasoned, and all cracks or holes should be plastered or otlierrnse 
stopped up. Make a shed-roof of common boards. In the inside put upright 
standards about five feet apart, ^ith cross-pieces to support the scaffolding. 
The first cross-pieces to be foiu' feet from the floor ; the nest two feet higrher, 
and so on to the top. On these cross-pieces lay small poles, about sis feet long 
and tvo inches thick, four or five inches apart. On these scaffolds the madder 
is to be spread nine inches thick. A floor is laid at the bottom to keep all dry 
and clean. "When the kiln is filled, take sis or eight small kettles or hand"^ 
furnaces, and place them four or five feet apart on the floor (first securing it 
from fire with bricks or stones), and make fires in them irith charcoal, being 
careful not to make any of the fires so large as to scorch the madder oyer them. 
A person must be in constant attendance to ^atch and replenish the fires. The 
heat Tvill ascend through the -whole, and in ten or twelve hours it ^ill all be 
sufficiently dried, "which is known by its becoming brittle like pipe stems. 

BreaJcing and grinding. — Immediately after being di-ied, the madder must be 
taken to the barn and threshed -viuth flails, or broken by machinery (a mill 
might easily be constiiicted for this purpose), so that it will feed in a common 
grist-mill. If it is not broken and ground immediately, it will gather dampness 
so as to prevent its grinding freely. Any common grist-mill can grind madder 
properly. When ground finely it is fit for use, and may be packed in barrels 
like flour for market. 

Amount and i-ah'.e of product.^ i^c. — Mr. Swift measured off a part of his 
ground, and carefully weighed the product when dried, which he found to be 
over two thousand pounds per acre, notwithstanding the seasons were mostly dry 
and unfavorable, tN'ith his present knowledge of the business, he is confident 
that he can obtain at least three thousand pounds per acre, which is said to be 
more than is often obtained in Germany. The whole amount of labor he esti- 
mates at from eighty to one hundred days' work per acre. The value of the 
crop, at the usual wholesale price (about fifteen cents per pound), from three to 
four hundred dollars. In foreign countries it is customary to make several 
qualities of the madder, which is done by sorting the roots ; but as only one 
quality is required for the western market, Mr. Swift makes but one, and that 
is found superior to most of the imported, and finds a ready sale. 

Madder is produced in Middle Egypt to some extent, for the 
consumption of the country, principally for dyeing the tarhouclie 
or skidl caps which are nniyersally worn. Its culture was intro- 
duced in 1825. In 18S3, 300 acres in Upper Egypt, and 500 
in the Delta and the Kelyout, were devoted to madder roots, 

New South Wales is eminently suited to the culture of this 
Taluahle root, and as the profits upon its cultivation are 
very large, I would strongly recommend it to the attention of 
agriculturists there. The article produces to Erance an annual 
sum of one million sterling ; the price of the finest quality in the 
English market being £60 per ton. Its yield varies from £10 
to £50 per acre, and the expenses upon its proper culture 
should not exceed one-half that amount. The colonists would find 
it to their interest to turn their attention to such articles as this, 
for which there is an extensive demand at home, instead of con- 
fining themselves exclusively to the commoner and bulkier pro- 
ducts, which they export at a much less profit, and which when 
once the market is ftdly supplied, may fall to a price at which they 
cannot aftord to sell. 

The following is a calculation of the expenses generally supposed 
to attend a crop according to the mode of cultivation practised in 
Yaucluse 



483 



Eeat per hectare (2^ English acres), 3 years, at £ s. d, 

165 francs T . " . ^ 19 17 6 

Manm-e, 440 francs . . . £17 12 6 

Carriage of ditto, 132 francs . . 3 5 10 

22 18 4 

£42 15 10 

These expenses may almost be dispensed with in our colonies, 
as the soil at Yaucluse has long been exhausted. 

Two and a-half acres require 170 lbs. seed, at 2|d. per poimd, 
■which, -with the labor afterwards bestowed, including tlie 
cost of spade trenching, will be - , . 30 0 0 

£72 15 10 

The average produce per hectare is 77 cwt., which, at £1 4s. 2d. 
per cwt. (the price on the spot), is £93. The price is now much 
lower, but still it is clear a most profitable return would be derived 
from the first crop, and a proportionably larger one afterwards. 

A considerable portion of the madder roots, instead of being 
ground and exported in that form, as heretofore, is now exposed, 
after being invested with dilute sulphuric acid, to a boiling heat 
bj means of steam, by which the coloring matter is considerably 
altered and improved in quality for some dyeing processes, while 
the quantity rendered soluble water is greatly increased. The 
madder so prepared is known as garancine," and forms an impor- 
tant branch of manufacture in the south of Erance, which was well 
illustrated at the Grreat Exhibition in 1851, by a collection of 
specimens supplied by the Chamber of Commerce of Avignon. 
The spent madder, after being used in dj'eing, is now also con- 
verted by Mr. H. Steiner, of Accrington, into a garancine (termed 
garcmceuse by the French) by steaming it with sulphuric acid in 
the same manner as the fresh madder, and thus a considerable 
quantity of coloring matter is recovered and made available which 
was formerly thrown away in the spent madder. Both varieties 
of garancine give a more scarlety red than the unprepared madder, 
and also good chocolate and black, without soiling the white 
ground, but are not so well fitted, particularly the garancine of 
spent madder, for dyeing purples, lilacs, and pinks. The value of 
the garancine imported from France in 1848 was £59,551, and of 
that imported in 1851 £93,818. This preparation of ground madder 
is imported into Liverpool to the extent of from 500 to 600 tons 
annually from Marseilles, foe the use of calico printers in the 
manufacturing districts. The price is £7 to £8 the ton. 

This important root is already cultivated to a considerable ex- 
tent in Eussia, but not nearly in sufiicient quantity to meet the 
local demand ; so that lai^ge quantities are imported from Holland 
and elsewhere, every year. 

The quantity of madder, madder-root, and garancine annually 
imported into the United Kingdom is exceedingly large, oveir 
15,000 tons, as is shown by a reference to the following figures * 

2 I 2 



484' 



DYES AND COLOEIJra STUrPS. 



Madder. Madder roots. Garancine. TotaL 

cwts. cwts. cwts, cwts, 

1848 . . 81,261 . . 139,463 , . 5,955 . . 276,67& 

1849 . . 92,736 . . 161,986 . . 4,969 . . 259,691 

1850 . . 100,248 . . 161,613 . . 5,845 . . 267,706 

1851 . . 92,925 . . 202,091 . . 9,382 . . 304,39& 

1852 . . 84,385 . . 179,813 . . — . . — 

We imported from France, duty free, the following : — 

Madder. Official value. Madder-root, 

cwts. £ cwts. £ 

1848 . . 54,084 . . 122,851 . . 25,068 . . 70,749 

1849 . . 57,108 . . 131,059 . . 23,459 . . 81,274 

1850 . . 54,559 . . 123,628 . . 13,693 . . 55,263 

1851 . . 65,577 . . 151,502 , . 34,017 . . 167,721 



The price in the Liverpool market, in June 1853, for Eombay 
madder-roots was £1 18s. to £2 14s. the cwt. 

Indian maddee. — Bubia cordifolia, or Munjestha, a variety 
with white flowers, a native of Siberia, is cultivated largely in the 
East, particularly about Assam, Nepaul, Bombay, Scinde, Quitta, 
China, &c., for its dye-stuff, and is known as Munjeet. A small 
quantity is exported from China and India ; about 338 Indian 
maunds were shipped from Calcutta in 1840, and 2,328 in 1841, 
It fetches in the London and Liverpool markets from 20s. to 25s. 
and 30s, per cwt., duty free ; 405 toils were imported into Liverpool 
from Bombay and Calcutta, in 1849, and 525 tons in 1850, but 
none was imported in 1851 and 1852. 

It was remarked by the Jury in 1851, at the Great ExhibitioUy 
that this is a valuable dye-stuif, and hitherto not so well appre- 
ciated as it deserves, for some of the colors dyed with it are quite 
as permanent as those dyed with madder, and even more brilliant. 
Its use however is gradually increasing, and it is unquestionably 
well worthy the attention of dyers. 

Lo&wooD. — The logwood of commerce is the red heart wood, or 
duramen, of a fine lofty growing tree {ILaematroxylon Campecliia- 
num), growing in Campeachy and the bay of Honduras, and which is 
also now common in the woods of Jamaica and St. Domingo. It is 
principally imported as a dye wood, cut into short lengths. We chip, 
grind, and pack it into casks and bags, ready for the dyers, hatters, 
and printers' use, who esteem it as afibrding the most durable deep 
red and black dyes. It is sometimes used in medicine as an astrin- 
gent. That grown in Jamaica is least valued ; that of Honduras^ 
Tobasco, and St. Domingo, fetches a somewhat higher price ; but 
that imported from Campeachy direct, is the most esteemed. The 
annual imports into Liverpool are about 1,300 tons from Hon- 
duras, 100 from Tobasco, and 1,800 from Campeachy. 

It thrives best in a damp tenacious soil, with a small proportion 
of sand. It is imported in logs, which are afterwards chipped, and 
is of great commercial importance from its valuable dyeing pro- 
perties. Old wood is preferred ; it is so haril as almost to be 



BEAZIL WOOJ), 



485 



indestructible by the atmosphere. The albumen is of a yellow- 
ish color, and is not imported. The bark and wood are slightly 
astringent. The imports of logwood into the United Kingdom 
were 23,192 tons in ISiS, 23,996 tons in 1849, and 34,090 
tons ui 1850, of which 3,484 tons were re-exported in 1848, and 
2,307 tons in 1849. The imports in the past two years of 1852 
and 1853, have averaged 20,000 tons, of which about 3,000 tons 
were re-exported. It is increasiug in use, for in 1837, the quan- 
tity retained for home use was only 14,677i tons. The price 
varies according to quality from £4 to £7 per ton. 

We received from Honduras 5,401 tons in 1844 ; and 55,824 tons 
in 1845. From ]Montego Bay, Jamaica, 398 tons were shipped 
between January and July 1851. 

Etjstic. — This is the common name of a species of dye wood 
in extensive use, which is obtained from Madura tinctoria, or 
Broussonitia tinctoria, Kunth, alarge and handsome evergreen tree, 
growing in South America and the Yv'est Indies. The wood is 
extensively used as an ingredient in the dyeing of yellow, and is 
largely imported for that purpose- The quantity entered for 
home consumption in the United "Kingdom was 1,731 tons in 
1847, 1,653 m 1848, and 1,842 tons in 1849. 

Xinety-one tons were shipped from Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 
the first six months of 1851. 

Qtjeecitsoin". — This bark furnishes a yellow dye, of which about 
8,500 tons are annually imported in hogsheads of from half a ton 
to a ton. 296 tons were imported into Liverpool from Philadel- 
phia in 1849, and 514 tons in 1850. 

Brazil wood. — This very ponderous wood is obtained in 
Brazil from the Casaljpina Braziliensis, which yields a red or 
crimson dye, when united with alum or tartar, and is used by silk 
dyers. It is imported principally from Pernambuco, 1,200 quintals 
haviig been shipped to London in 1835, but about 500 tons, 
worth about £4 a ton, were imported from Costa E,ica in 1845. 

The tree is large, crooked, and knotty, and the bark is thick, 
and equals the third or fourth of its diameter. 

The imports may be stated at about 600 tons annually, the 
average price being £50 per ton. 

Brazil wood is found in the greatest abundance and of the best 
quality, in the Province of Pernambuco, but being a government 
monopoly it has been cut down in so improvident a manner, that 
it is now seldom seen within several leagues of the coast. 

Among the Cuba dye woods is Copey {Clusia rosea, Linn). 

Brazdetto, obtained from C. Crista, is one of the cheapest and 
least esteemed of the red dye woods, imported from Jamaica and 
other West India islands to the extent of 150 tons per annum, 
fetching £6 to £8 per ton. 2,361 tons of Nicaragua wood were im- 
ported m 1848, 2,701 tons in 1849, and 6,130 tons in 1850. 

Spain exhibited various vegetable dyes obtained from cultivated 
and wild plants furnished by the Agricultural Board of Saragossa, 



4m 



3>YES AND COLOEING STUFFS. 



LICHENS. 

The cliief licliens employed in the manufacture of orclnl irnd cud- 
bear are the following ; — 

Angola weed {Bamalina furfitracea) > 

Mauritius weed (Bocella fiisiformis), which corner also from 
Madagascar, Lima, and Yalparaiso, and then hears the distinctive 
commercial name of the port of shipment. 

Cape weed {Bocella tinctorid), from the Cape de Verd Islands, 

Canary Moss {Parmelia perlata?). 

Tartareous Moss (Parmelia tartareci). 

Pnstulatus Moss {Umbilicaria pustidata) , - 

Yelvet Moss {Gyo^opliora miirind). 

The last three are imported from Sweden, 

Of these lichens, the first, which is the richest in coloring" matter^, 
grows as a parasite upon trees ; all the remainder upon rocks. 

Bocella coraUina, Variolaris lactea and dealhata, have been also 
resorted to. 

About 130 tons of cudbear are imported annually from Sweden, 

These lichens are found on rocks, on the sea coast. The modes 
of treating them for the manufacture of the different dyes is the 
same in principle, though varying slightly in detail. They are 
carefully cleaued and ground into a pulp w ith water, an ammoniacal 
liquor is from time to time added, and the mass constantly stirred 
in order to expose it as much as possible to the air. Peculiar 
substances existing in these plants are, during this process, so 
changed by the combined action of the atmosphere, water, and 
ammonia, as to generate the coloring matter, which, when per- 
fect, is pressed out, and gypsum, chalk, or other substances, are 
then added, so as to give it the desired consistency ; these are then 
prepared for the market under the forms of cudbear or litmus. 

Heis^ka (LaiDsonia inermis), is an important dye-stuff, and the 
distilled water of the flowers is used as a perfume. The Ma- 
homedan women in India use the shoots for dyeing their nails red, 
and the same practice prevails in Arabia. In these countries the 
manes and tails of the horses are stained red in the same manner. 
The Genista tomeiitosa yields red petals used in dyeing, and con- 
taining much tannic acid. 

OiiCHiLLA Weed. — The fine purple color which the orchilla weed 
yields, is in use as an agent for coloring, staining, and dyeing. 
About 30,000 lbs. is obtained annually in the island of Teneriffe. 
460 arrobas (or 115 cwt.) of orchilla were exported from the Canary 
Isles in 1833. In 1839, 6,494 cwts. paid dut}^, and 4,175 cwts. in 
1840. The average imports of the three years ending with 1842, 
was 6,050 cwt. A little comes in from Barbary and the islands 
of the Archipelago. 

Dr. W. L. Lindley, in a ver^ interesting paper, read before the 
Botanical Society of London, in December, 1852, on the dyeing 
properties of the lichens, stated — 



487 



The subject of the colorific and coloring principles of the lichen has, -vrithin 
the last few years, attracted a due share of that attention -which has been in- 
creasingly devoted to organic chemistry. Since 1830, Heeren, Kane, Schunck, 
Rochleder and Heldt, Knop, Stenhouse, Laurent and Gerhardt, have published 
valuable papers on these principles j but, here again, we have to regret the 
great discrepancy in the various results obtained, and there is therefore, here 
also, imperatively demanded re-investigation and correction before any of the 
results already published can be implicitly relied upon, and before we can have 
safe data from which to generalise, i have no doubt that a great proportion of 
the obscurity overhanging this subject depends on the circumstance that many 
of the chemists, who have devoted attention to the eolor-educts and products of 
the lichens, were not themselves botanists, and have therefore probably, in 
some cases at least, analysed species under erroneous names, and also because 
their investigations have comprehended a much too limited number of species. 

Their utility in the arts, and especially in dyeing — including the collection, 
of a series of the commercial dye lichens, Le.^ those used by the manufacturers 
of London, &c., in the making of orchil, cudbear, litmus, and other lichen dyes, 
"While investigating the dyeing properties of the lichens, I made experiments, 
with a view to test their colorific power, on as many species as I could obtaia 
in sufficient quantity, to render it at all useful to operate on — that number, 
however, being very limited (between forty and fifty). 

Dr. Lindley adds, many parties may be able to aid his investigations, by fur- 
bishing information on their economic uses, and on their special applications in 
dyeing and other arts — (particularly on their employment, as dye agents, by the 
natives of Britain and other countries) — with specimens of the lichens so used, 
■and their common names — specimens of fabrics dyed therewith — notes of 
the processes employed for the elimination of the dyes, &c. Parties resident 
in, or travelling thi'ough our western Highlands and Islands, the northern 
Highlands, Ireland, Wales, 1\ orway, Iceland, and similar countries, are most 
likely to be able to afi'ord this description of information — many native lichens 
being still used by the peasantry of these countries to dye their home-spun 
Tarn, &:c. 

He proceeded to treat — 1. The vast importance of this humble tribe of 
plants in the grand economy of nature, as the pioneers and founders of all 
vegetation, 2. Their importance to man and the lower animals, as furnishing 
various articles of food. S, Their importance in medicine, and especially in its 
past history, at home and abroad. 4. Their importance in the useful and fine 
arts, and especially in the art of dyeing. 5, Their afiinities and analogies to 
other cryptogamic families, and to the Phanercgamia. 6. Their value as an 
element &f the pieturesf^ue in nature; and, 7. Their typical significance. 

He then adverted more especially to the subject of his communication, under 
the ten following heads : — 

I. The colors of the Thallus and apothecia of Lichens — their causes, anl 

the circumstances which modify and alter them. 
11. History of the application of their coloring matters to the art of dyeing, 
ill. Chemical nature and general properties of these coloring matters. ' 
lY, Tests and processes for estimating qualitatively, and euantitatively the 
colorific powers of individual species — with their practical applications. 
Y. Processes of manufacture of the Lichen-dyes, on the large and sniaU 
scale in different countries — v/ith the principles on which they are founded. 
Xomenclature of the dye-Lichens, and of the Lichen- dyes' 
YII. Botanical and commercial sources of the same. 
Till. Special applications of the Lichen-dyes in the arts. 

IX. Commercial value of the dye-Lichens, and their products. 
X. Geographical distribution of the dye-Lichens — with the efi'ect of climate, 

sitiiation, &c., on their colorific materials. 
Of the four first sections of his paper, the following is a very short summary 
■or synopsis : — 

Under the first head, the author spoke of chlorophylle and various organic 
a"jid inorganic substances, which enter into the formation of the colors of the 
thallus and apothecia of lichens, and of the modifications of these colors de- 
ptdnding on vaiuous degrees of— 1. Exposure to air and light 2. Temperatui'e, 



488 



DYES AXD COLOEIX& STUrrS. 



3. Moisture, iSrc. -i. Atmnspiic-ric ricissitudes. 5. Season of the year, 6, 
atiu-e of tlie Goniclic reprodiicti' n ' . gr mmation). 7. Mature uf hatitat. 
8. Organic decomposition, 9. C- u]. j. . ..f jarts, monstrosities, kc. 

Under the second section, lie tru-.x d l.i- 1 rir-'Hy the mannfaetiire of Lieli en- 
dyes, and tlie native use of Lichen; as tlyo r.g-.i.ts, air. ng dilfcront nations, frcn 
the times of Theophrastns. DiosL-orides. and Pliny, do^n to the present day, 
stetching triefly the ancient and modern history of orchil, cudhear. and 
litmns, and sx)ecifying the native nse of ii' r. -'a. r_t c^^nntries of 

Europe. Asia, and America. He allitd'.J n. :r application 

to the dveina: of Tarns, ^:c.. hv th-^ tc:. . , a. _ ; tLc nanie of 

" G-o«/e^s." Tlie process of tile ; a e ■ i .he various crcith ^. L viicrally 

consisted in macerating the pc-^-. . . ' i r ivo cr three eih-. in 
stale urine, exposing the mass freely to the . ; ' ^ hni-a. and adding 

lime, salt, alimi, or argillaceous and other _ r to hei_h:en the 

color or impart consistence. To such an eia;.:/ . .iist'in at one time 

prevail, that, in several of our northeam ccnni; : in a r.d cottage had 

its tanh or hsn-el of putrefying luine. a homely 1 a ly - tdcient mode of 

generating the necessary amount of airiie nia. In tL..- e omty of Ahc-rdc-en. in 
particular, every homestead had its rcs-.rvLir cf "Ovuith."'* and the "■Lit-pigd't 
"vrhich stood hy every fireside, -rvas as l ..miliar an article uf fiir:.--iii.- in the cots 
of the peasantry, as the "cuttie-s'-o Id' ■■rthc "meal drneld" > as iS-il 

(and I T)resume the practice continues 1 d y - ^ "h^^-, i d n- n stated 
that, of four or five native dyes, us. i dith and 

yams, t"wo at least were furnished hy . n-, iin., . in I'-^-n'tlia 

■sao:atiIis, under the name of "Scrottyie," and a rtd one fi'on; .: " '--'a, 

imder that of " Korhi.lett.'" It is very prohahle. hoTrevfr. t: - . ■ : i ..r.d dree 
trade have gradually dispelled this st'':'!] chl cn-tcnn c-Tcn in :he r. ni-t.r C'jinc-rs 
of our island ; machintry-niadL a:ti<.h_s Im.:::-. r^.^-r r^, ddi' -■y nhL h at a rate 
so exti'aordinarily cheap, as to render it absulutely expensive ^ns to time, if not 
also as to money) to prepare colors, even by a process so simjde and inexpensive 
as that just mentioned." 

Under the thii-d head, he examined, in a general "way, the chem.istry of the 
colorific and coloring matters of the lichens and the results to which it has led, 
avoiding as much as p n^-ihle the technicalities inseparable frnm such a snhiect, 
andgivii^g a sho.t a ■ -1 ilie researches of Hecren. Kane. Eochdleder. and Heldt, 
Stenhouse, Schun^. k. Laurent, and Gerliaidrr. an-i ■ id' r- "Oar untaught 
senses should unduiibtedly lead us to enp. , : tp, ; . tnalln^ exhibits 

the brightest tints, to yield the hnest dy .s. and n.' - f a in d-r similar to 

that of the thaUus, but experience teaches us that the i laiiriinl reddish or 
pui-plish coloring-matters are producible in the greatest adrundance by the veiy 
species from which we should least expect to derive any, viz.. in those most 
devoid of external color. This, though at first sight very remarkalde. is easily 
explicable, when wo remember that, in most of the so-called dye-lichens, 
colorific principles exi-t in a cd.crless form, and crd:y be.rnne cmvcrted into 
colored substances undir a pvculiar combination of circum.-tances. 

"Some lichens contain coloring matters, ready formed, and these exhibit 
themselves in the tint of the tliallus of the plants, e.ff. chrysophanic [or pradc- 
tinic] acid hx Foriudia paridi/^'j. and vrdpinic acid in Frenu'a xnlpina. In other 
species we find principles, which, while in the plant, and unacted on by chemical 
re-agents, are colorless, but which, when the lichens are exposed to the com- 
hined influence of atmospheric air. wa.tLr. and ammonia, yield colored substances. 
This series of colored lu'oducts is usnaliy comprehended more for convenience 
saike than on account of chemical identity, nndor the acUL-ric tirm crceine,'' 

The whole subject of the chemistry of the se h-d:r-« is at rr ^nit in a most im- 
satisfactory condition, demanding fre>h inv- - ' - - - d, ni ilinstration 
of which, the author exhibited tables ct tic _ viinciples. so 

far as they are at present known, showing n^.n- ^i.^nnL.-.i i . unuhe and the 

* The Ternacnlar name for stale or putrid urine, 
t "Lit" was the rame applied to the plant, from wliich the dye was to lie prepared, and 
- • pig" is the Scotch svnonyn^ for any kixid of earthenware vessel— in which the maceration 
was generally carried on. 



LICHENS. 



489 



authority therefor, and various relative information. " It is highly probable 
that when the chemistry of the lichens has been more fully studied, and the 
whole subject of their color- educts and products better understood, we shall 
begin to reduce the present confused mass of complex substances, and find the 
same principles more extensively difiFused through different lichen species." 
Dr. L. entered somewhat minutely on the chemical reactions of the better 
known colorific and coloring principles, and their derivatives, so far at least as 
these throw any light on the production and transmutation of the red or purple 
colors extracted from what may be termed par excellence, the dye-lichens. Aftur 
a few remarks on the chemical constitution of orchil and litmus, as given by 
Kane, Gelis, Pereira, and others, he discussed the subject of deeolorisation of 
weak infusions of orchil and litmus by exclusion of atmospheric air, and by 
various deoxidising agents, and the different theories as to the causation of this 
phenomenon. " I have repeatedly had occasion to notice that, when weak in- 
fusions of these substances are excluded for some time from atmospheric air, in 
a bottle, with a tightly fitting cork, they gradually lose color, but rapidly re- 
gain it on re-exposure. It is curious that both orchil and litmus are what are 
called transient or false colors, i.e., they slowly lose their bloom and tint by long 
exposure to the atmosphere ; the coloring matter, therefore, appears to be de- 
colorised both by exposure to, and exclusion from the air, phenomena apparently 
of very opposite characters. The cause of the latter phenomenon has never, so 
far as I am aware, been quite satisfactorily explained; but it has been variously 
supposed to be due : — 

1. To the mere negation of oxygen. 

2. To the development, in the liquids, of various substances, capable of 
exerting a decolorismg influence on the coloring matter. 

3. To deoxidation of the coloring matter by substances, which have a great 
tendency to become oxidised or peroxised ; e.g. hydrogen, in the case of de- 
eolorisation by sulphui'etted hydrogen, nascent hydrogen, and the protoxides 
of iron and tin, &c. 

4. To the fixation of an additional amount of hydrogen in a new colorless 
body, formed by the union of the sulphuretted hydrogen or other substances 
with the coloring matter of the liquid. This view is chiefly supported by Kane, 
who says, " that precisely as the coloring matters combine with water, to form 
different shades of red-colored bodies — with ammonia to produce a series 
of bodies, which are blue and purple — so they combined with sulphuretted 
hydrogen to form coloiless compounds in solution, which, if solid, very probably 
would be white." He supposes, in a word, that for every colored substance 
existing in orchil and litmus, there is a corresponding white one, producible by 
tbe action of sulphuretted hydrogen, &c. ; and, in proof of this theory, he 
mentions having obtained from Azolitmine and Betaorceine colorless bodies, to 
which he gave tbe respective names of Leuco-litmine and Leuco-orceine. 

The author then gave a short summary of Dr. Westring's experiments on the 
dyeing powers of the Swedish lichens, which he found might be conveniently 
divided into four classes, according to the degree of heat employed in their 
maceration, viz. : — 

1. Lichens, Avhose coloring matter was easily extractable by cold water alone. 

2. Those which required for the eliminationof their coloring matter, macera- 
tion in tepid ysTdiiex (^. e. below 258 degs. Swedish thermometer). 

3. Those which required maceration in ivann water (i. e. between 50 and 
60 degs. Swedish thermometer). 

4. Those requiring boiling water alone, or with the aid of solvents. 

" It must be admitted that our knowledge of the true nature of the colorofic 
and coloring principles of the lichens is, as yet, very imperfect and confused, 
and one great cause of the dubity and obscurity overhanging the subject, is 
the fact that different analysts have arrived at most opposite results, even in 
the examination of the same species. For instance, in Eocella iinctoria, which 
has, of all the dye-Lichens, been most frequently selected for analytical in- 
vestigation, on account of its important product orchil, the discrepancies be- 
tween the results obtained are very striking. In it Heeren discovered his 
Erythrine ; Kane his Erythriline ; Schunk his Erythric acid ; and Stcnhouse 



490 



DYES AKE COLORTJfG- STUFFS, 



three diiFerent substances in as many varieties of the plant ; all of these bodies 
differing more or less from each other in composition and properties (at least, 
if we a,re to assume, as correct, the descriptions given of them by their re-* 
spective discoverers"). 

" I have already hinted that there is no ratio between the external and in- 
ternal color or structure of a lichen, and the kind or amount of coloring matter 
it will be found to yield. It is exceedingly natural to suppose that such a ratio 
should exist ; but, proceeding for some time on this supposition, I was fre- 
quently disappointed in my results— the most showy and brilliantly colored 
lichens often furnishing the dullest and most worthless colors. For instance, 
the bright yellow thallus of Parmelia parietina^ and the beautiful scarlet apo- 
thecia of Scyphophorm cocciferm^ instead of producing a rich yellow in the 
one case, and a deep crimson in the other, yielded, respectively, only dirty 
greenish-yellow and brownish colors. As a general rule I should almost be 
inclined to say that the finer the color of the thallus of any given lichen, the 
more is that lichen to be suspected of poverty in valuable coloring matters ; 
and that, on the other hand, the palest pulverulent or crustaceous species, 
especially such as are sasicolous, may be expected to yield the most beautiful and 
valuable pigments [e.g. the Hocellas and Lecanoras). In such circumstances it 
is necessary to have some test, of easy applicability, of the kind and amount 
of colorific properties of any lichen, and this fortunately is readily attainable." 

The fourth section of the paper was devoted to the consideration of the 
various tests of colorific power, which have been recommended by different 
authors. " Of these, the greater number proceed on the j)rinciple of develop - 
ing the coloring matter by some alkali, in conjunction with the decomposing 
action of atmospheric oxygen and water ; others are founded on the re-action 
between colorific principles of certain of the dye lichens and somo of our 
ordinarj^ chemical re-agents." The author noticed in particular— 

1. Helot's test, \ 

2. WBstring's tests, \ qualitative. 

3. Stenhouse's test, ) 

4. ,, quantitative. 

Helot's test consists in digesting the dried and powdered lichen or a few 
hours, at a temperature of 130 degs., in a weak solution of ammonia, sufiiciently 
strong, however, to be tolerably pungent. One that is fit for the dyer will yield 
a rich violet red liquor. 

Dr. Westring recommended simply macerating three or four drachms of the 
lichen in cool spring water, assisting, perhaps, the solvent action of the water 
by minute quantities of common salt, nitre, quicklime, sulphate of copper or 
iron, or similar re-agents. If these means failed, after a sufficient length of 
time had been allowed for the development of color, he digested a fresh portion 
of the pulverised lichen in water, containing small quantities of sal-ammoniac 
and quicklime [in the proportion of 25 parts of Water, 1-lOth lime, and l-20th 
sal-ammoniac for every part of lichen], for a period varying from eight to 
fourteen days, and by this process, he says, he never failed to develop all the 
color which the plant was capable of yielding. 

Dr. Stenhouse, of London, one of our latest and best authorities on the 
chemistry of the lichens, adds to an alcoholic infusion of the lichen, a solution 
of common bleaching powder (chloride of lime), whereby, if it contain certain 
colorific principles capable of developing, under the joint action of air, water, 
and ammonia, red coloring matters, a fugitive but distinct blood -red color will 
be exhibited. The amount of this colorific matter may be estimated quanti- 
tatively by noting the quantity of the chloride of lime solution required to 
destroy this blood-red color in different cases : or the same result may be ob- 
tained by macerating for a short period in milk of lime — filtering — precipitating 
the filtered liquor by acetic or muriatic acid — collecting this precipitate on a 
weighed filter — drying at ordinary temperatures and again weighing. 

The author entered into a full analysis of these tests and processes — 
pointing out their respective advantages and disadvantages — and shouung their 
practical value and applicatons. He stated that he had made use of these, and 
various other tests, in upwards of 300 experiments, and the one which he em- 



MCHEjrS, 



491 



ployed to tke greatest extent, because most uniformlT applicable, was Helot's 
ammonia test. The follo%ving combination is that most favorable for the de- 
velopment of the coloring matter of the lichens — viz., the presence 

1. Of icater as a solvent menstruum. 

2. Of atmospheric oxygen, 

3. Of ammonia^ in the state of vapor or in solution, and 

4. Of a moderate degree of heat ; 

And according as the proportion of these combining elements varies, so do 
the kind and amount of color educed by them. This combination is the 
foundation of all the processes for the manufacture of the lichen dyes through- 
out the world, however different these may appear to be in detail or results. 

I believe it may come to be a matter of great commercial importance to dis- 
cover, at home or abroad, some cheap and easily-procurable substitute for the 
Moccellas, which are gradually becoming scarce, and consequently valuable in 
European commerce, having sometimes fetched, in times of scarcity, no less 
than £1,000 per ton. No plants can be so easily collected and preserved as 
lichens — requiring merely to be cleaned, dried, pulverised, and packed; and 
if their bulk be an objection to transport, their whole colorific matter may be 
collected in the way I have already mentioned. Ascending to the verge of 
eternal snows, and descending to the ocean level — with a geographical difi'usion 
that is co-extensive with the surface of our earth, it is difficult to say where 
lichens shall not be found. There are myriads of small rocky islets in the 
boundless ocean, and there are thousands of miles of barren rocky coast and sterile 
mountain range in every part of the world, which, though at present imfit to 
bear any of the higher members of the vegetable kingdom, are yet carpeted and 
adorned with a rich covering of lichens, and of those very species too, which 
I have ah'eady spoken of as prolific in colorific materials. I sincerely believe, 
therefore, that a more general attention to the very simple tests just enume- 
rated, would ultimately result in a greatly extended use of the lichens as dye 
agents. What renders it very probable that etforts in this direction are likely 
to meet with success is the gi-eat similarity of species found all over the world. 
It has been repeatedly noticed that the European species, which, of course, 
are best known, diff'er little from those of North America, Dr. Eobert Brown 
remarked the same fact with regard to New Holland species, and Humboldt 
also recognised the similarity in natives of the South American Andes. Of a 
large collection made by Professor Royle, in the Himalayas, Don pronounced 
almost every one to be identical with European species. From txamining the 
raw vegetable products, sent by different countries to the Great Exhibition of 
1851, I am satisfied that, even now, there are many fields open for the esta- 
blishment of an export trade in Eoccellas and other so-called orchella weeds." 
I there saw specimens of good dye lichens from almost every part of the world, 
including our own young colonies; and as a single instance of their probable 
value, I may introduce here the copy of a note appended to a specimen of 
orchella weed from the island of Socotra, contained in the Indian collection of 
that exhibition, " abundant, but unTcnown as an article of use or commerce. 
Also abundant on the hills around (Aden) and mighthe made an article of trade." 
Eoccellas from this source are estimated as worth £190 to £380 per ton. I 
believe that a similar statement might be made with regard to the countless 
islands of the broad Atlantic and Pacific, which may, at some future period, 
perhaps not far distant, be found to be rich depots of orchella weeds, just as 
some of them are, at present, rich fields of guano, and may, as such, become 
new nuclei of British commerce and enterprise. Even at home, in the imme- 
diate vicinity of Edinburgh, or, to restrict our limits still more narrowly, 
within the compass of Arthur's Seat, there are not a few very good dye-lichens, 
which require merely to be scraped with an old knife or similar instrument, 
from the rocks to which they adhere, and subjected to the ammonia process al- 
ready mentioned. Of twelve specimens thus collected at random one morning, 
I found no less than three yielded beautiful purple-red colors, apparently as 
fine as orchil or cudbear, while the others furnished rich and dark tints of 
brownish -red, brown and olive-green. 

Dr. Lindley's communication was illustrated with specimens of coloring 



492 TAIflfING SUBSTANCES. 

matters yielded by various lichens collected in the neighbourhood of Edin- 
burgh, &c. 



BAEKS rOE TANMNa. 

Let us now take a brief re\dew of fhe sources from whence tan- 
ning materials may be obtained, which will also enable ns to form 
a fair estimate of the prospect of future supplies. Only one medal 
was awarded, at the G-reat Exhibition, for tanning substances, viz., 
to Messrs. Curtis, Brothers (United Kingdom, No. 126), but 
honorable mention was made of the following competitors : — One 
from Tunis, one from Yan Diemen's Land, one from New Zealand, 
one from Belgium, one from the Cape of Grood Hope, one from 
Canada, and one from the United Kingdom. 

The substance from which pui'e tannin is most frequently obtained 
for chemical purposes is nutgalls, for tannin constitutes above 
40 per cent, of their weight. It may be procured also from 
several other som^ces, such as oak, horse chestuut, sumach, and 
cinchona barks, catechu, kino, &c. 

The basis of the skins of animals is composed of a substance to 
which the name of gelatine is given. One of the properties of 
this substance is, that when combined with tannin, it forms the 
compound of tannate of gelatine, or leather, a substance which is 
so useful to mankind. Prom time immemorial, the substance em- 
ployed to fiumish the tannin to the hides of animals, in order to 
convert them into leather, has been oak bark. But as the purpose 
for which oaks are grown is their timber, and not their bark, the 
supply of oak bark cannot be calculated upon, and this is, perhaps, 
one of the causes why tanning as an art is in such a backward 
state. 

The consumption of tannin required in the leather manufacture 
may be estimated from the fact that more than 672,000 cwts. of 
raw hides were imported in 1851, besides the hides of the cattle, 
&c., consumed in the United Kingdom. On the Continent and in 
the United States the consumption of bark for this purpose is also 
considerable. 

The imports of bark for the use of tanners and dyers has 
amounted yearly to the very large quantiy of 380,674 cwt., 
besides what we obtain at home. Oak bark contains usually the 
largest proportion of tannin, and according to Davy's experiments 
eight-and-a-half pounds of oak bark are equivalent for tanning 
purposes to t\vo-and-a-quarter of galls, three of sumach, seven-and- 
a-half of Leicester willow, eleven of Spanish chesnut, eighteen of 
elm, and twenty-one of common willow bark. Tannin obtained 
from these sources, however, differs materially in some of its 
characters. The tannin of nut-galls, which is that generally em- 
ployed for chemical purposes, is sometimes called gallo-tannic acid, 
to distinguish it from other species. 



TA^TITIKG SUBSTAIfCES. 



493 



l^otwithstanding the number of difierent substances which have 
from time to time been introduced for the use of tanners, it is, 
nevertheless, pretty generally acknowledged that there is nothing 
superior, or even equal, to good oak bark, and that all attempts to 
hurry the process beyond a certain point by the use of concen- 
trated solutions of tan, &c., are for the most part failures, as the 
manufactui'e of good leather, to a great extent, depends on the 
process being conducted in a slow and gradual, but — at the same 
time — thorough and complete matter. 

Oak bark is, however, by no means the only astringent bark 
well suited to the use of the tanner, and in various parts of the 
world other similar substances are used with very great success. 
All these tanning materials, though they may not be considered 
by the English tanner equal to the best oak bark, are, neverthe- 
less, of great value to him ; they may be employed in conjunction 
with oak bark, or even as a substitute in times of scarcity, or 
when the price of oak bark is high ; in fact the very existence of 
such substances tends to keep down and equalise the price of 
bark, and to prevent it from undergoing those great fluctaations 
in value which would necessarily occur were it the only tanning 
material available to our manufacture — (" Prof. Solly in Jury 
Beports of Great Exhibition.") 

There are a vast number of bark and other substances useful 
for tanning purposes, which are found in the tropics, that are com- 
paratively unknown or little regarded in Europe; but which 
might be readily obtained in large quantities and at a trifling cost. 
The bark of many species of Acacia furnishes the tanning princi- 
ple in a great degree, particularly that of A. arahica, which, under 
the name of Babul wood, is largely used about Scinde, Biliary, 
Gruzerat, and other parts of India ; where it is regarded as a power- 
ful tonic. The fruit of A. vera, termed Egyptian and Senegal 
" bablah," has been employed in tanning and dyeing, Numerous 
species of this tribe are found abundant in New South Wales 
and the Cape Colony, and these, particularly the wattle bark of 
Australia, are in common use for tanning, from their astringent 
properties. The bark and rind of the fruit of the pomegranate 
(Pumica Granatd) have similar properties. 

The bark of Avicenna tomentosa is in great use in the Brazils 
for tanning. So are the curved pods of Ccesalpinia Coriari, in 
the East and West Indies, under the name of Divi-divi. Coriaria 
myrtifolia is not only used in tanning leather, but also for staining 
black. It is worth £9 to £10 per ton. I*terocarpus marsupium 
furnishes about Tellicherry the concrete exudation called kino, a 
powerful astringent used for tanning. 

The plants of the mangrove tribe, BhizopJiora Mangle, and other 
allied species, have frequently an astringent bark, which is in many 
cases used for tanning and dyeing black. This tree is very 
common in most tropical countries, where it forms dense thickets 
on the muddy banks of rivers and the sea shores. The bark of 



494 



TANNING SUBSTANCES. 



Bauliinia variegata, is made use of in Sciude and other parts of 
Asia. The bitter astringent bark and the galls of several of the 
Tamarisk tribe are also well suited for the purpose. 

31esenibryantkemum nodiflorum, one of the numerous indigenous 
species of the Cape, is used in making morocco leather. 

The extract procured from the bark of the Butea, that of the 
Buclianania latifolia, the Scyzgium {Calyptranthes) , Jamholana, &c., 
are likely to be of consequence to the tanners, and could be pro- 
duced in India in large quantities. Specimens of these, and of the 
bark of the Saul tree, o^. Nyclianthes arhortrista, Terminalia angus- 
tifolia, and of the gaub fruit (Biospyros glutinosd), were shown by 
the East India Company. The bark of the hemlock tree is ex- 
tensively employed for tanning in ]^ew Brunswick. 

The bark of yellow hercules {Xantlioxylwn ocliroxyloii) , and 
the pods of Acacia tortuosa are used for tanning in the West 
Indies. 

In the instructions given by the Admiralty to Sir James !Ross, 
when proceeding on his Antarctic Expedition, his attention was 
particularly called to the astringent substances adapted for tan- 
ning, and to the various extracts of barks, &c., imported into 
England from our Australian settlements, and which are employed 
by the tanner. Little sterling information has as yet been ob- 
tained as to the qualities of the astringent gums, barks, and dyes, 
yielded in such abundance by the trees of those colonies, and the 
proportion of tannin they contained. 

In 1846, 563 tons of bark for tanning were exported from 
Port Phillip. 

A large quantity of tannin is extracted from various species 
of Eucalyptus, the gigantic gum trees in Australia and Van 
Diemen's Land (of which quarter all the species are natives), 
and sent to the English market ; it is said to be twice as power- 
ful in its operations as oak bark. Some of these trees attain a 
height of 200 feet. Their bark separates remarkably into layers. 
A sort of kino gum, an astringent resinous-like substance, is also 
extracted from resinifera^ the brown gum-tree of New Hol- 
land, which is sold in the medicine bazaars of India. It exudes 
in the form of red juice from incisions in the bark. A single tree 
will often yield 60 gallons. In Brazil they use the bark of Luhea 
•panicata, an evergreen climber, for tanniiig leather ; and in Peru 
the bark of some species of Weimnaunia serve the same purpose. 
Among other powerful astringents I may notice the root of a 
species of Sea Lavender (Statice Garoliniana), Myrica cerifera, 
and Seuchera Americana, all natives of North America. Also the 
petals of mhiscus Bosa-sinensis, a native of Asia. 

The sea-side grape {Qoccolaba uviferci) yields an astringent sub- 
stance, known as Jamaica kino. 

The bark of the Cassia auriculata, and the milky juice of the 
Asclepias gigantea, are used lor tanning in India. 

The red astringent gum obtained from Butea frondosa, a 



TAKNrN'G SriJSTANCES- 



495 



middling size tree, common in Bengal and the moantainons parts 
of India, is used by the natives for tanning. English tanners,, 
however, object to its nse on account of the color which it com- 
municates to the leather. 

The barks of the 31ora exceUa, Benth ; Courida (Avicenna 
nutida), cashew {Anicardium occidentaJe), guava and hog-plum 
(Spo)idius lufea, Linn.), have all been successfully used for tanning 
in Demerara and the "West India Islands, w^here they are very 
abundant. Specimens were sent from British Guiana. 

The root of the Palmetto palm {Chcem(srops Falmetto) is 
stated to be valuable for the purposes of tanning. The leaves of 
Nerium Oleander contain tannic acid. The bark of a species of 
Malphigia is much used by the Brazilians. 

The panke {Gunner a scahra) is a line plant, growing in Chili, 
on the sandstone cliffs, which somewhat resembles the rhubarb on 
a gigantic scale. The inhabitants eat the stalks, which are sub- 
acid, tan leather with the roots, and also prepare a black dye from 
them. The leaf is nearly circular, but deeply indented on its 
margin. Mr. Darwin measured one which was nearly eight feet 
in diameter, and therefore no less than twenty- four in circum- 
ference. The stalk is rather more than a yard high, and each plant 
sends out four or five of these enormous leaves, presenting to- 
gether a very noble appearance. 

The barks replete with the tanning principle should be stripped 
with hatchets and bills from the trunk and branches of trees in 
spring, when their sap flows most freely. The average quantity of 
oak bark obtained from our forests is estimated at 150,000 tons 
annually, of which Ireland and Scotland furnish but a very small 
quantity. 

The following table, given by Dr. Ure, shows the quantity of 
extractive matter and tannin yielded by different substances : — 

In 480 parts In 100 parts 

by Davy. by Cadet. 

Sicilian sumacli 78 — 

Malaga ditto 79 — 

Souchong tea 48 — 

Green tea 41 — 

Bombay catecliu 261 — 

Bengal ditto 231 — 

NutgaUs 127 46 

Bark of pomegranate — 32 

,, Virginian sumacli .. — 10 

„ Carolina ditto — 5 

Catechu and Gambler are very valuable for tanning, and are 
alluded to under the heads Gambieb and Aeeca palm. 

Catechu is obtained from the Acacia Catechu, an arboreous tree 
growing from fifteen to twenty feet high, with a brown and 
scabrous bark. The interior wood is brown, dark red or blackish, 
and the exterior white, one or two inches thick. It inhabits various 



496 



TANNINQ- SUBSTANCES, 



parts of the East Indies, of whicli it is a native, and is also now 
common in Jamaica. It bears wliitisli or pale yellow flowers. 

The catechu obtained from this tree in Pegu, is celebrated 
throughout India, and fetches £4 to £5 more per ton than gam- 
bier and other astringent extracts. "When of good quality, catecha 
is more powerful as an astringent than kino. Of all the astrin- 
gent substances we know, catechu appears to contain the largest 
proportion of tannin, and Mr. Purkis found that one pound was 
equivalent to seven or eight of oak bark for tanning leather. 

The term catechu, observes Dr. Pereira, is applied to various 
astringent extracts imported from India and the neighbouring 
countries. A few years ago the terms catechu, terra japonica, 
and cutch were employed synonymously ; they are now, however, 
for the most part used in trade somewhat distinctively, though not 
uniformly in the same sense. The manufacture of catechu from the 
Acacia catechu as practised in Canara and Behar,has been described 
by Mr. Kerr (" Med. Obs. and Inquiries," vol. v.), and Dr. 
Hamilton (" Journey through Mysore," &c., vol, iii.), while Pro- 
fessor Royle has explained the process followed in Northern India. 
Accordmg to the last-mentioned gentleman, " the kutt manu- 
facturers move to diflerent parts of the country in diflerent 
seasons, erect temporary huts in the jungles, and selectiug trees 
fit for their purpose, cut the inner wood into small chips. These 
they put into small earthen pots, which are arranged in a double 
row, along a fireplace built of mud ; water is then poured in 
until the whole are covered ; after a considerable portion has boiled 
away, the clear liquor is strained into one of the neighbouring 
pots, and a fresh supply of the material is put into the first, and 
the operation repeated until the extract in the general receiver is 
of sufiicient consistence to be poured into clay moulds, which, in 
the Kheree Pass and Doon, where I have seen the process, are 
generally of a quadrangular form. This catechu is usually of a 
pale red color, and is considered there to be of the best quality. 
Py the manufacturers it is conveyed to Saharunpore and Morada- 
bad, whence it follows the course of commerce down the Ganges, 
and meets that from Kepaul, so that both may be exported from 
Calcutta." 



GIAMBIEE. 

The Grambier plant ( Uncaria Gamhier, Poxburgh, Nauclea Gam- 
iir, Hunter), has been described by Pumphius under the name of 
Funis uncatus. It is a stout, scandent, evergreen shrub, which 
strongly resembles the myrtle. It is generally cultivated in the 
same plantation with pepper, as the leaves and shoots, after under- 
going the process by which their juice is extracted, to furnish a 
kind of catechu, are found to be an excellent manure for the pep- 
per vines. The leaves and young shoots of the gambler plant 



GAMBIEE. 



497 



are collected as soon as they have attained a sufficient size, and 
boiled in iron pans until the juice acquires the consistence of 
treacle. The decoction is poured out into narrow troughs, dried, 
and afterwards cut up into small cakes, and packed in baskets for 
exportation. The garabier extract, which is of a yellowish brown 
color, and has the consistence of hard cheese, is much esteemed 
by the Malays for mixing with the preparation of betel, which 
they are in the habit of chewing; and considerable quantities have 
lately been imported to this country, Avhere it is used for dyeing 
colors, and for tanning leather. The deinand for gambier here is 
on the increase ; and when better known to our chemists, it will 
probably be found applicable to many other purposes than those 
to whicb it is at present applied. 

There were, in 1850, 400 gambier and pepper plantations on 
the island of Singapore ; each measures or occupies on an average 
an area of 500 fathoms square, and employs eight to ten hands 
to cultivate and manufacture the gambier and pepper. There 
are some pepper plantations in addition, and they have been found 
to answer very well without any gambier beiDg cultivated with 
them. Grambier cultivation is generally a losing undertaking, but 
it is adopted to obtain the refuse of the leaves for manuring the 
pepper vines, and also to employ the people in the plantations ; it 
besides aiibrds the pro])rietors the means of getting monthly sums 
to carry on the cultivation of pepper, which affords two crops yearly. 
There were formerly 600 plantations in Singapore, but the reason 
already assigned, and the formation of spice plantations contiguous 
have caused the abandonment of all those near the town. Each 
plantation must have an equal extent of forest land to that cul- 
tivated with gambier and pepper, to enable the manufacture of 
the gambier being carried on, and each gambier plantation, of 
500 fathoms square, contains about 3,500 pepper vines, which 
yield on an average two catties per vine, or 70 piculs of pepper, 
and about 170 piculs of gambier annually ; — a good plantation will, 
however, yield sometimes as much as 120 piculs of pepper, and 
200 piculs of gambier, and a bad one as little as 40 to 50 piculs 
of pepper, and 60 to 80 piculs of gambier. "Were it not for the 
enormous commission charged by the agents of these plantations, 
from whom the cultivators get all the advances, it would prove a 
profitable cultivation. The rates of commission charged generally 
are as follows : — Per picul of gambier, fifteen to twenty-five cents ; 
per picul of pepper, thirty to forty cents ; and if the price of the 
former is below one-and-a-half dollars, and the latter below three- 
and-a-half dollars per picul, a small reduction is made in the rates 
of commission. On every picul of rice supplied to the planters 
twenty to twenty -five cents commission is charged ; this includes 
the interest of money advanced, which is never charged. A gam- 
bier and pepper plantation is valued or estimated at about 400 
dollars on an average. The following is supposed to be a correct 
estimate, on an average, of the yearly expenditure and returns of 
a gambier and pepper plantation of 500 fathoms square, viz : — - 

2 K 



498 



SUBSTANCES. 



EXPENDITURE. 



respectively 

Five picTils of rice, including commissionj say 

Fish, &c. _ 

Boat or cart hii-e to carry rice and produce , , . . 



170 piculs of gambler, valued at I dollar 45 cents 
per picul, less 15 cents commission charge- 
able, nett . 

70 piculs of pepper, at 4| dollars, less 40 cents 

per picul commission, nett 

Yearly profit, 73 dollars, or about £15 



drs. c. 


men. 


drs. c. 


( 22 


.. 12 .. 


272 40 


6 so 


. . 12 . . 


81 60 


5 


.. 12 .. 


60 0 


If 


12 


21 0 






435 0 


1 221 


30 




1 287 


0 


, 508 0 



Several gambier and pepper plantations have been abandoned in 
Singapore, partly from the ground being impoverished, but more 
particularly from the exhaustion of the forest adjacent to their 
estates. The exhaustion of the trees by yearly consumption de- 
prives the planters of the necessary fire wood which is iised for • 
the boiling down of the gambier. A gambier plantation gets ex- 
hausted in fifteen years, either from the want of firewood or the 
land getting impoverished. 

There are about 200 plantations at Johore, and the produce of 
gambier for the season of 1851 was calculated at 30,000 piculs. 

This shrub was, at one period, cultivated with success at Pinang 
and other places to the eastward, but as Java was the principal 
market for the produce, and the Dutch had levied a duty of twelve 
Java rupees per picul on it, the cultivation at the former island 
did not repay its cost, and it was accordingly abandoned. Prices 
have been lately advancing, and the Chinese are talking of trying- 
it again. The plant is partial to hilly land or slopes at the skirts 
of hills. Two hundred plants are usually placed on one orlong 
of laud, being six feet asunder. They are raised from seed, and 
are topped to eight or ten feet, when the gambier is to be prepared. 
The Chinese dry the seed slightly, and sow in rainy weather. 

The seeds vegetate in forty days, and are planted out in the 
second or third month afterwards. 

At the expiration of fourteen months, the first cutting of the 
branches, with the leaves on, is made. These are put into a boiler, 
and when the juice has been extracted, the branches and refuse 
are thrown away, and the boiling is continued until the liquor has 
obtained the proper consistence, when it is put into shallow 
troughs, dried, and cut into slices for sale. The second cutting 
takes place eight months subsequently to the first. The plant now 
grows strong and admits of frequent cropping, and it will endure 
for twenty years. No manure is used, but the plantation is kept 
clean. 

Estimated cost of cultivating ten orlongs, about 13 acres, accord- 
ing to Colonel Low : — 



GAMBIEK. 499 

Spanish dollars. 

Value of cleared land, ten orlongs 200 

Six laborers per annum 360 

Quit rent 7 

Boilers, firewood, and implements 20 

Houses 50 

Incidental 30 

Total first year 667 

Second year , 397 



1,064 

Tlie six laborers on the plantation will, after the above period, 
be constantly employed in cutting and preparing the gambler ; 
the average product will be 15 picuis monthly, which, at two 
dollars per picul, will be 30 dollars monthly, or 360 dollars per 
annum. This is the account obtained by collating different Chinese 
statements. 

The Naiiclea Gamlir is placed by Jussieu under the natural 
order JRubiacece ; it is a shrub attaining the height of six to eight 
feet, branchy ; the leaves are ovate, pointed, smooth, waving, dis- 
tinctly veined transversely underneath, of dark green color, and, 
when chewed, they have a bitter astringent taste, leaving how- 
ever, afterwards, a sweetish taste in the mouth, not unlike 
liquorice ; the flowers are aggregate, globular, composed of nu- 
merous florets, crowded on a globular naked receptacle ; tubes of 
the corolla of a pinkish color; the upper part of the corolla fine, 
cleft, and of a greenish yellow color; the staminse are five in number, 
and short ; the pistil is longer than the coroEa ; the flowers are 
destitute of fragrance ; the capsules (as correctly stated by Mr. 
Hunter) are stalked oblong, incrusted, and crowned with a calyx ; 
tapering to a point below ; two celled, two valv^ed, the valves ad- 
hering at the apex, splitting at the sides ; seeds very numerous, 
oblong, very small, compressed, furnished at both ends with a 
membraneous pappus. 

The gambler plant is propagated either by seeds or cuttings, 
but the latter are preferred. It is cultivated to some extent at 
Singapore, but it is said that the gambler can be imported cheaper 
from the islands in the vicinity, more especially at the Dutch set- 
tlement at Ehio. The extract is used extensively by the natives 
of India, Eastern Archipelago, Cochin- China, and Cambodia, as 
a masticatory, wrapped up with the betel. 

There are tliree different qualities of extract ; the first and best 
is white, brittle, and has an earthy appearance when rubbed be- 
tween the fingers (which earthy a,ppearance gave it the name of 
Terra Japonica, being supposed, at first also, to come from Japan), 
and is formed into very small round cakes. This is the dearest 
sort, and most refined, but it is not unfrequently adulterated with 
sago ; this kind is brought in the greatest quantity from the island 
of Sumatra. The secoud quality is of a brownish yellow color, is 
formed into oblong cakes, and, when broken, has a light brown 
earthy appearance ; it is also made into a solid cube form ; it is 

2 K 2 



500 



TANNING SUBSTANCES. 



sold in the bazars in small packets, each containing five or six. 
The third quality contains more impurities than the preceding, is 
formed into small circular cakes, and is sold in packages of five or 
six in the bazar. 

The method employed in preparing the extract is thus correctly 
related by Einlayson : — " The leaves are collected three or four 
times a year ; they are thrown into a large cauldron, the bottom of 
which is formed of iron, the upper part of bark, and boiled for five 
or six hours, until a strong decoction is obtained ; the leaves are 
then withdrawn, and allowed to strain over the vessel, which is 
kept boiling for as many hours more, until the decoction is inspis- 
sated ; it is then allowed to cool, when the catechu subsides, The 
water is dra^^^l off"; a soft soapy substance remains, which is cut 
into large masses ; these are further divided by a knife into small 
cubes, about an inch square, or into still smaller pieces, which are 
laid in frames to dry. This catechu has more of a granular, uniform 
appearance than that of Bengal ; it is, perhaps, also less pure." 

The younger leaves of the shrub are said to produce the whitest 
and best gambier ; the older, a brown and inferior sort. There are 
other species of JSfauclea indigenous to Singapore, but they do not 
produce any extract. 

Dr. Bennett has particularised four qualities of gambier : — 

1. Small round cakes, about the size of a small lozenge. Color 
pale, purplish, yellowish, white. 

2. Cubes, in which shape it is principally imported into England^ 
and square prisms, or oblong pieces. 

3. Circular discs, or short cylindrical pieces. 

4. Cubical amylaceous pieces, of a darker brown than the other 
kinds. 

Gambier is one of the most powerful of the pure astringents. 
The chief places of manufacture are Saik, Malacca, Singapore, 
and Ehio or Bintang. Bennett, in his " Wanderings," says there 
are 60,000 plantations of gambier on this island. After that of 
Ehio, the next best gambier is that of Lingin. That used by the 
Malays, with the leaves of betel, in the same manner as cutch in 
other parts of India, is the finest and whitest ; the red being 
stronger tasted and rank, is exported to Batavia, China, and Eng- 
land, for the purposes of tanning and dyeing. It is frequently 
adulterated with sago powder, but it may be detected by solution 
in water. 

Large quantities of gambier are imported, under the corrupted 
name of cutch, into Calcutta, from Pegu. The quantity of gambier 
produced in Hhio, by the Chinese settlers, amounts to about 4,600 
tons a year, about 2,000 of which are exported for the consump- 
tion of Java, the rest being sent to Cochin- China and other neigh- 
bouring countries. 

Two methods of obtaining gambier are described. One consists 
in boiling the leaves in water, and in inspissating the decoction ; 
the other, which yields the best gambier, consists in infusing the 
leaves in warm water, by which a fecula is obtained, which is in- 
spissated by the heat of the sun, and formed into cakes. 



GAMBIEE, 



501 



The injudicious practice adopted by the Land Office in Singa- 
pore, of granting indiscriminate licenses, or " cutting papers " as 
they are termed, seems open to objection, and is driving many of 
the Chinese cultivators to the neighbouring island of Johore, where 
they readily obtain permission to cultivate, without obstruction, 
this important article of commerce. Parties of 300 or 400 at a 
time left in 1846. It appears that, under his permissive license, 
the squatter obtains permission to clear as much land as he possibly 
can, but the order does not define any extent beyond which no 
cutting should take place. The squatter clears as much land as 
the means at his disposal will allow, in the hope and expectation 
that the jungle contiguous to the cleared ground will be at his 
command for fuel — a supply of fuel, easy of access, and adequate 
to the number of plants grown, being indispensable to the culture 
and manufacture of gambler. When the time for gathering the 
leaves arrives, another squatter (perhaps from motives of envy or 
malice) obtains a " cutting paper," and commences clearing in 
close proximity to the already-formed gambler plantation; obviously 
depriving the owner of the fuel he has reasonably calculated upon. 
The established planter cannot of course eject the intruder from 
the land, since the latter possesses an equal right to it, in virtue 
of his " cutting paper," which, as it specifies no limits, leaves him 
the disposer or destroyer of the crop of the industrious planter. 
Instead of the present system, a better practice ought to be intro- 
duced, defining the boundaries to be included in a " cutting paper," 
and effectually preventing a trespass on the fuel-land of the indus- 
trious planter. This might easily be effected by specifying the 
number of acres, as well as the direction, in every clearing paper 
granted. 

The average produce of gambler in Singapore is between 
7,000 and 8,000 piculs monthly. The ordinary price is about 
Ij dollars per picul. A deficiency of rain, labor, or other causes, 
will occasionally reduce the annual produce from 90,000 or 100,000 
piculs, to 60,000 or 70,000, and this diminished supply will raise 
the market price of the article probably 35 cents per picul. But, 
in addition to the effect occasioned by a deficient supply, there 
are other causes in operation exercising a powerful influence in 
reducing prices. Grambier was first exported in 1830, from Singa- 
pore, to the extent of 2,587 piculs, at 4^ dollars per picul. As a 
rival to bark it failed at so costly a price to meet with encourage- 
ment ; the culture and manufacture consequently declined until 
1834, when 1,858 piculs were shipped to England at a somewhat 
lower rate. The demand then became active, the exportations 
were at first multiplied, then doubled every succeeding year, until 
they reached, in 1846-47 no less than 173,117 piculs. The price 
has gradually declined to li dollars per picul, at which rate it 
displaces its rival, bark. This price, however, is unremunerative 
to the grower, so that, unless more encouragement offers, the 
supply will decline. 

The number of Chinese employed in the cultivation, &c., of 



502 



TANNING SUBSTANCES. 



gambier and pepper in Singapore is about 11,000. Their rate of 
wages fluctuates with the price of gambier. If a picul of gambier 
realizes 1|^ dollars, the monthly pay will be about three dollars ; 
if gambier fetches two dollars, their pay will amount to four 
dollars in the month. The workmen who clean the plantation 
always receive a dollar less than those who cut and boil the 
gambier. 

A good deal of gambier seems now to be grown in Java, for 
58,305 piculs were exported from that island in 1843. A small 
quantity is taken by the Chinese ports, but whether as a mas- 
ticatory or for tanning and dyeing 1 am not aware. ■ 



VALUE OF THE TERRA JAPONICA IMPORTED INTO CEYLON. 





£ 




£ 


1840 


. 611 


1846 


. 824 


1841 


. 1,053 


1847 


. 1,549 


1842 


. . 768 


1848 


. 1,095 
. 896 


1843 


. 471 


1849 


1844 


. 1,153 


1850 


. 265 


1845 


. 537 


1851 


. 386 



In the Customs' returns of imports to this country, two articles 
are enumerated, under the separate names of cutch and terra 
japonica ; the former is catechu and the latter the produce of the 
gambier plant. The imports of gambier were, in 1836, 970 tons ; 
1837, 2,738 tons ; 1838, 1,600 tons ; 1839, 5,213 tons. 





Cutch. 


Terra J" aponica. 




tons. 


tons. 


1848 Imported to the United Kingdom 


1,186 . . 


5,623 


Retained for home consumption 


765 . . 


. . ■ 5,102 


1849 Imported 


1,636 . . 


6,851 


Retained for home consumption 


869 . . 


5,400 


1850 Imported 


1,172 . . 


4.585 


Home consumption 


787 . . 


3,655 


1851 Imported 


2,401 . . 


4,783 


Home consumption 


2,020 . . 


4,431 


1852 Imported 


2,236 . . 


3,244 


Home consumption 


1,708 . . 


3,003 



Catechu, imported under its Indian name of cutch, is brought 
over in bales or baskets of from one to four cwt., the price being 
£18 to £25 per ton. About 450 cwt. of terra japonica or gambier 
is annually imported into Hull from the East Indies. The im- 
ports of the two substances into Liverpool is about 900 tons. 
Gambier is only worth £13 to £14 the ton; a few years ago it 
fetched 26s. the cwt. The imports into the port of London 
average 1,500 tons annually. 

4,679 bales, and 14,436 baskets of terra japonica were imported 
into Liverpool in 1851, and 14,000 bales and baskets in 1852. 
The imports of cutch were 10,290 bags, and 2,592 baskets, in 
1851, and 11,873 bags and baskets in 1852 ; the prices, which 
were from 16s. 6d. to 18s. per cwt. for each article, in 1851, were 
rapidly run up in Liverpool, in 1853, owing to short supplies, to 
25s. for gambier, and 22s. to 24s. per cwt, for cutch, or catechu. 



DIVI-DIYI. 



503 



EXPORTS OF GAMBIEE, FROM SINGAPORE, WITH THE OFFICIAL VALUE IN RUPEES. 







Piculs. 


Value in rupees 


1840-41 . 


. Exported 


79,508 


457,560 


?> 


Growth of Singapore . 


. 59,325 


1841-42 . 


. Exported 


93,340 


470,790 




Growth of Singapore . 


47,696 


1842-43 . 


. Exported 


. 148,746 


548,2Sl 


?) 


Growth of Singapore . 


. 110,151 




. Exported 


1 on n!^(\ 






Gi-owth of Singapore . 


. 121,791 




1844-45 . 


. Exported 


. 157,654 


. . 539,978 




Growth of Singapore , 


, 134,528 


1845-46 . 


. Exported 


. 110,766 


. . 425,643 




Growth of Singapore . 


. 75,797 


1846-47 . 


. Exported 


. 173,117 


. . 591,943 




Growth of Singapore . 


. 143,795 





The exports of gambier from Singapore were as follows ; — 



To England. To the Continent. Total. ; 

piculs. piculs. piculs. 

1849 . . 134,546 . . 6,121 . . 140,667 

1850 . . 87,611 . , 16,166 . . 103,777 

1851 . . 68,365 . . 11,639 . . 80,004 

1852 . . 68,045 . . 9,006 . . 77,051 



The exports of cutch from Pinang, in the last four years, have 
been:— 1849, 3,G93 ^ piculs ; 1850, 900; 1851, 4,143; 1852, 
3,880 ; or, on an average, 197 tons. 

Divi-Divi is the commercial name for the curved pod of a 
leguminous shrub, Ccesalpinia coriaria, which is sometimes im- 
ported from Carthage. Its tannin differs materially from that 
of nutgalls. ; t,The quantity of mucilage which it contains pre- 
cludes it from the use of dyers ; but, as it furnishes nearly 50 
per cent, of tannin, it is largely used by curriers. It is imported 
into Liverpool from Rio de la Hacha, Maracaibo, and Savanila. 400 
tons of the seed pods and bark of the Algaroba, or Locust-tree 
(Prosojjis pallida), were imported in 1849 into Liverpool from 
Valparaiso, as a substitute for divi-divi in tanning. 3,200 lbs. 
of divi-divi were exported from the port of Augostara, in 1846. 

Specimens of divi-divi which had been raised at Calcutta were 
shown in the Indian department of the Grreat Exhibition, 

Dr. Hamilton states that, according to some admirably con- 
ducted experiments of Mr. Eootsey, of Bristol, undertaken at 
his request, the pods of divi-divi contain above 50 per cent, of 
tannin. It appears also, from trials made, that one part of divi- 
divi is sufficient for tanning as much leather as four parts of bark, 
and the process occupies but one-third of the time. 

The average produce of pods from a full-grown tree has been 
estimated at 100 lbs. weight, one-fourth of which consists of 
seeds or refuse, leaving about 75 lbs. of marketable matter. 

At an interval of six feet apart, an acre of ground will contain 
1,210 trees, yielding an average of 810 cwts., and 30 pounds, 
or above 40| tons of marketable matter, worth, at only 
£5 per ton, £200. Should the interval between the trees be 



504 



TAJ?5Ii?G SUBSTA57CES, 



extended tvro feet more, vre bIieU still hare 680 to the acre, the 
produce of vrliicli would not improbably be increased by the in- 
creased space given for the extension of the branches. 

The ground in which this tree admits of being cultivated is 
that which is least adapted to the staple products of tropical 
agriculture ; guinea grass may be profitably raised beneath its 
shade and as with the exception of the three years which precede 
the commencement of its bearing, there is hardly any deduction 
to be made from its returns, it promises to be among the most 
valuable objects of a planter's attention. 

Jacquin describes the C(^salinnia coriaria as a handsome 
branching tree, of abont fifteen feet in stature, covered with a 
dark spotted bark. Its leaves are doubly pinnate, and the leaflets 
of twelve pair without a terminal one ; they are oblong, obtuse, 
smooth, very entire. The flowers are disposed in spikes issuing 
from the extremities of the branches ; they are small, yellowish, 
and slightly fragrant. To these succeed oblong, compressed, 
somewhat obtuse pods, curved laterally, the inner side being con- 
cave and the other convex. The seeds rarely exceed three or four 
in each pod, and are of a brownish color. 

Di'd-divi resembles a dried pea-shuck curled up, filled with 
yellow powder, and a few dark brown seeds. The price ranges 
from £8 to £13 per ton. 

The imports into the United Kingdom in 184^;, were 3,900 tons ; 
in 1845 and 1846, about 1,400 tons each year ; during the subse- 
quent three years the imports were merely nominal, but m 1850 
a renewed demand seems to have sprung up, for 2,770 tons were 
imported into Liverpool, and a few tons into London. 

CoEK-TEEE BAEK {Querciis suler') has been imported into Ireland 
to a considerable extent, frequently to the amount of 1,500 tons 
annually. The quantity of cork imported annually into the 
United Kingdom is about 3,000 tons. It is brought from Spain, 
Italy, and Barbary. Oak bark and valonia being very cheap and 
plentiful, the price of cork bark is only nominal, being, for Spanish 
cork-tree bark, £7 lOs. to £8 per ton ; Leghorn ditto, £6 to £7 
per ton. It is less astringent than oak bark, and is more generally 
useful for stoppers of bottles and bungs for casks. 160 tons of 
cork-tree bark were imported into Liverpool from Rabat in 1849, 
and 150 tons in 1850. 

1,867 cwts. of bark for tanning were imported from Chili in 
1844, of which 292 were QuHlai bark. 

Mimosa baek. — The bark of the Mimosa decurrens, which 
abounds in Australia and Van Diemen's Land, is found to be a 
very powerful tanning agent. 

The first shipment of tannin was made from Sydney to England 
as far back as 1823, in the shape of an extract of the bark of two 
species of mimosa, which was readily purchased by the tanners at 
the rate of £50 per ton. One ton of bark had produced four 
cwts. of extract of the consistency of tar. 

In 1843, 3,078 tons of mimosa bark was shipped from Port 



MIMOSA BAEK. 



505 



Phillip to G-reat Eritain. The price then realised in the London 
market Avas £12 to £14 per ton, but it has since declined to £8 a 
ton. The quantity of this bark to be procured in the colony is quite 
inexhaustible. The price of chopped mimosa bark in Australia, for 
export, in the close of 1846, was £2 5s. per ton. Bark yalued at 
£912 -«-as exported from Tan Diemen's Land in 1818. 

The imports of mimosa bark have only been to a limited extent 
within the last few years, reaching 350 tons in 1850, against 110 
tons in 1819, 230 tons in 1818, and 600 tons in 1817. The prices 
realised were £10 to £11 for chopped, £12 to £12 10s. for ground, 
and £8 to £9 per ton for unchopped bark, AYhilst the imports 
were 3,900 tons in 1814, they dwindled to less than 400 tons 
in 1850. 

Prom an experiment, conducted by Professor Brandt, the strength 
of the mimosa bark, as compared with that of young English 
oak bark, is found to be in the proportion of 57 to 39, so that 
the mimosa bark is half as strong again as the best English bark. 

Mr. Samuel Mossman, in a communication to the Botanic 
Society of Edinburgh, in 1851, stated that the bark of A. dealhata 
pays to ship to England, notwithstanding the distance, from the 
fact of its containing a greater per centage of tannin than any 
other bark. It is a handsome tree, from fifteen to thirty feet high, 
forming luxuriant groves on the banks of streams, most abundant 
in Port PhiUip and Twofold Bay, between the parallels of latitude 
34 and 30 degrees. 

JSTew Zealand is rich in barks and dyes. The bark of the Tana- 
haka {Phyllodadus tricJiomanoides, of Don) is used by the natives 
as a red dye for the ornamental parts of their kaitahas, their best 
border garments. There is also another red dye, called Tawaivwai, 
the bark of which is very profuse. A black dye is procured from 
the hinau. They are of a rich hue, and exceedingly fast colors. 
The barks are to be found all over the colony. The hinau and 
tanahaka are employed in tanning, all the leather used in the colony 
being tanned either at the Bay of Islands or Port Xicholson. 

The bark of the Eimu or red pine (^Dacrydium Cupressinum, of 
Solander), a very common tree, possesses tanning qualities far 
superior to any of the Australian barks. One pound of the bark 
yields 85 grains of extract. 

The native tanning barks of New Zealand are various and easily 
obtained. Specimens of the bark and dye, &c., of most of these 
trees were sent home to the Grreat Exhibition. One pound of the 
Tanahaka bark is said to yield 63 grains of tannin. The sails of 
boats are dyed \dth. it to preserve them. The Towai {Licospermum 
o-acemosum, of Don, Weinmcnmia racemosa, Decandole), is supposed 
to be valuable for the purposes of the tanner, and is said to yield 
104 grains of tannin for every pound of bark. The bark of the 
Pohutu kawa of the natives, the Metrosidei^os tomentosa of Pichard, 
and CalJistemon elJipticiim of Allan Cimningham, would also be 
useful for tanning, one pound of it furnishing about 60 grains of 
tannin. 



506 



TATfNmG SUBSTA?fCES. 



Tlie bark of the Hino tree, the McBOcarpus hinaic of Cun- 
ningham, the Dicera dentafa of Eorster, is used by the natives for 
djeing black. 

The black mangTove (Wiizopliora mangle) is a tree attaining an 
altitude of from 30 to 50 feet, and occupying marshy situations 
in the vicinity of the sea. Almost every part of the mangrove — 
the bark, roots, and the fruit more particularly — abounds in an 
astringent principle, which is successfully applied to the purposes 
of tanning. As the tree is so abundant within the tropics, it 
might be worth the while of some practical speculator to make an 
extract on the spot, and introduce it into the English market, for 
the use of tanners and dyers. Eor tanning, the mangrove is said 
to be infinitely superior to oak bark, completing in six weeks an 
operation which with the latter occupies at least six months, and 
the sole-leather so tanned is said to be more durable than any 
other. The bark and leaves, which contain nearly as much tannin 
as the oak, are made use of in the West Indies, as well as in 
Scinde and other parts of Asia. 

3,713 piculs of mangrove bark, valued at £819, were shipped 
from Shanghae, one of the Chinese ports, in 1849. 

MvEOBALAisrs. — TMs is a name applied to the almond-like 
kernels of a nut or dried fruit of the plum kind, of which there 
are several sorts known in the East. They are the produce of 
various species of TerminaJia, as T. Bellerica, cliehula, citrina, and 
angustifolia. They vary from the size of olives to that of gall 
nuts, and have a rough, bitter, and unpleasant taste. Many of 
the trees of this tribe, which are all natives of the tropical regions 
of Asia, Africa, and America, are used for tanning, and some for 
dyeing. They are highly valued by dyers, creating, when mixed 
with alum, a durable dark brown yellow. Myrobalans fetch in 
the Bombay market 8s. to 26s. the Surat candy of 821 lbs. The 
bark and leaves of T. Gatappa yield a black pigment, with which 
Indian ink is made ; the seeds are eaten like almonds. A milky 
juice is said to flow from T. angustifolia, which, when dried, is 
fragrant, and, resembling Benzoin, is used as a kind of incense in 
the Catholic churches in the Mauritius. The fruit of T. Bellerica, 
and of T. Gliebula^ both useful timber trees, indigenous to the 
East Indies, are used medicinally as a tonic and astringent. 117 
cwts. of myrobalans were shipped from Ceylon in 1845. 

The annual imports of myrobalans into Hull, amount to about 
1,600 cwts. The quantity which arrived at Liverpool was 185 
tons in 1849, 851 tons in 1850 ; 27,212 bags in 1851, and 19,946 bags 
in 1852 ; they come from Calcutta and Bombay, and are also used . 
for dyeing yellow and black. The price in January, 1853, was 6s. 
to 12s. per cwt. The average annual imports into the United 
Kingdom may be taken at 1,200 tons. 

Kino. — The Kino, of Botany Bay and Yan Diemen's Land, is 
the produce of the iron bark tree, Eucalyptus resinifera. White 
("Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales"), says this tree 
sometimes yields, on incision, 60 gallons of juice. Kino is imported in 



TALOTflA. 



507 



boxes. The tincture of kino is used medicinally,but an inconvenience 
is frequently found to arise, from its changing to the gelatinous 
form. Dr. Pereira seems to think this species of kino consists prin- 
cipally of pectin and tannic acid. That chiefly used as East 
Indian kino, is an extract formed by inspissating a decoction of 
the branches and twigs of the gambler plant. Yanquelin analysed 
it, and found it to consist of, tannin and peculiar extractive matter, 
75 ; red gum, 24i ; insoluble matter, 1. 

The East Indian kino, imported from Bombay and Tellicherry, 
is the produce of Fterocarpus marsupiwn, a loft}^, broad-spread- 
ing forest tree, which blossoms in October and November, The 
bark is of a greyish color, and is upwards of half an inch in thick- 
ness on the trunk. "When cut, a blood-red j nice speedily exudes 
and trickles down ; it soon thickens, and becomes hard in the 
course of fifteen or sixteen hours. The gum is extracted in the 
season when the tree is in blossom, by making longitudinal in- 
cisions in the bark round the trunk, so as to let the gum ooze down 
a broad leaf, placed as a spout, into a receiver. When the receiver 
is filled it is removed. The gum is dried in the sun until it 
crumbles, and then filled in wooden boxes for exportation. 

P. erinaceiis, a tree 40 to 50 feet in height, a native of the woods 
of the Grambia and Senegal, furnishes kino, but none is collected in 
or exported from Africa. Buteafrondosa, or the dhak tree of the 
East Indies, furnishes a similar product, in the shape of a milky, 
colored, brittle, and very astringent gum. Kino is used as a 
powerful astringent, and is administered in the form of powder 
and tincture. Some specimens of Butea kino, analysed by Prof. 
SoUy, after the impurities had been separated, yielded 73i per 
cent, of tannin. 

Yalonia is the commercial name of the cupula or cup of the 
acorn, produced by the Quercus cegilops and its varieties, the 
Balonia or Yalonia oak, natives of the Levant, from w^hence, and the 
Morea, they form a very considerable article of export ; containing 
abundance of tannin they are largely used by tanners. The 
tannin difters materially from that of nutgalls. The bark of Q. 
tinctorea, a native of North America, yields a yellow dye. 

The quantity of valonia imported for home consumption, in 1836, 
was 80,511 cwts., of which Turkey furnished 58,724 cwts., and Italy 
and the Ionian islands 7,209 cwts. Of 163,983 cwts. imported in 
1840, 143,095 cwts. were brought from Turkey, 15,195 cwts. 
from Italy, and the residue from G-reece and the Ionian Islands. 
The entries for home consumption in the three years ending with 
1842, amounted to about 8,200 tons a year. The increase since has 
been considerable, the imports having been, in 1848, 10,237 tons ; 
in 1849, 16,671 tons ; in 1850, 12,526 tons ; in 1851, 10,639 tons ; 
in 1852, 13,870 tons, Yfe receive about 14,000 to 20,000 cwts. 
annually from Leghorn. The imports into the port of Hull are 
3,900 cwts. per year. 

The prices of Smyrna valonias are from £13 to £14 per ton ; 



508 



TAFI?-IITa SUBSTANCES. 



those of picked Morea, £10 per ton. The duty received on 
valonias imported in 1842 was about £4,000. 

The annual produce is suificientto meet the wants of all Europe. 
It can be had in Turkey to any extent and at all periods. Many 
cargoes are sent to Dubhn, and the German markets. A little 
valonia is exported from Manila, the shipments haying been about 
150 tons per annum. 

Camata and Camatina are two varieties of very young valonias, 
which are found more valuable for some processes of tanning than 
the common kinds. 

Extensive as has been the enumeration of the vegetable sub- 
stances used in the various branches of art and manufacture which 
have formed the principal subjects of this section, it is probable 
that with the progress of knowledge, of scientific experiment, and 
of investigation into the properties of given commodities, the list 
will be indefinitely increased. What I have stated will suffice 
to give the reader an idea of the surprising variety of sources 
from which we receive the raw materials which enable us to perfect 
some of the most elegant processes of manufacturing skill and 
ingenuity, and will further afford some criterion — 'though, of 
course, not a perfect one— for estimating the relative importance 
of the tanning and dyeing substances. 



SECTION V, 



OLEAaiNOLTS PLAXTS, AND THOSE YIELDIXG 
EIXED OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 



Few cultivators are probably aware of the great importance of 
oil to this country, and the number of purposes for whicb it is 
employed in the arts and manufactures. It is extensively used 
for candle and soap making, for burning in lamps, for diminishing 
friction in machinery of all kinds, and especially for locomotives — 
in wool-dressing, in the manufacture of paints and varnishes, as 
an article of food, for medicinal purposes, &c. 

So important are vegetable oils deemed, that the Society of 
Arts, in its prize list for 1851, offered gold medals for the im- 
portation or introduction into this country of any ncAV plants 
or trees from China, India, or elsewhere, producing oils or fatty 
substances, such as can be used as food, or are applicable to manu- 
facturing purposes ; and also to the person who shall manufacture 
and import the finest specimen of oil, not less than ten gallons, 
the produce of olives grown in any British colony in Africa or 
Australasia. 

The time of burning of equal quantities of the following oils has 
been found to be — 



Hours. 

Oil of poppy 14 

„ sunflower 13 

rape 11 



flax seed 



10 



Hours. 



Oil of gold of pleasure [Ca- 
melina sativa) . . 

olives 

hemp seed 



rOREIGN VEGETABLE OILS LMPORTED. 





1821. 


1845. 


1850. 




tuns. 


tuns. 


tuns. 


Coco-nut oil . . . 




2,148 


98,040 


Olive oil 


1,900 


12,315 


20,783 


Palm oil 


3,200 . . 


25,285 


448,589 cwts 


Eape seed oil . . 


800 . . 


3,973 




Linseed oil 


10,500 . . 


38,634 






16,400 


82,355 




Fisli oils 


32,356 


22,fi26 


21,328 



The total quantity of all kinds of wool annually consumed in Eng- 
land and Wales, in 1843, was estimated at 801,566 packs. Now, five 



510 



OLZAOIVOrS PLAINTS 



gallons of olive, rape-^eecl or other oih, being used in tlie preparation 
of ever Y pack of wool, lor clorii (independent of the qnantitv used 
in soap, applicable to the woollen maniifactiu'esj . it follows that 
five gallons on 801,566 packs are equal to 4.007,S30 gallons, or 
15.90J: tuns ; and adding for olire or sperm oil used ui machinery 
1-llth of the whole. 1.4i6 tuns, the total quantity consumed is 
17,350 tuns, — Enderby on the South AVhale rishery.'") 

Fixed oih are found ui the cells and intere-elhular spaces of the 
fruit, leaves, and other parts of plants, 

Some of the^e are drymg oils, as linseed oil. from Z//^?/m v.sitatis- 
simum : some are fat oils, as that from olives Uruit of Olea 
sativa or I^uropcc2 \ : whilst others are solid, as palm oil, 

The solid oil- or fats procured from plants are. butter of cacao, 
from Ihe'Jjro'/iiii cactij ; of cinnamon from ^Jiniiariionium 'ceruni ; 
of nutm-eg. frC'tu Aiyrisilca moscJiafa ; of coco-nut. fi'om Cocos 
nuciftrci : of laurel. Irom Laurv.s ^iolUis : of palm oil. from EJais 
guiamensis : Shea butter, from Ba^io. FarJcii G-alam butter, or 
Ghee, from Bassia hi'tur^icea \ and vegetable tallow, from Stillinjia 
sebifera in China, from Vcteria indica in Canara and Ciiina. and 
from Bentades/ua li'tjracea in Sierra Leone, and from the almond. 
These oils contain a large amount of stearine. and are used as 
substitutes for fat. Some of them are imported in large quantities, 
and enter into the composition of soap, candles. ^Vc. 

Castor oil. from the seeds of Bicinus communis, differs from 
other fixed oils in its composition, 

Decandolle states the following as the quantity of oil obtained 
fL-om Taiious seeds : — 

Per cent. , Per cent, 

in weigiit.'! in weignt. 

Hazel-nut 60 | Wliite mustard (iS'«»aj>ts aZJr/) 36 

Grarden cress .. . ... ... 57 \ Tobacco ... 34 



Olire ... ... 50 

"Walnut ... ... ... 50 

Poppy {Fapa'cer somrdfemr/i) 48 

Almond ... ... ... 46 

Caper-spurge [EupJioriia Za 



Plum 33 

Woad 30 

Hemp ... ... ... ... 25 

Flax ... 22 

Sunflower ... ... ... 15 



thyris) ... ... 41 \ Euctn-neat ... 14 

Colza, {^rassiea oleracea) ... 39 , Grapes... ... ... ... 12 

The following table, quoted from Boussingault. shows the re- 
sults of some experiments made by iM. Gauzac. of Daeny : — 





Seed I 






Oil t:-:: 






Cake per 




per 


ac 


:e. 




L'il per 




cwts. qrs 


. lbs. 


lbs. 


025. 


cent. 


cent. 


Colewort 


19 


0 


15 


S75 


4 


40 


54 


Eocket 


15 


1 


3 


320 


8 


IS 


73 


"Winter rane ...... 


16 


0 


IS 


641 


6 


S3 


62 


S'^edish. turnips . . 


15 


1 


25 


595 


5 


33 


62 


Curled eole-i;Fort . . 


16 


9 


IS 


641 


6 


33 


62 


Turnip cabbage . . 


13 


0 


10 


555 


4 


33 


61 


Gold of pleasui-e . . 


17 


1 


16 


545 


S 


0- 


"2 


Sunflower ...... 


15 


3 


14 


275 


0 


15 


SO 


Flas 


15 


1 




3S5 


0 


22 


69 


White poppy .... 


10 


1 


IS 


560 


s 


46 


. 52 


Hemp 




3 


21 


229 


0 


25 


70 


Summer rape 


11 


3 


17 


412 


5 


30 


65 



OLEACrlXOrS PLA^'TS, 



511 



The subjoined Hst ^iH serve to exhibit the richness of the pro- 
duce of different Indian seeds, from which varieties of oil are ex- 
tracted ; it gives the proportion of oil per cent, in weight : — 



Sesame oii rSesamtim i/idieu/n) ... ... .•• t6"7 

Black til, coloured variety of ditto (Yeriesena sativa) ... 46-4 

Gr'm^eMe oH CS. orientalej ... ... ... ... 46 7 

Ground nuts, produced by ^/-ficAM 72i/i?o^cea ... ... 45-5 

Wounded seeds obtained from tbe Poonnay-tree ( Calophylluin 

J/<q//7/y/?e///!^, a bitter lamp oil... ... ... 637 

'K.Bx\m\ sQe^s, from ihe Fongamia glabra ... 26'7 

Earn til, the seeds of tbe huts EUu, or Gv.izotia oleifera ... 35 

VoY^j ^eediS CFapaver sornniferum) ... ... ,..43 to 58 

Silaam, an oil seed from Xepaul ... ... ... 41 

Rape seed {Brassica najpus) ... ... ... 33 



The foregoing are not all the seeds frora which oil is extracted 
by the natives of the East. In addition to this there are cotton- 
seed oil, used for their lamps. Castor oil and Argemone seed, 
similarly used. Oil obtained from the jfruit of MeJia AzadriacJita, 
for medicine and lamps. Apricot oil in the Himalayas, sunflower 
oil, oil of cucumber-seed for cooking and lamps, oil of colocynth 
seed, a lamp oil. 

The seeds of bastard saffi-on {OartJiamus tinctorius) yield oil. 

Mustard oil, the produce of various species of Si?iapis, &c. 
Shanghae oil, from Brassica Oliinensis. lUiepie oil, from Bassia 
longifolia, which is used for frying cakes, &c., in Madras ; and 
Muohwa oil, from another species of the same genus in Bengal, 
B. latifolia. Oil is expressed from the seeds of Ccesalpina oleos- 
perma, a native of the East. The neem tree seeds afford a very- 
clear or bitter oil, used for burning. 

^^ood oil is a remarkable substance, obtained from several species 
of Bijpterocarjpus, by simply tapping the tree. 

The horse-eyes and cacoons of Jamaica (Fevillea scandens) yield 
a considerable quantity of oil or fat, as white and hard as tallow. 
It has been employed for similar purposes on the Mosquito shores. 

The seeds of the Argemone mexicana, and of the Sanguinaria 
canadensis, also contain a bland, nutritious, colorless, fixed oil. 
The mass from which the seed is expressed is found to be ex- 
tremely nutritious to cattle. 

The Camelina sativa is cultivated in Europe, for the extraction 
of an oil used only by the soap makers, and for lamps. 

A solid oil, of a pale gTcenish color, a good deal resembling the 
oils of the Bassia in character, though rather harder, and ap- 
proaching more in properties to myrtle wax, was shown at the 
Grreat Exhibition, from Singapore. It is supposed to be the pro- 
duce of the tallow tree of Java, called locally " kawan," probably 
a species of Bassia. It is very easily bleached ; indeed, by exposure 
to air and light, it becomes perfectly white ; if not too costly, it 
promises to become a valuable oil. 

According to Mr. Low, there are several varieties of solid oil 
commonly used in the Islands of the Archipelago, and obtained 
from the seeds of different species of Bipterocarpus. 



512 



OLEA.QIJfO"US PLAOTS. 



Pine}^ tallow ia obtained from the fruit of the Vateria Indica, a 
large and quick-growing tree, abundant in Malabar and Canara. 
It is a white solid oil, fusible at a temperature of 97 degrees, and 
makes excellent candles, especially when saponified and distilled in 
the manner now adopted with palm oil, &c. It has one great 
advantage over coco-nut oil, that the candles made of it do not 
give out any suffocating acrid vapors when extinguished, as those 
made with the latter oil do. 

An oil is produced from the inner shell of the cashew-nut 
(Anacardium occidentale var. indicuni), in the East. 

In Japan a kind of butter, called mijo, is obtained from a species 
of the Dolichos bean {Doliclios soja). 

The kernel of the seeds of the tallow tree of China, Stillingia 
sehifera, an evergreen shrub, contains an oil, which, when expressed, 
consolidates through the cold to the consistence of tallow, and by 
boiling becomes as hard as bees' wax. The plant also yields a 
bland oil. A similar fatty product is obtained from a shrub in 
British Gruiana, the Myristica (Virol a) set if era. 

Oil is obtained in South America from the sand box tree (^Ilura 
crepitans) , and from the Garapa guianensis. 

A fatty oil is obtained in Demerara from the seeds of the butter 
tree, Pekea (?) JBassia hutyrosa, and also from the Saouari (P. 
tuberculosa) . 

The fleshy seeds contained in the woody capsules of the Mon- 
key pot {Lecythis Tahucajo), which derive their generic name from 
their similarity to an oil jar, are common in the West India Islands 
and South America, and yield a considerable quantity of oil. 

The seeds of the plants of the cucumber family frequently sup- 
ply a bland oil, which is used in the East as a lamp oil and for 
cooking. Among the vegetable oils imported into Ningpo, and 
other Chinese ports, from Shantong, Leatong, and Teisin, are oil 
of teuss, obtained from green and dried peas ; black oil of the 
fruit of the tree /^'m (?) and oil from the pea of suchau. 

The seeds of Spergula sativa, a large, smooth-seeded variety of 
the common cow spurrey, which is cultivated in Elanders as a 
pasture grass and green crop, afford, on expression, a good lamp oil. 

A pale brownish yellow oil is obtained from the seeds of Car- 
tJiao7ius tinctorius, in Bombay ; the seeds contain about 28 per cent, 
of oil. 

Excellent oil is expressed in various parts of India from the 
seeds of different species of Sinapis, especially from the black 
mustard seed. S. glauca, S. dichotorna, and S. juncea are ex- 
tensively cultivated in the East for their oil. The Erysimmn per- 
foliatum is cultivated in Japan for its oil-seeds. 

A beautiful pale yellow oil is procured from the seeds of the 
angular-leaved physic nut, Jatroplia curcas, a shrub which is often 
employed in the tropics as a fence for enclosures. It is used by 
the natives in medicine and as a lamp oil. About 700 tons of this 
oil was imported into Liverpool in 1850 from Lisbon, for the 
purpose of dressing cloth, burning, &c. 



RAPE OIL — KUT OIL. 



513 



A rich yellow oil, perfectly clear and transparent, is obtained 
from the seeds of ^ergera Icoenigii. 

E-APE OIL. — The imports of rape oil, from Brassica naptts, into 
Liverpool, are about 15 to 20 tans annually. 

Eape oil has been found to be better suited than any other oil 
for the lubrication of machinery, when properly purified from the 
mucilage, &c., which it contaius in the raw state. Eape oil is now 
used extensively for locouiotives, for marine engines, and also for 
burning in lamps. It is stated that a locomotive consumes be- 
tween 90 and 100 gallons of oil yearly ; and the annual consump- 
tion of oil by the London and ]^^"orth- Western Kailway, for this 
purpose alone, is more than 40,000 gallons. The oil obtained from 
good English rape seed is purer and of superior quality to that 
from foreign or colonial seed ; and as an acre of land yields nearly 
five quarters of seed, which is worth at present 50s. per quarter, 
it is a profitable crop. 

E^ape seed is now largely imported for expressing oil. The 
imports, which in 1847 were but 87,662 quarters, weighhig 
17,532 tons, had reached, in 1851, 107,029 quarters, weighing 
21,606 tons. The price of new seed is £25 to £27 the last of 
ten quarters. The oil is £34 per tun. 

The refuse cake, after the seed is crushed for oil, is in demand 
as food for cattle, being worth £4 the ton. 

A¥e imported in 1851, from France, 289 tuns of rape-seed oil, 
worth about £17,000, on which there was no duty levied. 

There are exported annually from Hesse Darmstadt, 34,660 
cwts. of poppy and rape oils. 

The oil of the colza is much used in Europe, and highly prized. 
In Erance it has been adopted for all the purposes of light- 
houses. In this country it has lately come into extensive 
domestic use, for burning in the Erench moderateur lamps, being 
retailed at from 3s. 4d. to 4s. the gallon. 

Dome A Oil. —The Poonay or Palang tree {CalopJiyllum In- 
opln/llum) , the Alexandrian laurel, is a beautiful evergreen, native 
of the East Indies, which flourishes luxuriantly on poor sandy 
soils, in fact where scarcely anything else will grow. The seeds 
or berries contain nearly 60 per cent, of a fragrant, fixed oil, which 
is used for burning as well as for medicinal purposes, being con- 
sidered a cure for the itch. As commonly prepared it has a dark 
green color. It is perfectly fluid at common temperatures, but 
begins to gelatinise when cooled below 50 degrees. 

The Earth-]s^ut {ArachisJiypogcea, ov hyjyocarpogea^.—Tlii^ very 
singular plant has frequently been confounded with others, partly 
through the carelessness of travellers, and by the improper use of 
names, which tended to mislead and confuse. Its common appellar 
tive, the earth-nut, has led to the conclusion that it was a species of 
nut, such as is known in England under the name of " pig nut," 
" hawk nut," and "groundnut." This, as well as the "earth 
chesnut," belongs to a totally different genera. On the Continent 
and in the East Indies a similar confusion had long existed by the 

2 L 



4 



514 



OLEAGINOUS PLANTS. 



appellation of " ground pistachio," which caused the fruit to be 
confounded with the nut of the tree Pistacia vera. Some resem- 
blance, on the other hand, existing between the&e — as well as from 
their being eaten by different nations, and used as an article of 
food, and also for producing oil — rendered the true description 
still more difficult. Botanists are, however, no longer at a loss, 
having well established the nature and character of all these 
plants. The Arachis " nut" partalies of the nature of the pea 
or bean of our own country, and is a low annual plant of the order 
Diadelpliia decandria of Linn. ; originally from Africa, but now 
extensively cultivated in every quarter of the globe. It has been 
naturalised in Europe, and with the climate of the South of 
Prance it may be turned to good account. 

It has been said to be indigenous in Florida, Peru, Brazil, and 
Surinam ; but the plant may be gro^ATi on a light sandy soil, under 
a moderate heat, equal to that of Italy or the South of Trance. 
The class to which it belongs approaches to the pea tribe ; but 
its remarkable difference to this, as to the pulse we know as a bean, 
is the circumstance of its introducing its fruit or pod — if we may 
so call it — into the earth, for the purpose of ripening its seed. 
The Arachis, or earth nut, has obtained its name from this operation. 
The flowers, leaves, and stems are produced in the ordinary man- 
ner we see in the pea tribe. When the yellow flower has withered 
and the seed fertilised, there is nothing left but the bare stem 
which had supported it. This stem, in which is the germ of the 
future fruit and pod, now grows rapidly in a curved manner, with 
a tendency to arrive shortly on the surface of the ground, into 
which it penetrates this now naked stem, and sinks into the earth 
several inches. It is in this obscure position that the fruit takes 
its ripened form, and is either gathered from its hiding place or 
left to the future season, when its time of rising into new ex- 
istence calls it from what was thought its unnatural position. 

When mature, it is of a pale yellow color, wrinkled, and forms 
an oblong pod, sometimes contracted in the middle ; it contains 
generally two seeds. The nuts or peas are a valuable article of 
food in the tropical parts of Africa, America, and Asia. They 
are sweetish and almond-like, and yield an oil, when pressed, not 
inferior in use and quality to that obtained from the olive. The 
leaf resembles that of clover, and, like it, afi'ords excellent food for 
cattle. The cake, after the oil is expressed, forms an excellent 
manure. 

The Arachis is usually sown in dry, warm weather, from May to 
June, and are placed at the distance of eighteen inches from each 
other. Insects are fond of them ; and if the season is cold and 
unfavorable to them, or the growth retarded, they become musty 
and bad, or are eaten by insects. 

The mode of obtaining the oil is nearly the same as for other 
pulse or seeds ; and under favorable circumstances the Arachis 
will produce half its weight of oil. When heated and pressed the 
quantity is very considerably increased. This oil is good for every 



GEOUND-NTTT OIL. 



515 



purpose for which olive or almond oil is used. For domestic pur- 
poses it is esteemed, and it does not become rancid so quickly as 
other oils. Experiments have been made on its inflammable pro- 
perties, and it is proved that the brilliancy of light was superior to 
that of olive oil, and its durability was likewise proved to be seven 
minutes per hour beyond the combustion of the best olive oil, with 
the additional advantage of scarcely any smoke. In Cochin-China 
and India it is used for lamps. It is known as Bhoe Moong or 
Moong PhuUee in Bengal, and as Japan or Chinese pulse in Java. 

Prom Chiua this plant was probably introduced into the continent 
of India, Ceylon, and the Malayan Archipelago, where it is 
generally cultivated. 

In South Carolma the seed is roasted and used as chocolate. 
The leaves are used medicinally. 

It is gro^n in Jamaica, and there called Pindar nut. 

That the culture of the Arachis in warm climates, or even in a 
temperate one, under favorable circumstances, should be en- 
couraged, there can be but one opinion. And when it is considered 
that its qualities are able to supersede that of the olive and the 
almond, which are but precarious in their crops — to which may be 
added, that as a plant it is greedily devoured in the green state 
by cattle — how much may it not serve to assist the new settler in 
regions of the world which have a climate suited to it. 

It is known by various local names — such as mani manoti by the 
Spaniards, and has obtained also that of cacahuete in some countries. 
It has the additional term hypogeci attached to it, which literally 
signifies subterranean. This is apt to mislead; for the plant 
grows above ground as other pulse, whereas only its seed and 
pericarp are inserted, after blooming, into the earth. Hence the 
better term liyipocarpogea. 

It appears to form an important article of cultivation along the 
whole of the west coast of Africa, and probably on the east coast, 
on several parts of which it was found by Loureiro (" Plor. 
Cochin," p. 430). It was doubtless carried from Africa to various 
parts of equinoctial America, for it is noticed in some of the early 
accounts of Peru and Brazil. 800 quarters of this nut were im- 
p 3rted into Liverpool from the West Coast of Africa, in 1849, for 
expressing oil, and about half that quantity in 1850. 

Eighty to 90 tuns of the expressed oil are now annually imported. 
The seeds contain about 44 per cent, of a clear pale yellow oil, 
which is largely used in India as food, and for lamps, particularly 
at Malwa and Bombay, &c. Two varieties are grown in Malacca, 
the white seed and the iDrown seed, and also in Java, in the vicinity 
of sugar plantations ; the oil cake being used as manure. It ia 
there known as katjang oil. 

This plant, which seems to be a native of many parts of Asia, 
has within the last ten years been much cultivated about Calcutta. 
The seeds contain abundance of fixed oil, have a faint odor, 
and very mild agreeable taste; 1,950 parts of seed, separated 
from their coverings and blanched, give 1,405 of kernels, from 



516 



OLEAGIITOUS PLAOTS. 



whicli, by cold pressure, 703 parts of oil are procured. The seeds are 
consumed as a cheap popular luxury, being half roasted, and then 
eaten with salt. The oil is calculated to serve as an efficient 
and very cheap substitute for olive oil, for pharmaceutical pur- 
poses. It burns with little smoke, with a clear flame, and affords 
a very full bright light, answering perfectly in Argand lamps. 

The oil cake affords, also, an excellent food for cattle. 

The ground nut has of late become of considerable impor- 
tance as an article of exportation, by English houses ; yet more 
so by Trench houses at Ghent, Kouen, and Bordeaux ; some of 
whom have contracted with the merchants of the African colonies 
for large quantities, sending shipping for the cargoes. One house 
alone contracted for 60,000 bushels in the years 1844 and 1845. 
This nut oil is so very useful to machinery that the naval steam 
cruisers on the coast have adopted it. A ground-nut oil factory exists 
in the colony of Sierra Leone ; but from the want of steam power 
and proper machinery, and from bad management, together with 
the inferior attainments of the African artisan, when compared 
with the European mechanic, and their facilities in quantity or 
quality, there is abundant scope for improvement. The price in 
the colony is 4s. 6d. per gallon. It is capable of being refined so 
as to answer the purpose of a salad oil ; the nut is prolific, and 
eaten by the natives and Europeans, boiled, roasted, or in its raw 
state ; and frequently introduced at the table as w-e do the Spanish 
Barcelona nut at dessert. It grows in the rainy season, and is 
collected in the dry, and sold in the colony for one shilling to 
eighteen-pence per bushel, in goods and cash. Form of the nut, 
long, light shell, contains two kernels covered with a brown 
rind, when shelled white in appearance. 

It is a low creeping plant, with yellow flowers ; after they drop 
off!, and the pods begin to form, they bury thems0lves in the earth, 
where they come to maturity. The pod i^ woody and dry, con- 
taining from one to three peas, or nuts, as they are called, hence 
the common names, ground-nut or pea-nut. They require to be 
parched in an oven before they are eaten, and form a chief article 
of food in many parts of Africa. 

Erom a narrow strip of land, extending about 40 miles northerly 
from "Wilmington (North Carolina), comes nearly the entire 
quantity of earth nuts (known as pea-nuts) grown in the United 
States for market. Erom that tract and immediate vicinity, 80,000 
bushels have been carried to Wilmington market in one year. 

The plant has somewhat the appearance of the dwarf garden- 
pea, though more bushy. It is cultivated in hills. The pea grows 
on tendrils, which put out from the plant and take root in the 
earth, where the nut is produced and ripened. The fruit is picked 
from the root by hand, and the vines are a favorite food for horses, 
mules, and cattle. From 30 to 80 bushels are produced on an 
acre. There are some planters who raise from 1,000 to 1,500 
bushels a year. — (" Hunt's Merchant's Magazine," vol. xv., p. 426.) 

The ground-nut is exceedingly prolific, and requires but little 



aEOTJND-NTJT OIL. 



617 



care and attention to its culture, while the oil extracted from 
it is quite equal to that yielded by the olive. Almost any kind 
of soil being adapted for it, nothing can be more simple than its 
management. All that is required is the soil to be turned over and 
the seed sown in drills like potatoes ; after it begins to shoot it inay 
be earthed with a hoe or plough. In many parts of Western Austra- 
lia they are now grown in gardens for feeding pigs, the rich oil they 
are capable of yielding being entirely overlooked. In regard to 
their marketable value at home, I will give a copy of a letter of a 
friend of mine, received from some London brokers, largely en- 
gaged in the African trade : — 

"Wilson and Eose present compliments to Mr. jST., and beg to inform him 
the price of African ground nuts is as under : — Say for Puver Gambia, £11 per 
ton bere. Say for Sierra Leone, £10 per ton bere. For ground nuts free on 
board at tbe former port, £8 per ton is demanded ; these are tbe finest descrip- 
tion of nut, tbe freigbt would be about £4: per ton ; tbe weigbt per busbel im- 
perial measure, and in tbe sbell, is about 25 lbs." 

The following, also, is an extract from a letter written in 1842, 
by Mr. Forster (the present M.P. for Berwick), an eminent 
African merchant. Speaking of the staple of Africa, he says: — 

" I bave lately been attempting to obtain otber oils from tbe coast, and it 
was only yesterday I received from tbe bands of tbe oil presser tbe result of 
my most recent experiment on tbe ground nut, wbicb I am bappy to say is en- 
couraging. I send you a sample of tbe oil extracted from tbein. Tbey are 
from tbe Gambia. It is a pure golden colored oil, with a pleasant flavor, free 
from tbe frequent rancidity of oHve oil." 

Since then the cultivation has gone on, and the exportation 
largely increased. The French also have entered into the trade, 
and several vessels are exclusively employed in exporting this pro- 
duct from the river Gambia, conveying it to oil factors on the 
continent, who extract its oil. Seeing, then, the many advantages 
the cultivation of such a product bestows, and its adaptation 
to the soil and climate of Australia, I cannot refrain from ex- 
pressing a hope that some of the influential landowners in the 
cultivated districts will giv^e the matter their consideration. 

I am informed by an American merchant that he cleared 12,000 
dollars in one year, on the single article of ground or pea nuts 
obtained from Africa. Strange as it may appear, nearly all these 
nuts are transhipped to France, where they command a ready sale ; 
are there converted into oil, and thence find their way over the 
world in the shape of olive oil ; the skill of the French chemists 
enabling them to imitate the real Lucca and Florence oil, so as to 
deceive the nicest judges. Indeed, the oil from the pea nuts 
possesses a sweetness and delicacy that cannot be surpassed. 

Advices from the West Coast of Africa to the 16th August, 
1853, report that the ground nut season had closed ; the quantity 
shipped during the season having exceeded 900,000 bushels. 
The yield has increased 20 per cent, each year for the last three 
years, and it is expected the increase will be still greater in the 
forthcoming season. 



518 



OLEAamOUS PLANTS. 



Tetjss oil. — The Chinese use what is called teuss or tea oil, for 
food and other purposes. I have alluded to it under the head of 
pulse, at page 312. It is obtained, however, from a species of the 
ground nut, and is sold in Hong Kong, at 2s. 6d. the gallon, being 
imported from the main land. B}'^ a local ordinance it is impera- 
tive on every householder at Victoria, Honi>-Kong, to have a lamp 
burning over his door at night. When burning, this oil aifords 
a clear, bright liglit, and is not so offensive to the smell as train 
and other common lamp oils. 

Tobacco seed oil. — A discovery, which may prove of some 
commercial importance, appears to have been made by a British 
resident in Russia, namely, that the seed of the tobacco plant 
contains about fifteen per cent, of an oil possessing' peculiar 
drying properties, calculated to render it a superior medium, 
especially for paints and varnishes. The process employed for the 
extraction of the oil is to reduce the seed to powder, and knead 
it into a stiff paste with quantum sufficit of hot water, and then 
submit it to the action of strong fires. The oil thus obtained is 
exposed to a moderate heat, which, by coagulating the vegetable 
albumen of the seed, causes all impurities contained in the oil to 
form a cake at the bottom of the vessel employed, leaving the oil 
perfectly limpid and clear. 

Poppy oil. — About 80cwt. of poppy seed is imported annually 
into Hull, and small quantities come into other ports to be 
crushed into oil. The seeds of the poppy yield, by expression, 
66 per cent, of a bland and very valuable oil, of a pale golden 
color, fluid to within ten degrees of the freezing point of water. 
It dries easily, is inodorous, and of an agreeable flavor like olive oil. 

Dr. J. V. C. Smith, writing from Switzerland, to the editor of 
the " Boston Medical Journal," says: — 

" Immense crops are raised here of articles wholly unknown to the American 
farmers, and perhaps the kinds best fitted to particular localities where grain 
and potatoes yield poorly under the best efforts. One of these is poppies. 
Thousands of acres are at this moment ready for market — which the traveller 
takes for granted, as he hurries by, are to be manufactured into opium. They 
are not, however, intended for medical use at all, but for a widely difi'erent 
purpose. From the poppy seed a beautiful transparent oil is made, which is 
extensively used in house painting. It is almost as colorless as water, and possesses 
so many advantages over the flax seed oil that it may ultimately supersede 
that article. Where flax cannot be grown popjdes often can be, in pcor sandy 
soil. Linseed oil is becoming dearer, and the demand for paint is increasing. 
"With white lead, poppy oil leaves a beautiful surface, which does not after- 
wards change, by the action of light, into a dirty yellow. Another season some 
one should make a beginning at home in this important branch of industry. 
The oil may be used for other purposes, and even put in the cruet for salads." 

Tallicooistah or Kundah oil, is obtained from the seeds of the 
Carapa Touloucouna (of the Elore de Senegambie). The tree 
grows to the height of 40 feet; the fruit is a large, somewhat 
globular five-celled capsule. The seeds (of which there are from 
18 to 30 in each capsule), vary in size from that of a chesnut to 
a heji's egg. They are three-cornered, of a brow^nish or blackish 



CARAP OIL. 



519 



red color. It is found abundantly in the Timneh country, and 
over the colony of Sierra Leone. It is manufactured in the fol- 
lowing manner : — -The nuts having been well dried in the sun, are 
hung up in wicker racks or hurdles, and exposed to the smoke of 
the huts, after which they are roasted and subjected to trituration 
in large wooden mortars, until reduced to a pulp. The mass is 
then boiled, when the supernatant oil is removed by skimming. 
The natives principally prepare the oil to afford light ; the leaves 
are used by the Kroomen as a thatch. It is held in high estimation 
as an anthelmintic. The oil is sold in Sierra Leone at 2s. a gallon, 
and could be procured in abundance from the coast as an article 
of commerce. 

Carap or Crab oil {Cara-pa guianensis). — This is a sort of 
vegetable butter, being sometimes solid and sometimes half fluid, 
which is obtained from the seed of a large tree abundant in the 
forests of Gruiana, and also found in Trinidad. It is said to turn 
rancid very soon when exposed to the air, but this is probably 
caused by the presence of impurities, arising from the crude and 
imperfect way in which it is prepared by the natives, who boil the 
kernels, leave them in a heap for a few days, then skim them, 
and lastly reduce them into a paste in a wooden mortar, which 
is then spread on an inclined board, and exposed to the heat of 
the sun, so that the oil may melt and gradually trickle down into 
a vessel placed below to receive it. A prize medal was awarded 
for this oil at the Great Exhibition in 1851. 

Carap oil in Trinidad is highly esteemed as an unguent for the 
hair, and also for applying to the wounds of animals, for destroying 
ticks and other insects which infest cattle — also for the cure of 
rheumatism. An oil called Carap oil is also obtained in the East, 
from the almonds of XyZoc«r/>?^5 granatum, or Carapa Molluccensis^ 
of Lanark, which is used by the natives to dress the hair and anoint 
the skm, so as to keep off insects. 

Cacao fat, the butter-like substance obtained from the seeds of 
Theobroma cacao, is esteemed as an emollient. 

The nuts of the Grreat Macaw tree (Acrocomia fusiformis), a 
majestic species of palm, furnishes much oil. This tree is the Cocos 
fusiformis, of Jacquin, and other intertropical botanists. It is a 
native of Trinidad and Jamaica, and is found also very commonly 
in South America. 

The method of extracting the oil is as follows: — The nut or 
kernel is slightly roasted and cleaned, then ground to a paste, first 
in a mill, and then on a livigating stone. This paste, gently heated 
and mixed with 3-lOths of its weight of boiling water, is put into 
a bag, and the oil expressed between two heated plates of iron ; it 
yields about 7-lOths or 8-lOths of oil. If discolored it can be 
purified, when melted, by filtration. It is then of the consistence 
of butter, of a golden yellow hue, the odor that of tiolets, and the 
taste sweetish. If well preserved it will keep several years with- 
out spoiling, which is known to have taken place by the loss of its 
golden hue and delightful aroma. 



520 



0LEAGI2^0US PLAINTS. 



It is frequently sold in the shops as palm oil, and of late has en- 
tered largely into the composition of toilet soaps. As an emollient 
it is said to be useful in some painful affections of the joints ; the 
negroes deem it a sovereign remedy in "bone ache." The nut 
itself is sometimes fancifully carved by the negroes, and is highly 
ornamental, being of a shining jet black, and susceptible of a very 
high polish. This tree may be increased from suckers. 

A. sclerocarpa is the Macahuba palm of Brazil. 

The Agaiti, as it is called by the Portuguese, ornapoota by the 
natives and Arabs il)idynamia Gymosjperma ?) much culiivated 
in all Eastern Africa for its oil, vfhich is considered equal to that 
of olives, and fetches as high a price in the Indian market. The 
plant, which is as tall and rank as hemp, and equally productive, 
having numerous pods throughout the stems, is found everywhere 
in a wild as well as cultivated state. 

The " Cape Shipping Gazette," of August, 1850, says: — 

" The attention of the George Agricultural and Horticultural Society having 
been drawn to the fact that an excellent oil, equal to the olive oil of Italy, can 
he extracted from the kernel of the fruit known by the name of T Kou Pijte" 
and " Pruim Besje," they have offered a reward of £10 for the best sample, not 
less than a half aum of this oil — and £15 if it shall be adjudged equal to the 
best oil of Italy, This fact is deserving of notice, as an instance of the ad» 
vantages which are likely to result from the attention now being devoted to the 
natural productions of the colony." 

Madia sativa is a handsome annual plant, native of Chili, which 
has been naturalised in Europe. It grows about two feet high^ 
and produces flowers in July and i\.ugust, of a pale yellow color. 

The whole plant is viscid and exhales a powerful odor, which is 
somewhat like heated honey. It requires rather a rich soil, of a 
ferruginous character. The root is fusiform, the stem cylindrical, 
and furnished with sessile, three to five longitudnially-nerved 
leaves, which are apposite on the lower portion of the stem, and 
alternate on the upper. M. Victor Pasquier, who has written on 
the culture of the plant, analysed the seed, and found 100 parts 
to consist of 26'5 of testa, and 73°5 of kernel; 100 parts of the 
latter yielded 31"3 of vegetable albumen, gum, and lignine, 56'0 
Q)i fixed oil, and 12*5 of water. In dry seasons the oil is both 
more aoundant and better than in damp seasons. The produce of 
oil, compared with that of the poppy, is equal ; with colza, as 82 
to 28 ; with linseed, 32 to 21 ; Aviih the olive, 32 to 16, 

The leaves and stems of this plant are rejected by cattle ; but the 
oil-cake, which always contains a considerable portion of the oil, 
forms a nutritive food, of which they are very fond. The oil ex- 
pressed without heat is transparent, of a golden yellow color, in- 
odorous, rather fatter than the oil of rape or olives, and of a soft, 
agreeable, nutty taste. It is fit to be employed in the preparation 
of food, in salads, and for all the purposes of the best and mildest 
fixed oils. It burns with a brilliant, reddish- white flame, and leaves 
no residue. It is little liable to become rancid, and is completely 
decolorised by animal charcoal. 

The oil of the seeds of this plant, now extensively cultivated 



COCrM OIL — THE CA25"DLE TEEE. 



521 



in Trance, will yield, according to the observations of Braconnet, 
a solid soap, similar to that made from olive oil. Boussinganlt 
obtained from the oil a solid, as well as a fluid acid. The solid 
one is probably palmic acid, it fuses at exactly 140 degrees of 
Tahrenheit. The fluid acid in its properties resembles the oleic 
acid discovered by Chevreul, and seems to dry easily. 

The following is the composition of each, as determined by his 
analysis ; — 

Carbon 
Hydrogen 
Oxygen 

CocrM OIL, or butter, is obtained from the seeds of a kind of 
mangosteen ( Garcinia purpureci), and used in various parts of India 
to adulterate ghee or butter. It is said to be exported to England 
for the purpose of mixing with bears' grease in the manufacture 
of pomatum. It is a white, or p)ale greenish yellow, solid oil, 
brittle, or rather friable, having a faint but not unpleasant smell, 
melting at about 95 degrees, and when cooled after fusion re- 
maining liquid to 75 degrees. 

An excellent solid oil, of a bright green color, is obtained from 
Bombay, having a consistence intermediate between that of tallow 
and wax, fusible at about 95 degrees, and easily bleached ; it has 
a peculiar and somewhat aromatic odor. There is some uncertainty 
as to the plant from which it is obtained. It was referred to the 
SaJvaclora persica, and to the Vernouia Antlielminticea, a plant 
common in Guzerat and the Concan G-hats. 

A pale yellow clear oil is obtained from the seed of DolicJws 
hrftorv.s (.^). Oil is also expressed in India from the seed of the 
Argemone mexicana, which is used for lamps and in medicine ; and 
from the seeds of the cashew nut (^Anacardium Occident ale), from 
Sapindus marc/inafus, and the country walnut (AJen rites triloha.) 
The fruit of the Cliirongia sapinda. {ov BuchancniadctifoJia,^ yields 
oil. From the seeds of the Pongaviia glabra, or Galidupa arhorea, 
a honey brown and almost tasteless oil is procured, which is fluid 
at common temperatures, but gelatinises at 55 degrees. 

Other sources of oil are the Oelastrus paniculafus (.'^) Balanites 
Egi/ptiaca and the saul tree (SJwrea Hoiusfa). 

The CAyDTE-TEEE or Palo de Telas, (Parmenfiera cereifera, 
Seemann.) — ^This tree, in the valley of the Chagres, South 
America, forms entire forests. In entering them a person might 
almost fancy himself transported into a chandler's shop. Erom 
all the stems and lower branches hang long cylindrical fruits, 
of a yellow wax color, so much resembling a candle as to have 
given rise to the popular appellation. The fruit is generally 
from two to three, but not unfrequently four feet long, and 
an inch in diameter. The tree itself is about 24 feet high, 
with opposite trifoliated leaves, and large white blossoms, which 
appear throughout the year, but are in greatest abundance during 



Solid acid. Fhiid acid. 

7i-2 .. 76-0 

12- 0 .. 11-0 

13- 8 .. 13-0 

100- 100- 



522 



OLEAaiNOUS PLANTS. 



the rainy season. The Palo de Velas belongs to the natural order 
Orescentiacecje, and is a Parmentiera, of which genus hitherto only 
one species, the P, edulis, of De Candolle, was known to exist. The 
fruit of the latter, called Quauhscilote, is eaten by the Mexicans, 
while that of the former serves for food to numerous herds of 
cattle. Bullocks especially, if fed with the fruit of this tree, 
guinea-grass, and Batatilla {Ipomoea hrachypoda, Benth.), soon 
get fat. It is generally admitted, however, that the meat partakes 
in soo:e degree of the peculiar apple-like smell of the fruit, but 
this is by no means disagreeable, and easily prevented, if, for a 
few days previous to killing the animal, the food is changed. 
The tree produces its principal harvest during the dry season, 
when all the herbaceous vegetation is burned up, and on that 
account its cultivation in tropical countries is especially to be 
recommended; a few acres of it would effectually prevent that 
want of fodder which is always most severely felt after the 
periodical rains have ceased. — (" Hooker's Journal of Botany.") 

CusnsTAMON SUET is extracted by boiling the fruit of the cinna- 
mon. An oily fluid floats on the surface, which on cooling sub- 
sides to the bottom of the vessel, and hardens into a substance 
like mutton suet. The Singhalese make a kind of candles with it, 
and use it for culinary purposes. It emits a very pleasant aroma 
while burning. According to the analysis of Dr. Christison, it 
contains eight per cent, of a fluid not unlike olive oil ; the re- 
mainder is a waxy principle. 

CuoTON OIL is obtained by expression from the seeds or nuts 
of Oroton Tiglium, an evergreen tree, 15 to 20 feet in height, 
belonging to the same order as the castor oil plant, producing 
whitish green flowers, and seeds resembling a tick in appearance, 
whence its generic name. It is a native of the East Indies. 100 
parts of seeds aff"ord about 64 of kernel. 50 quarters of cruton 
nuts for expressing oil were imported into Liverpool from the 
Ca)3e Yerd Islands, in 1849. 

The Croton Tiglium grows plentifully in Ceylon, and the oil, if 
properly expressed, might be made an article of trade. The best 
mode of preparing it is by grinding the seeds, placing the powder 
in bags, and pressing between plates of iron ; allow the oil to 
stand for fifteen days, then filter. The residue of the expression 
is triturated with twice its weight of alcohol, and heated on the 
sand-bath from 120 to 140 degs. Fahrenheit, and the mixture 
pressed again. In this step the utmost caution is necessary in 
avoiding the acrid fumes. One seer of seed furnishes by this 
process rather more than eleven fluid ounces of oil, six by the 
first step, and five by alcohol. 

The oil acts as an irritant purgative in the dose of one drop. 
In large doses it is a dangerous poison. When applied externally 
it produces pustules. 

In 1845, eight cases of croton oil and six cases ot the seed were 
exported from Ceylon. 

Other species of Croton, as C. Pavana, a native of Ava and the 



OIL or BEIf. 



523 



nortli-eastern parts of Bengal, and C. BoxhurgMi^ jioidi a purgative 
oil. The bark of G. JEleuteria, C. Cascarilla, and other species 
is aromatic, and acts as a tonic and stimulant. It forms the 
cascarilla bark of commerce abeady spoken of. When bruised, it 
gives out a musky odor and is often used in pastilles. 

The oil obtained from the seeds of Jatropha curcas, a native of 
South America and Asia, is purgative and emetic, and analagous 
in its properties to croton oil. It is said to be a valuable ex- 
ternal application in itch. In India it is used for lamps. 

OiTi or Bei!?, known as Sohrinja in Bengal, and Muringo in 
Malabar is obtained from the seeds or nuts of the horse-radish 
tree, Moringa 'pterygosperma, Burmann ; the Syperanthera 
Moringa, of Linnaeus. This clear limpid oil having no percep- 
tible smell, is much esteemed by watchmakers and perfumers ; it 
is expensive and not often to be procured pure, consequently the 
oil would be a very profitable export, it grows rapidly and 
luxuriantly everywhere in Jamaica, particularly on the north side 
of the island— as well as Trinidad and other quarters of the West. 
It is easily propagated either by cuttnigs from the tree (the 
branches) or by seeds, aud bears the second year. The pro- 
duce of each tree may be estimated at from one to two gallons. 
From the flowers a very pleasant perfume might be easily distilled. 

The following account I derive from my friend Dr. Hamilton — 

*' It is a small tree, of about twenty feet in height, of most rapid growth, 
coming into flower within a few months after it has been sown, and continuing 
to produce seeds and blossoms afterwards throughout the year. The tree is now 
naturalised in the West Indies. The timber is said to dye a fine blue, and the 
gum, which exudes from wounds in the bark, bears a strong resemblance to that 
obtained from the Astragalus tragacantha, for which it might, no doubt, be 
substituted. 

The numerous racemes of white blossoms with which the tree is constantly 
loaded, are succeeded by long triangular pods, somewhat tourlose at the ends, 
and about two feet in length, when arrived at the full growth. These pods, 
while yet young and tender, are not unfrequently cooked and served up at the 
planter's tables like aspaiagus, for which they are not a bad substitute. The 
pods, when full grown, contain about fifteen seeds ; each considerably larger 
than a pea, with a membraneous covering expanding into three wings, whence 
the specific name oi pterygosperma. On removing the winged envelope the seeds 
appear somewhat like pith balls ; but upon dividing them with the nail, they 
are found to abound in a clear, colorless, tasteless, scentless oil, of which the 
proportion is so large that it may be expressed from good fresh seeds by the 
simple pressure of the nail. Geofi'ry informs us, that he obtained 30^ ounces of 
oil from eight pounds of the decorticated seeds, being at the rate of very nearly 
24 lbs. of oil from 100 lbs. of seed. 

Notwithstanding the great value of its oil, and the facility with which it can 
be obtained in the West Indies, the moringa has been hitherto valued merely as 
an ornamental shrub, and cultivated for the sake of its young pods or the horse- 
radish of its roots, as luxuries for the table. 

The oil is peculiarly valuable for the formation of ointments, from its capa- 
bility of being kept for almost any length of time without entering into com- 
bination with oxygen. This property, together with the total absence of color, 
smell, and taste, peculiarly adapts it to the purposes of the perfumer, who is 
able to make it the medium for arresting the flight of those highly volatile 
particles of essential oil, which constitute the aroma of many of the most odor- 
iferous flowers, and cannot be obtained by any other means, in a concentrated 
and permanent form. To efiect this, the petals of the flowers, whose odor it is 



524 



OlEAGIIS-OTJS PLANTS. 



desired to obtain, are thinly sproad over flakes of cotton wool saturated with 
this oil, and the whole enclosed i;i air tight tin cases, where they are suffered 
to I'emain till they begin to wither, when they are replaced by fresh ones, and 
the process thus coi-tinued till the oil has absorbed as much as was desired of 
the aroma ; it is then separated from the wool by pressure, and preserved under 
the name of essence^ in well stopped bottles. 

By digesting the oil thus impregnated in alcohol, which does not take up the 
fixed oil, a solution of the aroma is effected in the spirit, and many odoriferous 
tinctures or waters, as they are someM-hat inaccurately termed, prepared. By this 
process most delicious perfumes might be obtained from the flowers of the Acacia 
toj'tuosa^ Pancratium carriieum, Plumeria alba, Plumeria rubra, and innumerable 
other flowers, of the most exquisite fragrance, which abound within the tropics, 
blooming unregarded, and wasting their odors on the barren air." 



THE OIL PALM. 

Thetie are several species of this genus of beautiful palms of the 
tribe OocociiKS, but that chiefly turned to account is Mlais guine- 
ensis, a native of the Coast of Gruinea to the south of Fernando 
Po, which furnishes the best oil. 

There are three other varieties — E. melanococca, a native of New 
G-ranada, JE. Pernamhucana, common on the coast of Brazil, and 
E. occidenlalis, indigenous to Jamaica. All the species grow well 
in a sandy loam and may be increased by suckers. 

The value of the oil of this palm, as an article of commerce, is 
exemplified by the large annual imports, averaging more than 
516 ,000 cwt. for many years past. 

Our supplies of palm oil are ahnost wholly derived from the 
West Coast of Africa, of which it is the staple article of export. 

Palm oil has the greatest specific gravity of any of the fixed 
vegetable oils. It is used principally in this country for making 
yellow soap. But the inhabitants of the Guinea coast employ it 
for the same purposes that we do butter. 

The trade in palm oil has almost driven out the slave trade from 
the Bight of Benin, which was a few years ago one of its principal 
seats. The old slave traders at Whydah have generally gone into 
the palm oil trade, and are carrying it on to a very great extent. 
In August 1849, no less than twelve vessels were lying at that 
port taking in oil ; whilst, only three years before, it was rare to 
see three vessels there at once, and of those in all probability two 
would be slavers. 

This j)alm is called Maba by the natives about the Congo river. 
It is monoecious, which indeed Jacquin, by whom the genus was 
established, concluded it to be, although first described as ditecious 
by Graertner, whose account has been adopted, probably without 
examination, by Schreder, Willdenow, and Persoon. 

The average imports of this oil into Liverpool alone, have now 
been for some years upwards of 18,000 tons, worth nearly £800,000 
sterling, and giving employment to upwards of 30,000 tons of 
shipping ; thus proving that the natives who formerly exported 
their brethren as a matter of traffic, now find, at least, an equally 



THE OIL PALM. 



525 



profitable trade in the exportation of the vegetable products of 
their native soil. 

Palm oil is produced by the nut of the tree, which grows in the 
greatest abundance throughout Western Africa. The demand 
for it, both in Europe and America, is daily increasing, and tbere 
is no doubt it w ill, ere long, become the most important article of 
African trade, 

IMPOKTS INTO LIYEEPOOL. 

casks. tons. 

1835 28,500 .... 9,500 

1836 33,500 11,000 

1837 26,000 9,900 

1838 27^520 10,320 

1839 36,500 14,300 

1852 about — 23,500 

In the colony of Liberia, I notice the manufacture of a new 
article of African production, which is called "Herriug's Palm 
Kernel Oil or African Lard." It is thus spoken of in the news- 
papers of that Republic : — 

We had been for a long time impressed with an idea that the oil contained 
in the kernel of the palm nut, was superior both in quality and appearance to 
that of jjalm oil, which is obtained from the exterior part. 

On making an effort to extract the oil from the kernel (which was by means 
of a little machine, of our own invention and con.rivance), we found that our 
thoughts upon the matter were correct, that the oil possessed admirable beauty 
in its appearance, with a taste, when used for cooking purposes, unexcelled by 
that of the best lard. 

After being made and set by, it assumes a consistence like that of hard butter, 
and has to be cut out with a knife or spoon ; its appearance in this state is very 
beautiful, presenting such richness, clearness, and adapteduess to table purposes, 
that one would not suppose that this oil is obtained from the same tree from 
which palm oil is, for there is as much disparity both in their appearance and 
taste as there is between lard and butter. 

The exquisite transparency which the kernel oil bears in a liquid state, 
especially when undergoing the purifying process, is a cause of admiration. 
On showing some of it to several foreigners, I was asked in two instances which 
was the oil and which the water, or whether it was oil or water ; thus you may 
have an idea of its clearness. We make two qualities of this oil, differing 
however in taste only, the one being for table uses and the other for exportation 
and for whatever use they may choose to put it to abroad. 

There have been many conjectures in respect to the uses to which this oil 
might be put in foreign countries ; but that it will be a useful article, and 
especially in our trade, when made more extensively, there can be no doubt, 
for the quantity in which it might be had would undoubtedly introduce it to a 
respectable rank among the other commodities of our productive country so 
eagerly sought after. 

There is nothing, to my knowledge, that can be turned to as good account 
and at the same time so abundant and easily obtained, as the palm kernel, for 
they are as common as the pebbles of stony land, especially in this section of the 
country, where we have palm orchards of spontaneous growth for miles to- 
gether, and interspersing the surrounding country m almost innumerable 
numbers. 

According to statistical ascertainment, there is on an average exported from 
this port, thirty thousand gallons of palm oil annually, from which fact we 
ascertain demonstratively that the palm kernels which are tiirown away here 
(L.aving out the whole leeward coast of our possessions) are sufficient to make 
thirty thousand gallons of oil, more or less. This is not at all a problematical 



526 



OLEAGIlS'OirS PLAU^^TS. 



speculation of ours, but we feel authorised to advance this assertion from the 
fact that one bushel of kernels, completely worked up, will make two gallons of 
oil. But to work them up is the thing, plentiful as they are ; we however, 
hesitate not to say, that it can be done and probably will be. 

Having now so far conquered the difficulties attending the manufacture of 
this oil, as that we can safely vouch a reasonable supply for home consumption, 
we most cheerfully recommend it to the citizens of this Republic, whose de- 
mands for it, for eating purposes, we doubt not can be supplied, and on very 
reasonable terms. 

We will assure our customers that there will not be an ounce of dirt or 
sediment in a hundred pounds of our oil. 

The recent abolition of the soap duty, by stimulating the de- 
mand for palm oil, will have an instant effect on the trade and 
commerce of Western Africa, by confirming the suppression of the 
slave trade, and giving an additional impetus to negro improvement. 
It will also increase the production for England of ground nuts, 
whence the oil so largely used in making continental soaps is ex- 
pressed. " "When (observes a recent writer) the Portuguese first 
treated with that coast, they found palm oil and ground nuts arti- 
cles of native food, and so they remained down to a period within 
living memory. So used, they neither required any cultivation 
nor gave rise to any notions of property. Though whole tracts of 
country are crowded by the oil-palm tree, little care was taken of 
what was, in fact, superabundant ; and as for ground nuts, they 
were simply dug up as prudence or necessity dictated. Some thirty 
years ago a cask or two of palm oil was sent home from the Gold 
Coast ; it met so ready a sale that it was further inquired after, and 
the total amount now imported into England ranges from 25.000 
to 30,000 tons annually. The exportation of ground nuts is even 
larger ; but, owing to our excise on soap, they had heretofore gone 
principally to Erance — to Marseilles especially. 

" Of these two articles, it is to be observed, the Western Coast 
of Africa appears to have a monopoly ; and with respect to palm 
oil, it is further to be remarked, that it is exactly behind those 
ports and up those rivers, which were formerly the great nests of 
the slave trade, that its production is largest ; and just as the 
slave trade there has been crushed, a commerce in palm oil has 
sprung up and replaced it. There are men alive who recollect the 
slave trade flourishing on the Grold Coast ; it has long been extinct 
there, and palm oil is now largely exported. It is but a very few 
years ago since that traffic appeared to be irrepressible at the 
mouths of the Niger : it is now expelled, and thence Liverpool 
obtains, instead, its supplies of palm oil. So also, later still, at 
Whydah, and the other ports of the kingdom of Dahomy, and along 
the Lagoon, which connects Dahomy with the Benin Biver, there the 
Spanish slave dealers are themselves inaugurating a commerce in 
palm oil. Already the trade in that quarter is considerable, and it 
wouldhave extended much more rapidly than it has done, were it not 
that disorder and warfare in the interior have been promoted and 
prolonged by the indiscreet zeal of some of our own naval officers 
and by the desire of some of our missionaries to rule at Abeeokuta, 
at Lagos, and at Badagray. When, however, order and tranquillity 



THE OIL PALM. 



527 



are restored, a most important trade will undoubtedly arise there. 
A generation ago, when palm oil was merely an article of food, 
there was, we have said, no property in palm trees. Since, how- 
ever, a large foreign demand has arisen for this oil, the plantations, 
as already they are called, begin to be cared for ; and lately the 
title to some of them has been disputed in our courts on the Grold 
Coast : a contention which constitutes the first evidence we have 
received of the value of land, not actually under their own cultiva- 
tion, being recognised by the natives. Thus the feeling of pro- 
perty and the desire for accumulation are springing up out of the 
palm oil trade ; and they are everywhere the germs of nascent 
civilisation. It is no light question, therefore, thus involved in an 
increased demand for this article ; it may produce African conse- 
quences of incalculable importance to the whole human race. It 
is in France hitherto that the great consumption of ground nut 
oil has occurred. It is there used in the manufacture of soaps, 
which, though preferred abroad, are little used in England — very 
much because of the Excise laws. The specific gravity of the soap 
made out of ground nut oil is higher than those laws permitted ; 
in consequence we could neither make it for our own use nor for 
foreign exportation ; and thus France has substantially the soap 
trade of the world. By the repeal of the duty, England will be 
enabL^d to compete — in this, as in all other trades — with France 
abroad." 

The price, in Liverpool, for palm oil, in October, 1853, was 
£38 10s. to £39 per ton. 

We export annually nearly four million gallons of oil made from 
linseed, hemp seed, and rape seed. 



PALM OIL KETAINED FOR HOME CONSUMPTION 



cwts. 

1835 242.733 

1836 234,357 

1837 211,919 

1838 272,991 

1839 262,910 

1840 314,881 

1841 300,770 

1842 353,672 



1843 

1844 

1848 

1849 

1850 448,589 

1851 493,598 

1852 408,577 



cwts. 

377,765 
363,335 
510,218 
493,331 



The quantity of the four principal vegetable oils annually im- 
ported into Grreat Britain, is shown by the following figures : — 

Palm oil. Coco-nut oil. Castor oil. Olive oil. 

cwts. cwts. cwts. tuns. 

510,218 85,463 4,588 .... 10,086 

493,331 64,452 . .. 9,681 16,964 

448,589 .... 98,040 .... — .... 20,738 

608,550 .... 55,995 — ... 11,503 

523,231 .... 101,863 .... — ... 8,898 

The Olive-teee {Olea Europea). — There are several varieties 
of this plant, two of which have been long distinguished— the wild 
and the cultivated. The former is an evergreen shrub or low 
tree, with spiny branches and round twigs ; the latter is a taller 



1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 



528 



OLEA-GIlfOUS PLANTS, 



tree, without spines, and with four- angled twigs. The fruit is a 
drupe about the size and color of a damson. Its fleshy pericarp 
yields by expression olive oil, of which the finest comes from 
Provence and Florence. Spanish or Castile soap is made by 
icixing olive oil and soda, while soft soap is made by mixing the 
oil with potash. 

The wild olive is indigenous to Syria, G-reece, and Africa, on 
the lower slopes of Mount Atlas. The cultivated species grows 
spontaneously in Syria, and is easily reared in Spain, Italy end 
the South of France, various parts of Australia and the Ionian 
Islands. Wherever it has been tried on the sea-coasts of Austra- 
lia, the success has been most complete. There are several fine 
trees near Adelaide, some of them fourteen feet high, bearing 
fruit in abundance. Unfortunately no one has attempted to cul- 
tivate the plant on a large scale, but in a few years Australia 
ought to suply herself with olive oil. 

The olive tree is also grown in Hong-Kong. 

There are five or six varieties of O. Maropoea, or sativa, grown 
in the south of Europe, of which district they are for the most 
part natives. 

The entire exports of olive oil from the kingdom of Naples 
have been estimated at 36,333 tuns a year, which, taken at its 
mean value when exported at £62 per tun, is equivalent to the 
annual sum of £2,252,646. 

There are one or two distinct species, natives of the East Indies 
and the Cape of Good Hope. This genus of plants, besides their 
valuable products of oil and fruit, are also much admired for the 
fragrance of their white flowers. There is a yellow-blossomed 
variety, native of China, O. fragrans, the Lan-hoa of the Chinese, 
which is used to perfume their teas. 

Olive oil now forms an article of export from Chili, being grown 
in most parts of that republic, particularly in the vicinity of St. 
Jago, where trees of three feet in diameter, and of a proportionate 
height, are common. The olive was first carried from Andalusia 
to Peru in 1560, by Antonio de E,ibera, of Lima. Erezier speaks 
of the olive beiug used for oil in Chili, a century and a half ago. 

The culture of the olive has been recommended for Florida and 
•most of the Southern States of America. Formerly, on account of 
its slow growth, the olive was not considered very useful; but 
some years since a new variety was introduced into France, and 
into some parts of Spain and Portugal, which yields an abundant 
crop of fruit the second year after planting. They are small trees 
or rather shrubs, about four or five feet high. The fruit is larger 
than the common olive, is of a fine green color when ripe, and 
contains a great deal of oil. The advantages accruing from this 
new mode of cultivating the olive tree, are beyond all calculation. 
By the old method an olive tree does not attain its full growth, 
and consequently does not yield any considerable crop under 
thirty years ; whereas the new system of cultivating- dwarf trees, 
especially from cuttings, aflbrds very abundant crops in two or 



OLIYE OIL. 



529 



three. An acre of land can easily grow 2,500 trees of the new 
variety, and the gathering of the fruit is easy, as it can be done 
by small children. At Beanfort, South Carolina, the olive is 
cultivated from plants which were obtained in the neighbourhood 
of Elorence, Italy. 

A gentleman in Mississippi is stated, by an American agri- 
cultural journal, to have olive trees growing, which at five years 
from the cutting bore fruit, and were as large at that age as they 
usually are in Europe at eight years old. The olive then, it is 
added, will yield a fair crop for oil at four years from the nursery, 
and in eight years a full crop, or as much as in Europe at from 
fifteen to twenty years of age. 

The lands and climate there are stated to be as well adapted to 
the successful cultivation of the olive for oil, pickles, &c., as any 
part of Europe. Some hundreds of the trees are grown in South 
Carolina, and the owner expressed his conviction that this pro- 
duct would succeed well on the sea-coast of Carolina and Georgia. 
The frosts, though severe, did not destroy or injure them, and in 
one case, when the plant was supposed to be dead, and corn was 
planted in its stead, its roots sent out shoots. It is well known 
to be a tree of great longevity, even reaching to 1,000 or 1,200 
years ; so that, when once established, it will produce crops for a 
great while afterwards. The expense of extracting the oil is also 
stated to be but trifling. 

The olive is of slow grovv^th ; trees 80 years of age measure 
only from 27 to 30 inches in circumference at the lower part of 
their trunks. An olive tree is mentioned by M. Decandolle as 
measuring above 23 feet in circumference, which, judging from the 
above inferences, may be safely estim^ated at 700 years old. Two 
other colossal olives are recorded, one at Hieres, measuring in 
circumference 36 feet, and one near Genoa, measuring 38 feet 
2 inches. The produce in fruit and oil is regulated by the age of 
the trees, which are frequently little fortunes to their owners. 
One at Yillefranche produces on an average, in good seasons, from 
200 to 230 pounds of oil. The tree at Hieres, above-mentioned, 
produces about 55 imperial gallons. 

The olive is found everywhere along the coast of Morocco, but 
particularly to the south. The trees are planted in rows, which 
form alleys, the more agreeable because the trees are large, round, 
and high in proportion. . They take care to water them, the better 
to preserve the fruit. Oil of olives might be here plentifully ex- 
tracted were taxation fixed and moderate ; but such has been the 
variation it has undergone, that the culture of olives is so neg- 
lected as scarcely to produce oil sufficient for domestic con- 
sumption. 

Olive oil might form one of the most valuable articles of export 
from Morocco. It is strong, dark, and fit only for manufacturing 
purposes. This is, perhaps, not so much the fault of the olive as of 
the methods by which it is prepared. No 'care is taken in collect- 
ing the olives. They are beaten from the trees with poles, as in 

2 M 



530 



OLEAGINOUS PLANTS, 



Portugal and Spain, suftered to lie on the ground in heaps iintii 
half putrified, then put into uneleaned presses, and the oil squeezed 
through the filthy residuum of former years. Grood table oil 
might be made, if care were taken, as in Erance and Lucca, to 
pick the olives without bruising them, and to press only those 
that were sweet and sound. But such oil would ill suit the palate 
of a Maroqueen, accustomed to drink by the pint and the quart 
the rancid product of his country. 

The olive is the great staple of Corfu, which has, in fact, the ap- 
pearance of an extensive olive grove. It produces annually about 
200,000 barrels. Olive oil is also produced for the purposes of 
commerce, and for local consumption, by France, Algiers, Tuscany^ 
Spain, Sardinia, Portugal, Madeira, and South Australia. 

Olive plantations are extending considerably both in Upper 
and Lower Egypt. Large quantities of trees were planted under 
the direction of Ibrahim Pasha. 

The olive tree might be expected to be quickly matured at the 
Cape. The native olive, resembling the European, is of spon- 
taneous growth and plentiful, so that if the Spanish or Italian 
tree were introduced, there is no doubt of its success. The wood 
of the olive is exceedingly hard and heavy, of a yellowish color, 
a close fine grain, capable of the highest polish, not subject to 
crack nor to be affected by worms. The root, in consequence of its 
variety of color, is much used for snuff-boxes and similar bijouterie. 

The wood is beautifully veined, and has an agreeable smell. It 
is in great esteem with cabinet makers, on account of the fine 
polish of which it is susceptible. 

The sunny slopes of hills are best suited to its natural habits. 
Layering is the most certain mode of propagating this fruit, 
although it grows freely from the seed, provided it has fii^st been 
steeped for twelve hours in hot water or yeast. 

Olives intended for preservation are gathered before they are 
ripe. In pickling, the object is to remove their bitterness and 
preserve them green, by impregnating them with a brine, Eor this 
purpose various methods are employed. The fruit being gathered 
are placed in a lye, composed of one part of quicklime to six of 
ashes of young wood sifted. Here they remain for half a day, 
and are then put into fresh water, being renewed every 24 hours ; 
from this they are removed into a brine of common salt dissolved 
in water, to which add some aromatic plants. The olive will in 
this manner remain good for twelve months. Eor oil, the ripe 
fruit is gathered in November ; the oil, unlike other plants, being 
obtained from the pericarp, and immediately bruised in a mill, the 
stones of which are set so wide as not to crush the kernel. The 
pulp is then subjected to the press in bags made of rushes ; and, by 
means of a gentle pressure, the best or virgin oil flows first. A 
second, and afterwards a third quality of oil is obtained, by 
moistening the residuum, breaking the kernel, &c., and increasing 
the pressure. Yfhen the fruit is not sufficiently ripe, the recent 
oil has a bitterish taste, and when too ripe it is fatty. 



OLIYE OIL. 



531 



The following are the present market prices of olive oil in 
Liverpool, (October, 1853,) and they are 40 per cent, higher than 
a, few years ago : — Galipoli, per tun of 252 gallons, £68 ; Spanishj 
£64 ; Levant, £60, French olives, in half barrels of two gallons, 
are worth £8 to £4 ; Spanish, in two gallon kegs, 9s, to 10s. 

The preserved or pickled olives, so admired as an accorapani-- 
ment to wine, are, as we have seen the green unripe fruit, 
deprived of part of their bitterness by soaking them in water, 
and then preserved in an aromatised solution of salt. 

The marc of olives after the oil has been expressed, indeed, the 
refuse cake of all oil plants, is most valuable, either as mauure 
or for feeding cattle. 

More than 29,000 acres are under culture with the olive in the 
Austrian empire, Yenice, Dalmatia, Lombardy, Carinthia, and 
Carniola. The climate of Dalmatia is highly suitable for the 
olive, and the oil is better than that produced in most parts 
of Italy. JSTearly 17,000 cwt. are annually obtained. 

In 1837 there were 11,526 acres of ground under cultivation 
vdth olives in Southern Illyria, which yielded 261,800 gallons. 
Olives and sumach form, the principal crops of the landholder. I 
have not been able to get any recent correct statistics of the culture 
and produce. The oil of Istria is considered equal to that of 
Provence. The stones and refuse are used there for fuel. The olive 
is also extensively cultivated in the Quarnero Islands, especially 
Yeglia and Cherso, and in Corfu. There were in 1836, 219,339 
acres under cultivation in the Ionian Islands, producing 113,219 
barrels. The olive is gathered there in December. The average 
price of the barrel of olive oil was^43s. 3d. Nearly two millions 
of gallons of olive oil were exported, from Sicily in 1842. Naples 
alone shipped five millions of gallons in 1839, and about 2,500 
cwts. of oil is shipped annually fi'om Morocco. 35/USsia imports 
about 500,000 poods (40 lbs, each) of olive oil annually. 

Provence oil, the produce of Aix, is the most esteemed. 
Florence oil is the virgin oil expressed from the ripe fruit soon after 
being gathered; it is imported in flasks surrounded by a kind of net- 
work formed by the leaves of a monocotyledonous plant, and packed 
in half chests ; it is that used at table under the nam.e of salad 
oil. Lucca oil is imported in jars holding nineteen gallons each, 
denoa oil is another fine kind. Galipoli oil forms the largest 
portion of the olive oil brought to England, it is imported in casks. 
Apulia and Calabria are the provinces of Naples most celebrated 
for its production; the Apulian is the best. Sicily oil is of inferior 
quality ; it is principally produced at Milazzo. Spanish oil is the 
worst. The foot deposited by olive oil is" used for oiling machinery, 
under the name of ' droppings of sw^eet oil.' " — ("Pereira's Materia 
Medica.") 

The manufacture of olive oil in Spain has undergone very con= 
siderable improvement during the last few years ; in j^articular, 
the process for expressing the oil has been rendered more rapid 
and effectual by the introduction of the hydraulic press, and thus 

2 M 2 



532 



OLEAeiNOTJS PLAINTS. 



the injurious consequences which resulted from the partial fer- 
mentation of the fruit are avoided. 

There are four different kinds of oil known in the districts where 
it is prepared. 

1. Virgin oil — A term which is applied, in the district Mont- 
pellier, to that which spontaneously separates from the paste of 
crushed olives. This oil is not met with in commerce, being all 
used by the inhabitants, either as an emollient remedy, or for 
oiling the works of watches. A good deal of virgin oil is, however, 
obtained from Aix. 

2. Ordinary oil. — This oil is prepared by pressing the olives, 
previously crushed and mixed with boiling water. By this second 
expression, in which more pressure is applied than in the previous 
one, an oil is obtained, somewhat inferior in quality to the virgin oil . 

3. Oil of the iiifernal o^egions. — The water which has been em- 
ployed in the preceding operation is in some districts conducted 
into large reservoirs called the infernal regions, where it is left 
for many days. During this period, any oil that might have re- 
mained mixed with the water separates and collects on the surface. 
This oil being very inferior in quality, is only fit for burning in 
lamps, and is generally locally used. 

4. Fermented oil is obtained in the departments of Aix and 
Montpellier, by leaving the fresh olives in heaps for some time, 
and pouring boiling water over them before pressing the oil. But 
this method is very seldom put in practice, for the olives during 
this fermentation lose their peculiar flavor, become much heated, 
and acquire a musty taste, which is communicated to the oil. 

The fruity flavor of the oil depends upon the quality of the 
olives from which it is pressed, and not upon the method adopted 
in its preparation." — (French " Journal de Pharmacie.") 

The price of olive oil is sufficiently high to lead to its admixture 
with cheaper oils. The oil of poppy seeds is that which is usually 
employed for its adulteration, as it has the advantage of being 
cheap, of having a sweet taste, and very little smell. M. Gobley 
has invented an instrument which he calls an areometer, to detect 
this fraud. It is founded on the difference between the densities 
of olive oil and oil of poppies. 

The imports, which in 1826 were only 742,719 gallons, had risen 
in 1850 to 5,237,316 gallons. The following figures show the pro- 
gressive imports and consumption ; — 

Imported. Retained for home consumption, 
gallons. gallons. 

1827 1,028,174 1,070,765 

1831 4,158,917 1,928,892 

1835 606,166 554,196 

1839 1,793,920 1,806,178 

1843 3,047,688 2,516,724 

1847 2,190,384 — 

1848 2,541,672 — 

1849 ; 4,274,928 — 

1850 5,860,806 — 

1851 2,898,756 2,749,^72 

1852 2,242,296 1,066.400 



ALMOND OIL — TEEL. 



533 



The imports of olive oil into the port of Liverpool were 9,815 
tuns in 1849, and 10,038 tuns in 1850. It was brought from 
Manila, Malaga, and Corfu, but chiefly from Barbary, Palermo, 
Grallipoli, and the Levant. In 1850 we imported from France 
259,646 imperial gallons of olive oil, ofiiciallj valued at £34,638 ; 
the average in ordinary years is only about 20,000 gallons from 
the continent. 

Almond oil. — To the south of the Empire of Morocco there 
are forests of the Arzo tree, which is thorny, irregular in its form, 
and produces a species of almond exceedingly hard. Its fruit 
consists of two almonds, rough and bitter, from which an oil is 
produced, very excellent for frying. In order to use this oil it 
requires to be purified by fire, and set in a flame, which must be 
gufiered to die away of itself; the most greasy particles are thus 
consumed, and its arid qualities wholly destroyed. When the 
Moors gather these fruits they drive their goats under the trees, 
and as the fruit falls the animals carefully nibble off the skins, 
and then greedily feed. 

The oil of almonds is more fluid than olive oil, and of a clear, 
transparent, yellowish color, with a very slight odor and taste. It 
is occasionally employed for making the finer kinds of soap, and 
also in medicine. 

In manufacturing it the fruit are first well rubbed or shaken in 
a coarse bag or sack, to separate a bitter powder which covers their 
epidermis. They are then pounded to a paste in mortars of 
marble, which paste is afterwards subjected to the action of a press, 
as in the case of the olive. 

About 80 tuns of almond oil are annually imported into this 
country, the price being about Is. per pound. Five-and-a-half 
pounds of almond oil will yield by cold expression one pound six 
ounces of oil, and three-fourths of a pound more if the iron plates 
are heated. 

Sesame oe Teel. — Of this small annual plant there are 
two or three species. Sesainum orientale, the common sort; and 
S. indicum, a more robust kind, cultivated at a different season, 
are both natives of the East Indies. >S^. indicvm bears a pale 
purple flower, and S. orientale has a white blossom. It is 
the latter which is chiefly grown, and the seeds afford the 
Gringellie oil or suffed-til, already extensively known in 
commerce in the East. The expressed oil is as clear and 
sweet as that from almonds, and probably the Behens oil, used in 
varnish, is no other. It is called by the Arabs " Siriteh," and the 
seed, " bennie " seed, in Africa. S. orientale is grown in the West 
Indies under the name of " wangle." It is said to have been first 
brought to Jamaica by the Jews as an article of food. 1,050 bags 
of gingelly teel, or sesame seed, were imported into Liverpool, ip. 
1849, from the East, South America, and Africa, for expressing oil, 
and 3,700 bags in 1850. There are two kinds of seed, light and 
dark, and it is about the same size as mustard seed, only not round, 

A hectare of land in Algeria yields 1,475 kilogrammes of seed. 



584 



OLEAaiifrous plants. 



which estimated at 50 cents the kilogramme, amounts to 737 francs, 
whilst the cost of production is only 259 francs, leaving a profit 
of 478 francs (nearly £20). The oil obtained from this seed is 
inferior to good oliye oil, but is better adapted for the manufac- 
ture of soap. 

This plant is not unlike hemp, but the stalk is cleaner and 
semi-transparent. The flower also is so gaudy, that a field in 
blossom looks like a bed of florist's flowers, and its aromatic 
fragrance does not aid to dispel such delusion. It flourishes most 
upon land which is light and fertile. The fragrance of the 
oH is perceptibly weaker when obtained from seed produced on 
wet, tenacious soils. A gallon of seed seems to be the usual 
quantity sown upon an acre. In Bengal, S. orientale is sown 
during February, and the crop harvested at the end of May ; 
but S. mdicum is sown on high, dry soil, in the early part of the 
rains of June, and the harvest occurs in September. About 
Poonah it is sown in June and harvested in November. In 
Nepaul two crops are obtained annually ; one is sown as a first 
crop in April and May, and reaped in October and November ; 
the other as an autumn crop, after the upland rise in August and 
September, and reaped in November and December. 

In Mysore, after being cut it is stacked for a week, then ex- 
posed to the sun for three . days, but gathered into heaps at night ; 
and between every two days of such drying, it is kept a day in 
the heap. By this process, the pods bui^st and shed their seeds 
without thrashing. 

The seeds contain an abundance of oil, which might be substi- 
tuted for olive oil ; it is procured from them in great quantities, 
in Egypt, India, Kashmir, China, and Japan, where it is used both 
for cooking and buiming. It will keep for many years and not 
acquire any rancid smell or taste, but in the course of a year or 
two becomes quite mild, so that when the warm taste of the seed, 
which is in the oil when first expressed, is worn off", it is used for 
all the purposes of salad oil. It possesses such qualities as fairly 
entitle it to introduction into Europe; and if divested of its 
mucilage, it might perhaps compete with oil of olives, at least for 
medicinal purposes, and could be raised in any quantity in the 
British Indian Presidencies. It is sufliciently free from smell to 
admit of being made the medium for extracting the perfume of the 
jasmine, the tuberose, narcissus, camomile, and of the yellow rose. 
The process is managed by adding one weight of flowers to three 
weights of oil in a bottle, which being corked is exposed to the 
rays of the sun for forty days, when the oil is supposed to be 
sufficiently impregnated for use. This oil, under the name of 
Gingilie oil, is used in India to adulterate oil of almonds. 

The flour of the seed, after the oil is expressed, is used in 
making cakes, and the straw serves for fuel and manure. 

The oil is much used in Mysore for dressing food, and as a 
common lamp oil. Prom 200 to 400 quarters under the name of 
Niger seed are imported annually into Liverpool for expressing oil. 



NATIVE OIL :JILLS. 



535 



Three varieties of Til are extensively cultivated tlironglioufc 
India, for the sake of the fine oil expressed from tlieii* seeds, 
the white seeded variety, the parti-colored, and the black. It is 
from the latter that the sesamum or gingelly oil of commerce is 
obtaiiied. Sesamum seed contains about 45 per cent, of oil. Good 
samples of the oil were shown at the Grreat Exhibition from. 
Yizianagi'am, G-anjam, Hyderabad, Tanjore, the district of Moor- 
shedabad, and Gwalior. The gingelly seed is stated to be worth 
about £4 per ton in the North Circars. 

An oil resembling that of sesamum is obtained from the seed of 
Guizotea oleifera and Ali/ssinica, a plant introduced from Abys- 
sinia, and common in Bengal. The ram til, or valisaloo seeds, yield 
about SJi per cent, of oil. The oil is generally used for biu-ning, 
and is worth locally about lOd. per gallon. 

Black til {Verhesena sativd). — This is known as kutsela or 
kala til, in the Deccan. It is chiefly cultivated in Mysore and 
the western districts of Peninsular India, as well as in the Bom- 
bay presidency. 

About Seringapatam, as soon as the millet crop has been reaped 
the field is ploughed four times, and the seed sovra, a gallon per 
acre, diuing the month of Jidy or August, after the first heavy 
rain. Xo manure or weeding is required, for the crop will grow 
on the worst soils. It is reaped in three months, being cut close 
to the ground, and stacked for a week. After exposure to the 
sun for two or three days, the seed is beaten out with a stick. 
The crop in Mysore rarely yields two bushels per acre, but about 
Poonah the produce is much larger. The seed is sometimes 
parched and made into sweetmeats, but is usually grown for its 
oil. This is used in cooking, but it is not so abundant in the 
seed, nor so good as that of the sesame. Bidlocks will not eat 
the stems unless pressed by hunger. 

About 5,000 maimds are exported annually from Calcutta. 3,703 
bags were imported into Liverpool in 1851. The price per quarter 
of eight bushels, in January, 1853, was from 30s. to £2; of teel oil, 
in tins, weighing 60 to 100 pounds, £2 to £2 4s. 

Bombay linseed was worth £2 lis. to £2 12s. the quarter 
of eight bushels, in January, 1853. Bengal ditto 2s. less. The 
imports into Liverpool were 68,468 bags and 54,834 pockets 
iu 1851, and 14,490 bags and 33,700 pockets in 1852. About 
9,000 bags of mustard seed and from 18,000 to 20,000 bags of 
rape seed are also imported thence. The price of the latter is 
about £2 the quarter. 

JN'ative Oil Mills. — The principal native oil mill of India, 
of which, however, there are some varieties, consists of a simple 
wooden mortar with revolving pestle. It is in common use in 
all Belgaum and Bangalore. Two oxen are harnessed to the 
geering, which depends from the extremity of the pestle, — ■ 
a man sits on the top of the mortar, and throws in the seeds that 
may have got displaced. The mill grinds t^vice a day ; a fresh 
man and team being employed on each occasion. When sesame 



536 



OLEAGINOUS PLAifTS. 



oil is to be made, about seventy seers measure, or two and a balf 
bushels of seeds are thrown in ; to this ten seers, or two quarts 
and three-quarters of water, are gradually added ; this on the con- 
tinuance of the grinding, which lasts in all six hours, unites with 
the fibrous portion of the seeds, and forms a cake, which, when 
removed, leaves the oil clean and pure at the bottom of the mortar. 
Erom this it is taken out by a coco-nut shell cup, on the pestle 
being withdrawn. Other seed oils are described by Dr. Buchanan, 
aa made almost entirely in the same way as the sesamum. The 
exceptions are the hamlu, or castor oil, obtained from either the 
small or large varieties of Hicinits, This, at Seringapatam, is first 
parched in pots, containing something more than a seer each. It 
is then beaten in a mortar, and formed into balls ; of these from 
four to sixteen seers are put in an earthenware pot and boiled 
with an equal quantity of water, for the space of five hours ; 
frequent care being taken to stir the mixture to prevent it from 
burning. The oil now floats on the surface, and is skimmed off 
pure. The oil mill made use of at Bombay, and to the northward, 
at Surat, Cambay, Kurrachee, &c., difiers a little from that just 
described, in having a very strong wooden frame round the mouth 
of the mortar ; on this the man who keeps the seeds in order sits. 
In Scinde a camel is employed to drive the mill instead of bullocks. 

Castor oil seed is thrown into the mill like other seeds, as 
already described ; when removed it requires to be boiled for an 
hour, and then strained through a cloth to free it from the 
fragments of the seed. 

It is a curious fact, and illustrative of the imperfect manner in 
which the oil is separated from the seeds, that while the common 
pressman only obtained some 261 per cent., Boussingault, in his 
laboratory, from the same seeds, actually procured 41 per cent. 
"When the oil cakes are meant for feeding stock, this loss is of 
little consequence, inasmuch as the oil serves a very good purpose, 
but when the cake is only intended to be used as a manure, it is a 
great loss, inasmuch as the oil is of little or no use in adding any 
food for crops to the soil. 

The chief oil made on the sea board of India, is that yielded by 
the coco-nut palm. The nut having been stripped of the husk or 
coir, the shell is broken, and the fatty lining enclosing the milk 
is taken out. This is called cobri, copra, or copperah in difierent 
localities. Three raaunds, or ninety pounds of copperah, are 
thrown into the mill with about three gallons of water, and from 
this is produced three maunds, or seven and three-quarter gallons 
of oil. The copperah in its unprepared state is sold, slightly dried 
in the market. It is burned in iron cribs or grates, on the top of 
poles as torches, in processions, and as means of illumination for 
work performed in the open air at night. No press or other con- 
trivance is made use of by the natives in India for squeezing out 
or expressing the oil from the cake, and a large amount of waste, 
in consequence of this, necessarily ensues. — Bomhay Times, June 
5, 1850. 



IJAEGOSE OIL. — ILLEPE OIL, 



537 



Oil, of the finest kind, is made in India by expression from the 
kernels of the apricot. It is clear, of a pale yellow color, and 
smells strongly of hydrocyanic acid, of which it contains, usually, 
about 4 per cent. 

" On inquiring into the use made of the sunflower, we were 
given to understand that it is here (in Tartary) raised chiefly 
for the oil expressed from it. But it is also of use for many other 
purposes. In the market places of the larger towns we often found 
the people eating the seeds, which, when boiled in water, taste not 
unlike the boiled Indian corn eaten by the Turks. In some dis- 
tricts of Eussia the seeds are employed with great success in 
fattening poultry ; they are also said to increase the number of eggs 
more than any other kind of grain. Pheasants and partridges eat 
them with great avidity, and find the same eflects from them as other 
birds. The dried leaves are given to cattle in place of straw ; and 
the withered stalks are said to produce a considerable quantity of 
alkali." — JBremner's Interior of Bussia. 

658 barrels linseed oil were brought down to New Orleans from 
the interior in 1849, and 1009 in 1848. 

During the period of the Grreat Exhibition special enquiry was 
made by many manufacturers as to the difierent oils of Southern 
India, suitable for supplying the place of animal fat in the 
manufacture of candles, and generally adapted for various other 
purposes. Enquiries should be directed to the specific gravity, 
the boiling point, the per centage of pure oil in the seeds, and the 
means of obtaining a regular supply. The demand for vegetable 
oils in European commerce has been steadily on the increase for 
several years past, and the quantities consumed are now so large 
that the oleaginous products of India and the colonies must sooner 
or later have a considerable commercial importance, from the value 
which they are likely to acquire. Indeed some have already 
established a footing in the home market, and Drs. Hunter, 
Cleghorn, and others in India, have specially directed the attentio;} 
of the nati^-es and merchants to the subject. 

Maegose, oe Xeem Oil. — Erom the pericarp or fleshy part of 
the fruit of the 21elia Azederaclita, the well known Margosa oil is 
prepared.; which is cheap and easily procurable in Ceylon. Dr. 
Maxwell, garrison surgeon of Trichinopoly, states that he has 
found this oil equally efficacious to cod-liver oil in cases of con- 
sumption and scrofula. He began with half-omice doses, morning 
and evening, which were gradually reduced. 

Illepe Oil. — The seeds of three species of Bassia, indigenous to 
India, yield solid oils, and are remarkable for the fact, that they 
supply at the same time saccharine matter, spirit, and oil, fit for 
both food and burning in lamps. The lUepe {B. longifolid) is a 
tree abundant in the Madras Presidency, the southern parts of 
Hindostan generally, and the northern province of Ceylon, lu 
Ceylon the inhabitants use the oil in cooking and for lamps. 
The oil cake is rubbed on the body as soap, and seems admirably 
adapted for removing the unctuosity of the skin caused by 



538 



OLEAGIJfOUS PLAIS'TS. 



excessive perspiration, and for rendering it soft, pliable, and 
glossy, which is so conducive to health in a tropical climate. 
The oil is white and solid at common temperatures, fusing at 
from 70 to 80 degrees. It may be advantageously employed 
in the manufacture of both candles and soap ; in Ceylon and some 
parts of India this oil forms the chief ingredient in the 
manufacture of soap. 

Mahower {B. latifolia) is common in most parts of the Eengal 
Presidency. The oil a good deal resembles that last described, 
obtained from the Illepe seeds ; and may be used for similar pur- 
poses. It is solid at common temperatures, and begins to melt at 
about 70 degrees. 

Vegetable butter is obtained from the Choorie {J3. hutyraced). 
This tree, though far less generally abundant than the other two 
species, is common in certain of the hilly districts, especially in the 
eastern parts of Kumaon ; in the province of Dotee it is so 
abundant that the oil is cheaper than ghee, or fluid butter, and is 
used to adulterate it. It is likewise commonly burnt in lamps, 
for which purpose it is preferred to coco-nut oil. It is a white 
solid fat, fusible at about 120 degrees, and exhibits very little 
tendency to become rancid when kept. 

Shea, or galam butter, is obtained in "Western Africa from the 
Bcissia ParJdi^ or Fe7itadisma hiotyracea, a tree closely resembling 
the JB. latifolia, and other species indigenous to Hindostan. Ac- 
cording to Park, the tree is abundant in Bambara, the oil is solid, 
of a greyish-white color, and fuses at 97 degrees. Its product is 
used for a variety of purposes — for cooking, burning in lamps, &c. 

This tree has much of the character of the laurel, but grows 
to the height of eighteen or twenty feet. Its leaf is somewhat 
longer than the laurel, and is a little broader at the point ; the 
edges of the leaf are gently curved, and are of a dark sap green 
color. The nut is of the form and size of a pigeon's egg, and the 
kernel completely fills the shell. When fresh it is of a white drab 
color, but, if long kept, becomes the color of chocolate. The 
kernel, when new, is nearly all butter, which is extracted in the 
following manner : — The shell is removed from the kernel, which 
is also crushed, and then a quantity is put into an earthen pot or 
pan, placed over the fire with a portion of water and the nut 
kernels. After boiling slowly about half an hour the whole is 
strained through a grass mat into a clean vessel, when it is allowed 
to cool. Then, after removing the fibrous part from it, it is 
put into a grass bag and pressed- so as to obtain all the oil. This 
is poured into the vessel along with the first-mentioned portion, 
and when cold is about the consistence of butter. 

The nuts hang in bunches from the difi'erent boughs, but each 
nut has its own fibre, about seven or eight inches long, and about 
the thickness and color of whip-cord. The nut is attached to the 
fibre in a very singular manner. The end of the fibre is concealed 
by a thin membrane, about half an inch wide and three-quarters 
of an inch long. This membrane is attached to the side of the 



THE CAS'DLE-ISTT A?TD COLZA OIL. 



539 



nut, and, wlien ripe, relinquishes its bold, and the nut falls to the 
ground, when it is gathered for use. A good-sized healthy tree 
yields about a bushel of nuts, but the greater number are not so 
prohfic. The trees close to the stream present a more healthy 
appearance, probably on account of being better watered, and the 
fire being less powerful close to- the stream. 

The CAiS'nLE Nvt Teee (Aleurites triloba, of Foster) grows in 
the Polynesian Islands, and is also met with in some parts of Jamaica 
and the East Indies. In the latter quarter it is known as the 
Indian Akhrowt. A very superior kind of paint oil is produced 
from the nut, and the cake, after the expression of the oil, forms 
an excellent food for cattle, and a useful manure. 31i gallons 
of the nut yield ten gallons of oil, which bears a good price in 
the home markets. 

The yearly produce of this oil in the Sandwich Isles, where it 
is called kukui oil, is about 10,000 gallons. It has been shipped 
to the markets of Chili, jN"ew South Wales, and London, but not 
as yet with much profit. It realized about £20 per imperial ton 
in the port of London. In 1843, about 8,620 gallons were 
shipped from Honolulu, valued at Is. 8d. per gallon. 

la Ceylon the oil is known as kekime oil, and a good deal of it 
might be obtained there from the district of BaduUa. From the 
trials made it appears that it cannot be used as a drying oil, 
but wiU probably answer best as a substitute for rape oil. Samples 
have been sent to several clothiers, and the nature and quality of 
the oil renders it most applicable to their purposes. 

Colza (Brassica oleracea), a variety of the common cabbage, 
is much grown in the South of Europe and other parts, for the 
oil obtained by pressure from its seeds, and which is used 
for lamps and other purposes. The plant will not thrive on sand 
or clay, but requires a rich light soil. After the ground has been 
well ploughed and manured, the seed should be sown in July, in 
furrows eight or ten inches asunder. The plants are transplanted 
about October. When ripe the stalks are reaped with a sickle, 
and the seeds threshed out with a flail. The cake, after the oil is 
expressed, is an excellent food for cattle. 

Like all the oleaginous plants cultivated for their seed, colza 
greatly impoverishes the soil. 

In Peru the caoutchouc is used as a substitute for candles. A 
roll of it (which is generally about a yard long and three 
inches in diameter) is cut lengthways into four parts, but 
before it is lighted the piece is rolled up in a green plantain 
leaf, to prevent it from melting or taking fire down the sides. 
The natives of Peru also bruize the beans of a species of wild 
cacao after they have been well dried, and use the substance in- 
stead of tallow in their lamps. 

Mr. Dearman, writing from Dacca, to Dr. Spry, Secretary to the 
Agricultural and Horticultural Societies of India, in 1839, says — 
" I will send you some seeds from a tree, which resemble chest- 
nuts. One of these seeds, after taking off the shell, being stuck 



540 



OLEAaiNOrS PLANTS. 



on the point of a penknife, and lighted at a Candle flame, will 
burn without the least odor for four or five minutes, giving a 
light equal to two or three candles. From the flower of the tree 
(he adds), I am told, is distilled a delightful scent." [I presume 
this must be the candle-nut tree.] 

At the Peejee and Hawaian islands, the seeds of the castor oil 
plant and of the candle-nut tree (Aleurites triloha) are strung 
together and used for candles. Species of torches are also made 
from the candle wood in Demerara. 

The Candlebebrt Myetle {Myrica ceriferd) abounds in the 
Bahama Islands. The shrub produces a small green berry, which, 
like the hog plum, puts out from the trunk and larger limbs. 
Much patient labor is required in gathering these berries, and from 
them is obtained a beautiful green wax, winch burns very nearly, 
if not fully, as well as the spermaceti, or composition candles im- 
ported from abroad. Not long since Mr. Thos, B. Musgrove, of 
St. Salvador (or Cat Island), obtained about 80 lbs. of this wax, 
and made some excellent candles of it. The method of procuring 
this wax is by boiling the berries in a copper or brass" vessel for 
some time. Iron pots are found to darken and cloud the wax. 
The vessel after a suf&cient time is taken from the fire, and when 
cool the hardened wax, floating on the top of the water, is skimmed 
ofi". 

Myrtle Wax. — According to the experiments of M. Cadet and 
Dr. Bostock, myrtle wax differs in many respects from bees' wax. 
Specimens of it assume shades of a yellowish green color. Its 
smell is also different ; myrtle wax, when fresh-, emitting a fragrant 
balsamic odor. It has in part the unctuosity of bees' wax, and 
somewhat of the brittleness of resin. Its specific gravity is greater, 
insomuch that it sinks in water, whereas bees' wax floats upon it ; 
and it is not so easily bleached to form white wax. The wax tree 
of Louisiana contains immense quantities of wax. 

Mr. Moodie (" Ten Tears in South Africa " ) says, — 

" I occasionally employed my people, at spare times, in gathering wax berries 
that grow in great abundance upon small bushes in the sand hills, near the sea, 
and yield a substance partaking of the nature of wax and tallow, which is mixed 
with common tallow, and used by the colonists for making candles. The berry 
is about the size of a pea, and covered with a bluish powder. They are 
gathered by spreading a skin on the sand, and beating the bush with a stick. 
When a sufficient quantity of the berries are collected, they are boiled in a great 
quantity of water, and the wax is skimmed off as fast as it rises ; the wax is 
then poured into flat vessels and allov/ed to cool, when it becomes hard and 
brittle, and has a metallic sound when struck. The cakes thus formed are of 
a deep green color, and are sold at the same price as tallow. The wild pigs de- 
vour these berries when they come in their way, and seem very fond of them." 

A good specimen of myrtle, or candleberry wax, accompanied 
by candles made from it in the crude unbleached state in New 
Brunswick, was shown at the Grreat Exhibition. 

Yegetable wax was also sent from Shanghae, in China ; from 
St. Domingo, in the northern parts of which the plant is indigenous ; 
and a remarkable specimen from Japan. This substance, from its 



VEGETABLE WAX. 



541 



higli melting point and other physical characteristics, has of late at- 
tracted a good deal of attention ; it is admirably suited as a 
material for the manufacture of candles. 

At a meeting of the Central Board, at Cape Town, in March, 
1853, the members yoted about £300, to employ some 20 or 30 
men, in gathering berries from the Downs, and making wax during 
the winter months, that is, from the beginning of May to the end 
of September. The wax fetches a good price in the Cape market. 

In the annual report of the Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Society, in May, 
1853, a very fine sample of myrtle, or berry wax, grown on the Cape Flats, was 
exhibited by Mr. Teeny, Superintendent of the Road Plantation, by direction of 
the Commissioners of the Central Road Board, in different stages of purification, 
from green to white, as also some candles ; and it being conceived by the 
meeting that this article might ultimately become one of considerable 
importance for purposes of export, a letter of thanks was addressed to Mr. 
Feeny ; and Nathaniel Day, the constable who assisted him, was presented with 
the sum of £5, as a remuneration for his trouble in assisting to purify and pre- 
pare the wax. On reference to the juror's report on the Great Exhibition, it 
will be gratifying to find that the berry wax, forwarded by this Society, had 
attracted peculiar notice, and a prize medal been awarded for it ; the following 
reference is therein made to it : " some fine specimens of myrtle or berry wax, 
from the Cape of Good Hope, are exhibited by J. Lindenberg, of "Worcester. 
This is an excellent material for the manufacture of candles, when employed 
in conjunction with other solid fats. The jury awarded a prize medal for 
these specimens." 

Your Committee would suggest every possible attention being drawn to this 
subject, in which they are gratified to state, the Commissioners of the Central 
Eoad Board have evinced a readiness to co-operate, by offering to place at the 
Society's disposal the sum of £10 lOs., " to be given as a premium for the best 
information respecting the wax berry plant, the soils and situations in which it 
is found to grow most luxuriantly : the best mode of propagating and cultivating 
it, of collecting the berries, and extracting and preparing the wax, &c." And 
from a letter received from the Secretary to the Central Road Board, it ap- 
pears that the Board had authorised the shipment to England of 2,561 lbs. 
of the wax, by the Queen of the South in November last, which, from the account 
sales lately received from Messrs. J. R. Thomson & Co., realised as follows, 
viz. : — 

4 cases weighing nett 856 lbs. ^ 8d. £28 10 8 
4 „ 1040 lbs. a 9d. 39 0 0 

3 „ 745 lbs. a lid. 34 2 11 

3 „ 6 lbs. a lid. 0 5 6 



£101 19 1 

Discount 2| per cent. 2 11 0 



£99 8 1 

Charges. 

Warehouse Entry 3s. 6d. Fire In- 
surance 2s,, Ports 2s, 6d £0 8 0 



Freight 7 3 3 

Primage 0 14 4 

Dock Charges 3 9 6 

Sale Expenses 0 9 0 

Brokerage 1 0 6 



£13 4 7 

Commission at 2^ per cent 211 0 



Carried forward £15 15 7 



542 



OLEAGITTOLTS PLANTS, 



Brought forward £15 15 7 

£SZ 12 6 

Deduct Bills of Lading, &c. 0 19 6 

£82 13 0 

Deduct the Board's expenses for gathering and 

preparing, &c „ . . 28 8 7 

Leaving a clear profit of £54 4 5 

This statement shows that from a plant, which is indigenous to the colony, 
and might be cultivated to almost any extent, and mostly on soils unavailable 
for other purposes, an article of great export could be derived at a comparatively 
small expense ; it is with that view that I desire to direct public attention more 
prominently to it. 

In tlie Museum of the Eoyal Botanic Gardens, at Kew, wax 
is shown as scraped from the the trunk of the wax palm 
{Geroxijlon andicold), and candles made from it, as also some 
made of acorns and closely resembling common tallow. Concrete 
milk and butter made from the Shea butter tree, and others 
growing in Para, are also exhibited. 

Wax candles liave been made from the seeds of Myrica macro- 
carpa in Colombia, and also from vegetable wax in Java. Some of 
these are to be seen in the Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society 
of London. 



CASTOE OIL PLAOT, 

Castor oil is expressed from the seeds of Mlcinus communis 
{Palma Ohristi), a plant with petale-palmate leaves, which is 
found native in G-reece, Africa, the South of Spain, and the East 
Indies, and is cultivated in the West Indies, as well as in JSTorth 
and South America. In the temperate and northern parts of 
Europe, the plant is an herbaceous annual, of from three to 
eight feet high ; in the more southern parts it becomes scrubby 
and even attains an height of twenty feet ; w^hile in India it is often 
a tree thirty to forty feet high. The best oil is obtained by expres- 
sion from the seeds without heat, and is hence called " cold drawn 
oil." A large quantity of oil may be produced by boiling the seeds, 
but it is less sweet and more apt to become rancid than that 
procured by expression. 

The JPalma Ckristi grows continuously for about four years, and 
becomes a large tr^e in constant bearing, ripening its rich clusters 
of beans in such profusion, that 100 bushels may be obtained 
annually from an acre, and their product of oil two gallons per 
bushel. 

There are several species, all of which yield oil of an equally 
good quality. A shrubby variety is com-mon in South Australia, 
and other parts of ISTew Holland. Bicinus lividus is a native of 
the Capo of Good Hope. It is a hardy plant, of the easiest cul- 
ture, and will thrive in almost any soil, whether in the burning 



CASTOE OIL. 



543 



plains or tbe coldest part of the mountains. The seed should be 
planted in the tropics in September, singly, and at the distance of 
10 or twelve feet apart. They ^Yill bear the first season, and con- 
tinue to yield for years. When the seed-pods become brown, they 
are in a fit state to pluck. It is often grown in the East inter- 
mixed with other crops. The primitive mode of obtaining the oil 
is to separate the seeds from the husks, and bruise them by tying 
them up in a grass mat. In this state they are put into a boiler 
amongst water, and boiled until all the oil is separated, which 
floats at the top, and the refuse sinks to the bottom ; it is then 
skimmed off, and put away for use. The purest oil is obtained, 
as before-mentioned, by crushing the seeds (which are sewed up 
in horse-hair bags), by the action of heavy iron beaters. The oil, 
as it oozes out, is caught in troughs, and conveyed to receivers, 
whence it is bottled for use. 

Castor od is used for lamps in the East Indies, and the Chinese 
have some mode of depriving it of its medicinal properties, so as 
to render it suitable for culinary purposes. 

That which we import from the East Indies comes from Bombay 
and Calcutta, and is obtained at a very low price. It is exceed- 
ingly pure, both in color and taste. 

In the West Indies the shrub grows about six feet high. The 
stalks are jointed, and the branches covered with leaves about 
eighteen inches in circumference, forming eight or ten sharp- 
pointed divisions, of a bluish green color, spreading out in different 
directions. The flowers contain yellow stamina ; the seed is en- 
closed in a triangular husk, of a dark brown color, and covered 
with a light fur, of the same color as the husk. When the capsule 
is thoroughly ripened by the sun, it bursts, and expels the seeds, 
which are usually three in number. 

In Jamaica this plant is of such speedy growth, that in one year 
it arrives at maturity, and I have known it to attain to the height 
of twenty feet. A gallon of the seed yields by expression about 
two pounds of oil. 

The wholesale price in Liverpool, in October, 1853, was 3d. to 
5d. per lb. 

It is brought over from the East Indies in small tin cases, sol- 
dered together and packed in boxes, weighing about 2 cwt. each. 

In Ceylon castor oil is obtained from two varieties of the plant, 
the white and the red. 

The native mode of preparing the oil is by roasting the seed ; 
this imparts an acridity to the oil, which is objectionable. By 
attending to the following directions, the oil may be prepared in 
the purest and best form. The modes of preparation are — 1. By 
boiling in water. 2. By expression. 3. Extraction by alcohol. In 
the first the seeds are slightly roasted to coao'ulate the albumen, 
cleaned of the integuments, bruised in a mortar, a^nd the paste 
boiled in pure water. The oil which rises on the surface is re- 
moved, and treated with an additional quantity of fresh water ; 
10,000 parts of clean seed give by this process (in Jamaica) 3,250 



OLiA&iyOrS PLANTS 



of oil. of good quality, tliougli amber-colored. 2. Expression is 
the simplest and most uisnally adopted process : tlie cleaned kernels 
are well bruised, placedin cloth. bags, and e iv : ; - ■ i r rrril 
lever and screw press. A thick oil is c :: : V. . le 

filtered through cloth and paper to separate i: : , In 

Bengal the manufacturers boiL the oil wate:\ .l:TrS 
some albumen, and they subsequently f''t:t t':r :t.^'„ cl t... cliar- 
coaL and paper. 3. The eiitraction l y . : _ : - :^ t : :t:-; ,:y some 
druggists. Each pound of paste is tritui^ated vrirh : : :.r t r tmds of 
alcohol, specific gravity S.350, and the mixture sul'-rct- l 1 1 pres- 
sure. The oil dissolved by the alcohol escapes very tr-tly ; 
half is recovered by the distillation of the spirit, the resiiue ;: t" f 
distillation is boiled in a lai'ge quant'^ - ;: " : r, The cil -t t- 
rates and is removed, and gently hc:.t- ; : :: any a;l_crcr.t 
moisture ; then filtered at the temperature : ; . I . truheir ; 
1,000 parts of the paste have by this proof giv-- 025 : : c jlorless 
and exceedingly sweet cil. 

The cultivation of the Palma ch'isti, and the manti::v:tt:re of 
castor oil, is extensively carried on in some parts of tt t Ut_:tcd 
States, and continues on the increase. A sin^tle r^'rtit :.t t: Li v.is 
has worked up IS. 500 bushels of beans in :'; tr t_::t. :'.~. -^ j : t ;. ::::^' 
17,750 gallons of oil, and it is stated that SOU barrels nave been 
sold, at 50 dollars per barrel. The oil may be prepared for burn- 
ing, for machinery, soap, &c,, and is also eonvei-tible into steariae. 
It is more soluble in alcohol than lard- oil. 

American castor oil is imported for the most part from Xew 
York and Xew Orleans, but some comes from our ownrt'ssessions 
in jS"orth America. In the United States, according to t::r ■ Att.e- 
rican Dispensatory," the cleansed seeds are gently ::t.i":f;l it. a 
shallow iron reservoir, to render the oil liquid for et y t : :tession, 
and then compressed in a powerftil screw press, by ^ t ~hitish 
oily liquid is obtained, which is boiled vdth watct iti titan iron 
boilers, and the impurities skimmed off as they rise t: tt t sttrface. 
The water dissolves the mucilage and starch, and tl :t 1 : tt ttagu- 
lates the albumen, which forms a whitish layer I ::t, the oil 
and water. The clear oil is now removed, andboile . "t: t ttinute 
portion of water until aqueous vapors cease to ari^e : by iliis pro- 
cess an acrid volatile matter is got rid of. The oil is put iuto 
barrels, and in this way is sent into the market. American oil 
has the reputation of being adulterated vrith olive oil. G-ood seeds 



yield about 25 per cent, of oil. A lar£'t " : tt: t_ : tt.e drug 

consumed in the eastern section of the U;t. t^ I t: 1 ty way 
of ZS'ew Orleans from Illinois and the neiglt".: ; a lt._ States, 
where it is so abundant that it is sometimes used :lt .ttAng in 
lamps. 



In Jama.ica the bruised seeds are boiled with water in an ii'on 
pot, and the liquid kept constantly stiiTed. The oil which sepa- 
rates swims on the top, mixed with a white froth, and is skimmed 
off. The skimmings are heated in a small iron pot, and straiaed 
through a cloth. When cold it is put in jars or bottles for use. 



545 



Ca^ or "ied.. Eetamed. 

lbs. 

1^23 . ' ^ . ■ :2 ^53,072 

1831 '^93,131 327,940 

1S36 981, o8o ....... 809,559 

1841 871,136 732,720 

1846 1.477,168 — 

1849 1,084,272 — 

1850 3,495,632 — 

The imports of castor oil come chiefiY from the East India Com- 
pany's possessions, and were as follows, nearly all being retained 
for home consumption : — 

lbs. I lbs. 

1830 490.658 ; 1837 957,164 

1831 343,373 ' 1838 837,143 

1832 257,386 j 1839 916,370 

1833 316,779 , 1840 1,190,173 

1834 685,457 ! 1841 869,947 

1835 1,107,115 i 1842 490,156 

1836 9Y2,552 j 1843 717,696 

In 1841, 12,i06 Indian inannd^ of castor oil were shipped from 
Calcutta alone, and 7,906 ditto in 1842. 

In 1842, 8 cases were shipped from Ceylon, 10 in 1843, 24 in 
1844, and 14 in 1S45. 

1,439 barrels were shipped from Xew Orleans in 1847. The 
quantity brought down to that city from the interior was 1,394 
barrels in 1848, and 1,337 barrels in 1849. 

"Within the last year or two, an attempt has been made to intro- 
dace the cake obcained in expressing the seeds of the castor oil 
plant as a manure, which is deser\dug attention, both because it ia 
in itself likely to prove a serviceable addition to the list of fer- 
tilizers which may be advantageously employed, and because it 
may lead to the use of similar substances, which are at present 
neglected, or thrown aside as refuse. 

The castor oil seed resembles in chemical composition the 
other oily seeds. It consists of a mixture of mucilaginous, albu- 
minous, and oily matters ; and the former two of these are identical 
in constitution and general properties with the substances found 
in linseed and rape cake, while the oil is principally distinguished 
by its purgative properties. The cake obtained is in the form of 
ordinary oilcake, but is at once distinguished from it by its color, 
and by tlie large fragments of the hask of the seeds which it 
contains. It is also much softer, and may be easily broken down 
with the hand. I have analysed two samples of castor cake, 
stated to have been obtained by different processes ; and though 
I have not been informed of the exact nature of these processes, 
I infer, from the large quantity' of oil, that one must have been 
cokl-di'awn. The first of the following analyses is that of he 
sample which I believe the cold-drawn. It is the most complete 
of the two, and contains a determination of the amount of oil. 
In the other analysis this was not done, but there was no doubt 
on mv i:i-iid ■TiAit IT- quantitv was much smaller. 

2 V 



546 



OLEAGINOUS PLANTS. 



No. 1. No. 2. 

Water .... 8.32 .. 16.31 

Oil 24.32 .. — 

Nitrogen .... 3.05 3.35 

Ash . . . . . 7.22 .. 4.95 

The ash contains — 

Siliceous matters . . , 1.96 .. — 

Phosphates .... 3.36 .. 2.27 

Excess of phosphoric acid . . 0.64 . , — 

In order to give a proper idea of the value of this substance as 
a manure, I shall quote here, for comparison sake, the average 
composition of rape cake, as deduced from the analyses contained 
in the Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland : — 
Water ...... 10.68 

Oil ...... . 11.10 

Nitrogen . . . . . .4.63 

Ash ...... . 7.79 

The ash contains — - 

Siliceous matters . . , . .1.18 

Phosphates ...... 3.87 

Excess of phosphoric acid .... 0.39 

It will be at once seen that there is a close general resemblance 
between these two substances, although there is no doubt that the 
castor cake is inferior to rape cake ; still I believe that this inferi- 
ority is fully counterbalanced by the difference in price, which is 
Buch that, compared with rape cake, the castor cake is really a 
cheap manure. There is only one of its constituents which it con- 
tains in larger quantity, and that is the oil. No weight is, how- 
ever, to be attached to the quantity of oil in a manure. In a 
substance to be used as food, it is of very high importance ; but 
BO far as we at present know, its value as manure is extremely 
problematical. AYhale, seal, and other coarse ods have been used 
as manures, and by some few observers benefits have been derived 
from their application, but the general experience has not been 
favorable to their use, nor should we chemically be induced to ex- 
pect any beneficial efi'ect from them. We have every reason to 
believe that the oils which are found in plants are produced there 
as the results of certain processes which are proceeding within the 
plant, and there is no evidence to show that any part of it is ever 
absorbed in the state of oil by the roots when they are presented 
to them. On the other hand, the oils are extremely inert sub- 
stances, and undergo chemical changes very slowly ; so that there 
is no likelihood of their being converted into carbonic acid, or any 
other substance which may be useful to the plant ; and as they 
contain no nitrogen, and consist only of carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen, they can yield only those elements of which the plant can 
easily obtain an unlimited supply. I can conceive cases in which 
the oil might possibly produce some mechanical efi'ect on the soil, 
but none in which it could act as a manure, in the proper sense of 
the term. 

Kanaei oil. — Mr. Crawfurd, in his " History of the Indian 
Archipelago," speaks most favorably of an oil obtained from the 



THE COCO-NUT PALM. 



** Kanari," a tree which, he sajs, is a native of the same country 
as the sago palm, and is not found to the westward, though it has 
been introduced to Celebes and Java. I have not been able to 
distinguish its botanical name; but Mr. Crawfurd describes 
it as a large handsome tree, and one of the most useful pro- 
ductions of the Archipelago. It bears a nut of an oblong shape^ 
nearly the size of a walnut, the kernel of which is as delicate 
as that of a filbert, and abounds with oil. The nuts are either 
smoked and dried for use, or the oil is expressed from them in 
their recent state. It is used for all culinary purposes, and is 
purer and more palatable than that of the coco-nut. The kernels, 
mixed up with a little sago meal, are made into cakes and eaten 
as bread. 

THE COCO-NUT PALM. 

This palm {Cocos nuciferd) is one of the most useful of the exten- 
sive family to which it belongs, supplying food, clothing, materials 
for houses, utensils of various kinds, rope and oil ; and some of its 
products, particularly the two last, form important articles of com- 
merce. An old writer, in a curious discourse on palm trees, read 
before the Eoyal Society, in 1688, says, " The coco nut palm is 
alone sufficient to build, rig, and freight a ship with bread, wine, 
water, oil, vinegar, sugar, and other commodities. I have sailed 
(he adds) in vessels where the bottom and the whole cargo hath 
been from the munificence of this palm tree. I will take upon me 
to make good what I have asserted." And then he proceeds to 
describe and enumerate each product. Another recent popular 
writer speaks in eloquent terms of the estimation in which it is 
held, and the various uses to which it is applied. 

" Its very aspect is imposing. Asserting its supremacy by an 
erect and lofty bearing, it may be said to compare with other trees, 
as man with inferior creatures. The blessings it confers are in- 
calculable. Tear after year the islander reposes beneath its shade, 
both eating and drinking of its fruit ; he thatches his hut with its 
boughs, and weaves them into baskets to carry his food ; he cools 
himself with a fan plaited from the young leaflets, and shields his 
head from the sun by a bonnet of the leaves ; sometimes he clothes 
himself with the cloth-like substance which wraps round the base 
of the stalks, whose elastic rods, strung with filberts, are used as 
a taper. The larger nuts, thinned and polished, furnish him with 
a beautiful goblet ; the smaller ones with bowls for his pipes ; the 
dry husks kindle his fires ; their fibres are twisted into fishing-lines 
and cords for his canoes. He heals his wounds with a balsam 
compounded from the juice of the nut ; and with the oil extracted 
from its pulp embalms the bodies of the dead. The noble trunk 
itself is far from being valueless. Sawn into posts, it upholds the 
islander's dwelling ; converted into charcoal, it cooks his food ; and, 
supported on blocks of stones, rails in his lands. He impels his 
canoe through the water with a paddle of the wood, and goes to 

2 N 2 



51S 



OLEAaiXOTTS PLOTS. 



ha+lle \Titli clubs an4 ^r^^ \e - -n^ * ^^-'^1. T-a ^?gan 

Tahiti, a coco-nut branch V/ as (he ey 7X1' )\ . .iOi'cv. Laid 

upon the sacrifice in the temple, it made - c .c "iig sacred ; and 
with it the priests cliastised and put to ■ ^-i' lAe e\il spirits 
wKich assailed them. The supreme majesty of Oro, the great god 
of their mythology, was declared in the coco-nut log from which 
his image was rudely carved. Upon one of the Tonga Islands 
there stands a living tree, revered itself as a deity. Even upon 
the Sandwich Islands the coco palm retains all its ancient repu- 
tation ; the people there having thought of adopting it as the na- 
tional emblem." 

Besides the foregoing and following uses, I am aware of 
several scents and spirituous liquors being procured from the 
flowers and pulp of the coco-nut. 

This palm tree is one of the finest objects in nature. Ita 
stem is tall and slender, without a branch ; and at the top are seen 
from ten to two hundred coco-nuts, each as large as a man's head; 
over these are 'the graceful plumes, with their green gloss, 
and beautiful fronds of the nodding leaves. Nothing can exceed 
the graceful majesty of these intertropical fruit trees, except the 
various useful purposes to which the tree, the leaf, and the nut 
are applied by the natives. 

1. The stem is used for — Bridges, posts, beams, rafters, paling, 
ramparts, loop-holes, walking sticks, water butts, bags (the upper 
cuticle), sieves in use for arrowroot. 

2. The coco-nut is used for — milk, a delicious drink ; meat from 
the scraped nut, for various kinds of food ; jelly, kora, pulp, nut, 
oil, excellent and various food for man, beast, and fowl. 

The shell for vessels to drink out of, water pitchers, lamps, 
funnels, fuel, jjan^a (for a game) . 

The fibre for sinnet, various cordage, bed stuffing, thread for 
tying combs, scrubbing-brushes, girdle (ornamental), whisk for flies, 
medicines, various and useful. 

3. The leaf is used for — Thatch for houses, lining for houses, 
talcapau (mats), baskets (fancy and plain), fans, ^fl7«Zq/« (for sham 
fights), combs (very various), bedding (white fibre), (brooms), 
hiibatse (used in printing), mama (candles), screen for bedroom, 
waiter's tray. 

Here are no less than forty-three uses of vrhich we know some- 
thing ; and the natives know of others to which they can apply 
this single instance of the bounty of the Grod of natui^e. Eor 
house and clothes, for food and medicine, the coco-nut palm is their 
sheet anchor, as well as their ornament and amusement, who dwell 
in the torrid zone. 

This fine palm, v>"hich always forms a prominent feature in 
tropical scenery, is a native of Southern Asia. It is spread by 
cultivation through almost all the intertropical regions of the Old 
and New TVorlds ; but it is cultivated nowhere so abundantly as 
in the Island of Ceylon, and those of Sumatra, Java, &c. On the 
shores of the Eed Sea it advances to Mokha, according to Niebuhr ; 



TILE COCO-XUT ' • LLT. 



549 



but it does not succeed in Egypt. It is cultivated in the lower 
and southern portions of the Asiatic Continent, as on the coasts 
of Coromandel and Malabar, and around Calcutta. In the island 
of Ceylon, where the fruit of this tree forms one of the principal 
aliments of the natives, the nuts are produced in such quantities 
that in one year about three millions were exported, besides the 
manufactured produce in oil, &c. According to Marshall it 
requires a mean temperature of 72 deg. Its northern limit, there- 
fore, is nearly the same as the southern limit of our cereals. 

Eumphius enumerates thirteen varieties of this palm, but many 
of these have now been placed under other genera, and Lindley 
resolves them into three species — C. nucifera, the most generally 
diffused species, a native of the East Indies ; and C.flexuosa and 
plumosa, natives of Brazil. The trunk, which is supported by 
numerous small fibrous roots, rises gracefully, with a slight in- 
clination, from forty to sixty feet in height ; it is cylindrical, of 
middling size, marked from the root upwards with unequal 
circles or rings, and is crowned by a graceful head of large leaves. 
The terminal bud of this palm, as well as that of the cabbage palm 
{Euter-pe montand), is used as a culinary vegetable. The wood 
of the tree is known by the name of porcupine wood. It is 
light and spongy, and, therefore, cannot be advantageously em- 
ployed in the construction of ships or solid edifices, though it is 
used in building huts ; vessels made of it are fragile and of little 
duration. Its fruit, at different seasons, is in much request ; when 
young, it is filled with a clear, somewhat sweet, and cooling fluid, 
which is equally refreshing to the native and the traveller. When 
the nut becomes old, or attains its full maturity, the fluid disap- 
pears, and the hollow is filled by a sort of almond, which is the 
germinating organ. This pulp or kernel, when cut in pieces and 
dried in the sun, is called copperah, and is eaten by the Malays, 
Coolies, and other natives, and from it a valuable species of oil is 
expressed, which is in great demand for a variety of purposes. 
The refuse oil cake is called Poonac, and forms an excellent manure. 

A calcareous concretion is sometimes found in the centre of the 
nut, to which peculiar virtues have been attributed. 

Along the Gulf of Cariaco there are many large coco walks. 
In moist and fertile ground it begins to bear abundantly the fourth 
year; but in dry soils it does not produce fruit until the tenth. 
Its duration does not generally exceed 80 or 100 years, at which 
period its mean height is about 80 feet. Throughout this coast a 
coco tree supplies annually about 100 nuts, which yield eight fiascos 
of oil. The fiasco is sold for about Is. 4d. A great quantity is made 
at Cumana, and Humboldt frequently witnessed the arrival there 
of canoes containing 3,000 nuts. 

Throughout the South Sea Islands, coco-nut palms abound, and 
oil may be obtained in various places. Some of the uninhabited 
islands are covered with dense groves, and the ungathered nuts, 
which have fallen year after year, lie upon the ground in incredible 
quantities. Two or three men, provided with the necessary appa- 



550 



OLEAGINOUS PLAICTS. 



ratus for pressing out the oil, will, in the course of a week or two, 
obtain enough to load one of the large sea canoes. Coco nut oil 
is now manufactured in different parts of the South Seas, and forms 
no small part of the traffic carried on with trading vessels. A con- 
siderable quantity is annually exported from the Society Islands to 
Sydney. They bottle it up in large bamboos, six or eight feet long, 
and these form part of the circulating medium of Tahiti. The 
natives use the bruised fronds of Folypodium crassifolium to per- 
fume this oil. JSvodia triphylla, a favorite evergreen plant with 
the natives of the Polynesian Islands, is also used for this purpose. 

The most favorable situation for the growth of the coco palm 
is the ground near the sea-coast, and if the roots reach the mud 
or salt water, they thrive all the better for it. The coco-nut 
walks are the real estates of India, as the vineyards and olive 
groves are of Europe. I have seen these palms growing well in 
inland situations, remote from the sea, but always on plains, never 
upon hills or very exposed situations, where they do not arrive to 
maturity, wanting shelter, and being shaken too violently by the 
wind. The stems being tall and slight, and the whole weight of 
leaves and fruit at the head, they may not unaptly be compared 
to the mast of a ship with round top and topmast without shrouds 
to support it. Ashes and fish are good manures for it. 

The coco-nut is essentially a maritime plant, and is always one 
of the first to make its appearance on coral and other new islands 
in tropical seas, the nut being floated to them, and rather benefit- 
ing than otherwise by its immersion in the salt water. Silex and 
soda are the two principal salts which the coco-nut abstracts from 
the soil, and hence, where these do not exist in great abundance, 
the tree does not thrive well. I do not know myself what is the 
practice in Ceylon, but in Brazil, Dr. Grardner tells me, salt is 
very generally applied to the coco-nut when planted. Tar in the 
interior, he states, he has seen as much as half a bushel applied 
to a single tree, and that too when it cost about 2s. a pound, from 
the great distance it had to be brought. That the application, 
therefore, of salt, of seaweed, and saline mud, does more than 
supply soda, must be very evident, if we only recollect how 
difficiilt it is to dry any part of our dress that has been soaked 
in salt water, and what effect damp weather has on table salt, 
which, in a balance, has often been made use of as an hydro- 
meter. Moisture is always attracted by salt, and the more sea 
mud and other such little matters that coco-nut planters can 
apply round the roots of their trees, there will most assuredly be 
the less occasion for watering them in the dry season. Sea weed 
contains but very little fibrous matter, being chiefly composed of 
mucilage and water ; and the experiments of Sir J. Pringle and 
]Mr. C. W. Johnson, prove that salt in small quantities assists 
the decomposition of both animal and vegetable substances. 
Decomposed poonac, or oil-cake, is one of the best manures that 
can be applied, as it returns to the soil the component parts of 
which it has been deprived to form the fruit. 



THE COCO-NUT PALM, 



551 



The primary direction of the planter's industry will be to the 
establishment of a nursery of young plants. In Ceylon, for this 
purpose, the nuts are placed in squares of 400, covered with one 
inch of sand, or salt mud ; are watered daily till the young shoots 
appear, and are planted out after the rains in September. Sand 
and salt mud are to be found on almost all the coasts where it 
would be desirable to plant nuts, and if they are put into the 
ground at the commencement of the rainy season, artificial water- 
ing will scarcely be necessary. Any period, when there are 
showers, would answer for transplanting them. I should say 
from the middle to the end of January would be best, when they 
are placed in the nursery in October and Kovember ; and in 
October when they are planted in June. 

It is said that they should be allowed from 20 to 80 feet space 
apart, but I will calculate their return when planted 27 feet apart 
every way. This will give 58 coco-nut trees per acre. If manured, 
for the first two years, with seaweed and salt mud, and supplied 
with water in dry weather, there need be no loss, and the plants 
will thrive the better. The land must be kept clear of weeds till 
the plants are matured, in order to permit them abundance of air 
and light. In five years, when well cared for, the flower may be 
expected, but the plants will not be in full bearing before the 
seventh or eighth year. Prom 50 to 80 nuts are the annual crop 
of a tree ; but I will calculate at the lowest rate. One hundred 
nuts will yield, when the oil is properly expressed, at least two 
gallons and a half I shall not take into account the making of 
jaggery sugar and toddy, or spirit from the sap, as I do not con- 
sider that the manufacture would be remunerative ; and it must 
be attended with much trouble, besides requiring a great deal of 
care and some skill. 

Take the case now of a plantation of 100 acres in extent. This 
would give us 5,800 trees, which, at 50 nuts per tree, 290,000 
nuts, at 2J gallons of oil per hundred, would yield 7,250 gallons 
of oil, the value of which any person may calculate, but which, 
at the low rate of 3s. over charges, would furnish, as the gross 
plantation return in oil, a sum of £1,087 10s. sterling. If the 
cultivator, instead of making his produce into oil, were to sell it 
in its natural state, his gross return in the West Indies would 
be nearly £600 sterling, at the rate of ten dollars per thousand. 

Either of these sums would be a handsome return from 100 
acres of any land, requiring no cultivation or care whatever^ after 
the fourth year, and yielding the same amount for upwards of 
half a century ! But this is not all. An outlay of a few pounds 
will secure other advantages, and ought to enable the owner of a 
coco-nut plantation to turn his gross receipts for oil into nett 
profits. The coir made from the husk of the nut is calculated to 
realise nearly one-fourth of the proceeds of the oil, but if we put 
it down at one-fifth, we shall have, in addition to the value of the 
oil, £217 10s., thus making a total of £1,305 sterling. If we 
obtained 60 nuts from each tree, the return would be £1,566 



552 



fcjerlio^- end if 75- £1.957 Ss, sterling; rj.d this from 100 acres 
of sea side sand ! But even this does not exhibit the whole re- 
turn of this article of culture. Each nut may be calculated to 
give a quarter of a pound of poonac, or oil-cake, being the refuse 
after expression, fit for feeding ail kinds of stock, which may be 
estimated as worth £10 per ton. "We must, therefore, add on 
this account to our first calculation, the sum of say £325 ; to the 
second, £390; and to the third, £485. This would give, in round 
numbers, the entire returns of the 100 acres planted: — At 50 
nuts per tree, £1,630 ; at 60 ditto, £1,957 ; at 75, ditto, £2,446. 

These are striking results, and may appear exaggerated ; but I 
will, to show how very moderate has been my calculation, give 
two returns, with which I have been favored from Ceylon. These, 
it will be seen, differ materially, but the latter I can rely on as a 
practical result, from a plantation in Jaffna, the peninsula of 
the northern portion of the island. After estimating the expense 
of establishing the plantation, the first writer sets down his 
return thus : — 

"The produce, calculating 90 trees to an acre, and 75 nuts to a 
tree, sold at £2 per 1,000, would yield 675,000 nuts, worth 
£1,350 ; or if converted into oil, calculating 30 to give one gallon, 
it would produce 22,500 gallons, or about 90 tons from 100 acres." 

Erom Jaffna, the following is an abridged estimate of return of 
100 acres in full bearing : — " At 27 feet apart, 58 trees per acre, 
5,800 trees, at 60 nuts per tree, 3,480 nuts per acre, 100 acres, 
348,000 nuts, at 40 nuts per imperial gallon, 8,700 gallons of 
oil, at 2s. per gallon, netted £8 14s. per acre. The poonac left 
will pay the expense of making the oil. If shipped to England, 
at the present time (close of 1848), the selling price there being 
55s. per cwt., measuring 12 imperial gallons, say, 4s. 7d. per 
gallon, and the cost and charges of sending it home and selling it 
being 23s., it would leave 3s. per gallon, or £13 per acre," This 
sum is Qiett proceeds. 

It vdll be seen by the above, that I have been extremely 
moderate in my computation of the return which may be antici- 
pated, for there is no doubt that planters can, in favorable localities, 
on the coasts of most of our colonies, cultivate this palm with as 
much success as attends its culture in Ceylon. By the first of 
the calculations I have cited from that island, the gross return 



appears thus : — 

22,500 gallons at 4s. 7d .... £5,156 § 

Coir— one-fifth of value 1,031 4 

Cake from 675,000 nuts, say |lb. each, 75 tons at £10 750 0 

Total gross return from 100 acres 6,937 9 

According to the other calciilation, the return will stand thus : — 

8,«00 gallons at 4s. 7d £1,993 15 

Coir 398 15 

Cake from 348,000 nuts, 34 tons 340 0 

Total gross return from 100 acres 2,732 10 



. THE COCO-?:rT TAIM. 553 

It will be seen that in my calcnlatio i I haYo set down the 
return lower than it is rendered in the less favorable statement 
from Ceylon by a sum of upwards of £1,000 sterling. But even 
supposing one-lialf of the amount of the lower Ceylon estimate 
coidd be realised, we should have a return of £1,366 5s. sterling 
from. 100 acres of sea side sand. 

I now proceed to point out the very small outlay required to 
obtain these results. In places where the coco-nut would be 
grown, there is generally no heavy woodland requiring great labor 
with axe and fire, and consequently one able-bodied man should 
get through the felling and clearing away bush, on an acre of the 
land to be prepared for the plant, in a short period, — say, on an 
average, four days. I will calculate, that for wages and rations, 
each hand employed will cost sixteen dollars per month, an out- 
side price. Let us then say that ten laborers shall be at work. 
They fell two acres and a half per diem. In one month there 
shotdd be nearly 70 acres felled; but I will say that the 100 acres 
will occupy them two months in felling and stacking the wood. 
During this period our planter may be considered to have had the 
aid of two more hands, engaged in the preparation, planting out, 
and care of the nursery of young plants. Two more hands must 
also be occupied in the construction of tanks and sheds, except 
where there is a stream of fresh water. Tor grubbing up the roots, 
it" not very large size, the assistance of about a dozen cattle would 
be required, a labor which would be performed by means of the 
common grubbiag machine, an implement in the form of a claw. 
We will consider that all hands are occupied another month in this 
manner, and in removing and re-stacking the wood, and turning 
up the land. The planting out would require but little time and 
labor. At the end of three months then, one-half of the hands, 
besides those engaged in the nursery and tanks, might be dis- 
charged. "We must make an allowance for provision for the fodder 
of the cattle. Six thousand nuts would be required. 

Let us now see what are the planter's expenses ; making ample 
allowance on account of each item : — 

dollars. 



6,000 picked nuts at 10 dollars per 1,000 60 

Hire and rations of 1 2 hands, at 16 dollars for 3 months 576 

Two hands at nursery, for same period 96 

Purchase of 12 cattle at 20 dollars 240 

Foddering cattle one month 32 

Hii-e of two extra hands, making tanks and sheds 3 months 96 

Hire of 6 hands for 9 months 864 

Tools (including plough) 100 

Total 2,064 

About £415 sterling for expenses for the first year. 



Where fencing is required, we must add for making about three 
miles of fence, say £30 sterling. Two carts would also have to be 
provided, which will cost, say £20 more. In all we may compute 
the first year's expenditure at £460 sterling. 

Second year's expenditure : ploughing land, or hoeing it twice, 



554 



OLEAGINOUS PLANTS. 



watering plants, manuring, repairing fences, and supplying plants, 
say hire of eight men for six months, about £150 sterling. The 
same for the third. 

Fourth year's expenditure : hire of six hands for three months, 
cleaning land, and manuring plants, about £60 sterling, and the 
like, at the cultivator's option, for the fifth year. 

SUMMARY OP EXPENSES. 



£ 

First year 460 

Second year 150 

Third year 150 

Fourth year 60 

Fifth year 60 

Total expenditure 880 

Add for buildings 80 



And we have a grand total of £960 sterling expended; for 
what purpose ? To secure a net income of at least £1,200 sterling 
per annum for at least 50 years I 

In the first year's expenses many items might be cut down, but 
I leave the calculation as one to be considered by a party with 
small capital, intending to establish a coco-nut plantation. I have 
allowed nothing for the cost of land, as it is impossible to compute 
that. In general it would cost next to the nothing mentioned. I 
have, by careful calculation, arrived at the conclusion that by com- 
bining the cultivation of provisions with the gradual but steadily 
progressive establishment of a coco-nut plantation, any man of 
energy and perseverance may, with the aid of but four hands, clear, 
fence, and plant, in a favorable locality, 50 acres of coco-nuts 
within the year, yet have a balance in his pocket at its close. 
Such a person would, ere doing anything beyond putting in his 
nursery plants, establish a provision ground, of considerable ex- 
tent, for the purpose of supplying himself and his laborers with 
bread kind, and vegetables, and of enabling him, by the disj)osal 
of the surplus produce in the market, to raise a sufficient sum of 
money to furnish the wages and rations of the men. I need not 
enter into a calculation to show how this could be done, as every 
one must be aware of an easy method of following out so simple 
a suggestion. Of course he would have to bear in mind that the 
provision ground is of secondary importance, and limit his exer- 
tions in that line accordingly ; devoting to the coco-nut plantation 
the strictest daily attention. 

The cultivation of this tree deserves much more attention than 
has hitherto been paid to it, particularly in the East, where it not 
only forms part of the daily food of all classes of the community, 
but is an exportable article to neighbouring regions, the oil 
which it yields having of late years become in great demand in 
England, for the manufacture of composite candles and soap, and 
there is no doubt of its continually extended application to such 
purposes. Supposing, nevertheless, the result of an increased 



THE CO CO-NUT PALM. 



555 



cultivation of the coco-nut should be such as to cause a fall in 
price, and sink the nett return in England to 2s. per gallon ; this 
being clear profit, would make this kind of plantation a safe and 
sure investment for both capital and labor in the Colonies. 

A kind of sugar made from the sap is called "jaggery," and the 
sap when fermented forms an intoxicating beverage known as toddy. 
The fibrous outer covering, or husk of the nut, when macerated 
and prepared, is termed "coir," and is spun into yarn and rope. It 
is extensively shipped from Ceylon, in coils of rope, bundles of 
yarn, and pieces of junk. 

The coco-nut is usually planted as follows : — Selecting a suitable 
place, you drop into the ground a fully ripe nut, and leave it. In 
a few days a thin lance-like shoot forces itself through a minute 
hole in the shell, pierces the husk, and soon unfolds three pale 
green leaves in the air ; while, originating in the same soft white 
sponge which now completely fills the nut, a pair of fibrous roots 
pushing away the stoppers which close two holes in an opposite 
direction, penetrate the shell, and strike vertically into the ground. 
A day or two more, and the shell and husk, which in the last and 
germinating stage of the nut are so hard that a knife will scarcely 
make any impression, spontaneously burst by some force within ; 
and, henceforth, the hardy young plant thrives apace, and needing 
no culture, pruning, or attention of any sort, rapidly arrives at 
maturity. In four or five years it bears ; in twice as many more 
it begins to lift its head among the groves, where, waxing strong, 
it flourishes for near a century. Thus, as some voyager has said, 
the man who but drops one of these nuts into the ground, may be 
said to confer a greater and more certain benefit upon himself and 
posterity, than many a life's toil in less genial climes. The fruit- 
fulness of the tree is remarkable. As long as it lives it bears, and 
without intermission. Two hundred nuts, besides innumerable 
white blossoms of others, may be seen upon it at one time ; and 
though a whole year is required to bring any one of them to the 
germinating point, no two, perhaps, are at one time in precisely 
the same stage of growth. 

Coco-nuts form a considerable article of export from many of 
the British colonies ; 375,770 were exported from Honduras in 
1844, and 254,000 in 1845; 105,107 were shipped from 
Demerara, in 1845 ; 3,500,000 from Ceylon in 1847. 

They are very abundant on the Maldive Islands, Siam, and on 
several parts of the coast of Brazil. Humboldt states, that on the 
south shores of the Grulf of Cariaco, nothing is to he seen but 
plantations of coco-nut trees, some of them containing nine or ten 
thousand trees. 

Ceylon is one of the localities where the greatest progress has 
been made in this species of culture. 

In 1832 several Europeans settled at Batticaloa, expressly for 
the purpose of cultivating this palm to a large extent. They 
planted cotton bushes between the young trees, which were found 
to ripen well, and nurse and shade them. 



55G 



OLEAGIFOU-3 PLANT?, 



Tar } pre EC 77 r a ri i! . > i < .,r coco-nut topes, or walks^ 
Oil u le 1 u„SL_ of tiie i,-L 1, ai. .iuoat 20,000 acres of land are 
niiuej jui.;"viiLlon wiLh tiiis tree. 

Tlie yaiae oi this product to Ceylon, may be estimated by tbe 
following return of its exports in 1847, besides tbe local con- 



sumption : — 

Declared value of nuts 5,485 

Ditto of Coir 10,318 

Kernels, or Copperah 6,503 

Shells 210 

Oil 19,142 

Arrack 11,657 



Total £53,315 



The annually increasing consumption of the nuts holds out a 
great inducement to the native proprietors to reclaim all their 
hitherto unproductive land. The fruit commands a high price in 
the island, (ranging from f d. to 3d. per nut), owing to the constant 
demand for it as an article of food, by both Singhalese and Mala- 
bars ; there is not so much, therefore, now converted into copperah 
for oil making. In the maritime provinces of the island, it has 
been estimated that the quantity of nuts used in each family, say 
of five persons, amounts to 100 nuts per month, or 1,000 per 
annum. It needs only a reduction in the cost of transit, to extend 
the consumption in the interior of the island to an almost un- 
limited extent. 

In 1842, Ceylon exported but 550 nuts, while in 1847 she 
shipped off to other quarters three millions and a half of nuts, valued 
at £5,500. The average value of the nuts exported may be set 
down at £7,000. 

In Cochin China the cultivation of the coco-nut tree is much 
attended to, and tbey export a large quantity of oil. At Malacca 
and Pinang it sbares attention with the more profitable spices. 
Since the palm bas been acclimatised in Bourbon, about 20,000 
kilogrammes of oil have been produced annually. About 8,000 
piculs of oil are exported annually from Java. 

A correspondent, under date December, 1849, has furnished 
me with the following particulars of coco-nut planting in JalEiia, 
the northern district of Ceylon, in whicb the crJture has only 
recently been carried on ; the facts and figures are interesting : — 

The Karandhai estate, the property of the late Mr. J. Byles, was sold last 
month for £2,400, part of it bearing. It consisted of 303 acres, of which 228 
are planted with coco nuts — about half the trees six years old. 

The Victoria estate, in extent 170 acres, planted and part in bearing, and 
about seventy acres of jungle, was also sold for £1,500. Mr. G. Dalrymple 
was the purchaser of the latter, and Mr. Davidson of the former. Both lots 
were cheap. The properties are among the best in the district, the latter, 
especially, is a beautiful estate. 

About two-thirds of the estates planted are looking well, and the remainder 
but indifferently, in fact, ought never to have been planted, and I believe will 
never give any return. About 7,000 acres are now imder cultivation here, and 
clearing is still going on. Estates can now be put in for about one half what 



THE "'o^o-tvlt 557 

they cost for^ierly, viz,, about £4 or £5 per acre, and can be kept in oro'cr, 
inclusive of all charges, for about ISs. to 20s. per acre for the first two years, 
and about half that afterwards. Estates, in some instances, have been put in 
for about £3 per acre. 

Elephants have almost disappeared ; now and then a stray one comes. Pigs 
are still a great nuisance, but the greatest anxiety among planters is regarding 
beetles. You will be sorry to hear that the first year the trees showed fruit or 
flower, one-tenth of them were destroyed by the beetle ; the insects still go on 
destroying, and hardly a tree attacked ever recovers. 

This is a very serious evil, and upon which the fortunes of all those involved 
in coco-nut planting depend. The trees come into bearing but very slowly, and 
I consider no estate will give any return over its current expenses under twelve 
years. It takes twelve months from the formation of the flower, till the fruit 
ripens. On an estate, perhaps one of the oldest and best in this district, out of 
120 acres, part seven and eight years old, about 12 per cent, are in flower or in 
bearing, and give a return of about twenty-four nuts per tree, on an average, 
yearly. On tJie next oldest, the return is not near so great. But few of the 
estates here will, I think, pay interest on the money laid out, and many will 
never pay anything over the expense of keeping them up, even after coming 
into bearing. I doubt if any estate in this district, however economically man- 
aged, will ever give a net return of more than £2, or perhaps of £2 10s. per acre, 
at least without there is a great increase in the consumption of oil in Europe. The 
consumption of this oil, in Europe, is under 5,000 tons. If the beetles do not 
destroy half the trees, the estates here when in bearing, if they yield anything, 
will give half that quantity ; and it must be borne in mind that coco-nut oil is 
not a strong oil, like palm oil, and that soap boilers will never use it to any 
extent, for it will allow but little admixture of rosin, &c. ; its use in Europe 
will be principally for candles and fancy soaps ; but as by refining and com- 
pression they can now purify tallow, and make of it candles fully equal to those 
made from coco nut oil, the consumption of the latter is not likely to increase. 
The consumption of candles is always limited on the continent of Europe, liquid 
oil being preferred, and in many instances 'gas is now being used where candles, 
formerly were. 

The return of land planted with coco-nut trees in Ceylon, in 
1851, was 22,500 acres ; but this refers only to regular estates 
recently opened and cultivated chiefly by Europeans. Let us 
suppose that the natives possess besides, twenty millions of trees ; 
Butollac in his time estimated the number at thirteen millions. 
At 100 trees to the acre, tvv^enty millions of trees give 100,000 
acres, so that the total amount of land planted with coco nut trees 
would be 122,500 acres. 

An hydraulic press, for the manufacture of coco-nut oil, 1,200 
horse power and weighing twenty-tliree tons, was cast at the Ceylon 
Iron Works, in 1850, by Messrs. Nelson and Son. 

In the island of Singapore there are now many extensive 
plantations in a very flourishing condition, holding out favorable 
prospects to the proprietors. Hitherto the island has been supplied 
almost wholly from abroad with nuts and oil for its consumption, 
which will, before long, be obtained exclusively from its own soil. 
In 1846 there were 10,000 coco-nut trees in bearing in Singa- 
pore. 

I have omitted to notice, in the foregoing observations, a very 
mistaken notion which prevails in many quarters, that it is best to 
let the trees drop their fruit, and not to pick the nuts w^hen ripe. 
Nature directs diflerently. As soon as the husk of the nut is more 
brown than green it should be picked. It then makes better oil 



558 



OLEAGINOUS PLANTS. 



and better coir, than when left to shrivel up and fall from the 
tree. 

Colonel Low, in his " Dissertation on Pinang," gives some in- 
teresting details and statistics on coco-nut planting : — 

On a rough estimate — for an actual enumeration has not been lately taken — 
the total number of hearing trees in Pinang may be stated at 50,000, and those 
in Province "WeUesley at 20,000 ; but very large accessions to these numbers 
have of late years been made. The tree is partial to a sandy soil in the vicinity 
of the sea, and Province Wellesley offers, therefore, greater facilities, perhaps, 
for its cultivation than Pinang does, as its line of clear beach is longer, and has 
many narrow slips of light or sandy land lying betwixt the alluvial flats inland. 
There are several kinds of this tree known here ; one has a yellowish color, ob- 
servable both on the branches and unripe fruit ; its branches do not droop much. 
A second has green spreading branches, more drooping than the former, the 
fruit being green colored until ripe ; this is, perhaps, the most prolific ; it also 
bears the soonest, if we except the dwarf coco-nut, which fruits at the second 
or third year, before the stem has got above one foot high. This last kind was 
brought from Malacca ; it attains in time to the height of the common sort. Its 
fruit is small and round, and of course less valuable than the other sorts. There 
is also a coco-nut so saturated with green, that the oil expressed from its kernel 
partakes of that color. 

It is a mistaken supposition that the coco- nut tree wiU flourish without care 
being taken of it. The idea has been induced by the luxuriant state of trees in 
close proximity to houses and villages, and in small coves where its roots are 
washed by the sea. In such circumstances, a tree, from being kept clear about 
the roots, from being shaded, and from occasional stimuli, advances rapidly to 
perfection ; but in an extended plantation, a regular and not inexpensive system 
of culture must be followed to ensure success. 

The nuts being selected, when perfectly ripe, from middle-aged trees of the 
best sorts, are to be laid on the ground under shades, and after the roots and 
middle shoots, with two branches, have appeared, the sooner they are planted 
the better. Out of 100 nuts, only two-thirds, on an average, will be found to 
vegetate. The plants are then to be set out at intervals of thirty or forty feet — 
the latter if ground can be spared — and the depth will be regulated by the nature 
of the soil, and the nut must not be covered with earth. The plants require, in 
exposed situations, to be shaded for one and even two years, and no lalang grass 
must be permitted to encroach on their roots. A nursery must be always held 
in readiness to supply the numerous vacancies which will occur from deaths and 
accidents. The following may be considered the average cost of a plantation, 



until it comes into bearing : — 

FIRST COST— ICO ORLONGS OF LAND. Spanish doUars. 

Purchase money of land, ready for planting .... 1,000 

7,000 nuts at 1| dollars, per 100 105 

Houses of coolies, carts, buffaloes, &c., &c. . . . . 100 

Spanish dollars 1,205 

YEARLY COST OF SEVEN YEARS. 

First year, 10 laborers at 3 doUars per month, including 

carts, &c 360 

"Wear and tear of buildings, carts, and implements . . 50 

Overseer, at 7 dollars per month 84 

Quit -rent, average 50 

Nursery and contingencies 50 

Total per annum 594 

Seven years at the rate "will be . . . . . .4,158 



Total, Spanish dollars . . . . . .4,752 

To this sum interest will have to be added, making, perhaps, a sum total of 
6,000 Spanish dollars, and this estimate will make each tree, up to its coming 



THE COCO'lirUT PALM. 



559 



into bearing) cost one Spanish dollar at the lowest. The young tree requires 
manure, such as putrid fish and stimulating compounds, containing a portion of 
salt. On the Coromandel coast, the natives put a handful of salt below each 
nut on planting it. 

The cultivators of Kiddah adopt a very slovenly expedient for collecting the 
fruit. Instead of climbing the tree in the manner practised by the natives on 
the Coromandel coast, by help of a hoop passing round the tree and the body of 
the climber — and a ligature so connecting the feet as will enable him to clasp the 
tree with them — the Malays cut deep notches or steps in the trunk, in a zig-zag 
manner, sufficient to support the toes or the side of the foot, and thus ascend 
with the extra aid only of their arms. This mode is also a dangerous one, as a 
false step, when near the top of a high tree, generally precipitates the climber 
to the ground. This notching cannot prove otherwise than injurious to the 
tree. But the besetting sin of the planter of coco-nuts, and other productive 
trees, is that of crowding. Coco-nut trees, whose roots occupy, when full grown, 
circles of forty to fifty feet in diameter, may often be found planted within eight 
or ten feet of each other ; and in the native campongs all sorts of indigenous 
fruit trees are jumbled together, with so little space to spread in, that they 
mostly assimie the aspect of forest trees, and yield but sparing crops. 

The common kinds of the coco-nut, under very favorable circumstances, begin 
to bear at six years of age ; but little produce can be expected until the middle 
or end of the seventh year. The yearly produce, one tree with another, may 
be averaged at 80 nuts the tree ; where the plantation is a flourishing one — 
assuming the number of trees, in one hundred orlcngs, to be 5,000— the annual 
produce will be 400,000 nuts, the minimum local market value of which will 
be 4,000 Spanish dollars, and the maximum 8,000 dollars. From either of these 
sums 6 per cent, must be deducted for the cost of collecting, and cari'iage, &c. 
The quantity of oil which can be manufactured from the above number of nuts 
will be, as nearly as possible, 834 piculs of 133i lbs. 

The average price of this quantity, at 7 dollars per picul . 5,838 
Deduct cost of manufacturing, averaged at one-fourth, and col- 
lecting, watching, &c 2,059 

Profit, Spanish dollars 3,779 

The Chinese, who are the principal manufacturers of the oil, readily give a 
picul of it in exchange for 710 ripe nuts, being about 563 piculs of oil out of the 
total produce of the plantation of 100 orlongs. The price of coco nut oil has 
been so high in the London market as £35 per tun, or about an average often 
dollars per picul. It is said that English casks have not been found tight enough 
for the conveyance of this oil to Europe, but if the article is really in great de- 
mand, a method will no doubt be discovered to obviate this inconvenience. 

So long, however, as the cultivator can obtain a dollar and a half, or even one 
dollar for 100 nuts, he will not find it profitable to make oil, unless its price 
greatly rises. 

Soap is manufactured at Pondicherry from this oil, but it is not seemingly in 
repute ; the attempt has not been made in Pinang with a view to a market. 

There is scarcely any coir rope manufactured at this island, so that the profit 
which might (were labor cheaper) arise from this application of the coco-nut 
fibre, is lost. The shell makes good charcoal ; the leaves are scaicely put to 
any purpose, the nipah or attap being a superior material for thatching. 

The coco-nut tree is extremely apt to be struck by lightning, and in such 
cases it is generally destroyed. It is a dangerous tree, therefore, to have close 
to a house. If the trees are widely planted, coffee may be cultivated under their 
shade. It is generally believed that the extracting of toddy from this tree 
hastens its decline. The Nicobar and Lancavi Islands used partly to supply 
the Pinang market with this indispensable article ; but their depopulation 
has greatly reduced the quantity. 

On the whole it may be said that there is no cultivation which insures the 
ret\irn of produce with so much certainty as that of the coco nut tree ; and as 
Eangoon, the Tenasserim coast, and Singapore will, probably, always remain 
good markets for the raw nut, there appears to be every chance of the value of 
the produce affording ample remuneration to the planter. 



560 



Corn-nut IceJ'e. — T ''^ clij'f r i^ral euemv of this tree is a de- 
structive species of elepliant-beetle {Oryctes Rhinoceros)^ which 
begins by nibbling the leaves into tlie shape of a fan ; it then per- 
forates the central pithy fibre, so that the leaf snaps oif; and lastly, 
it descends into the folds of the upper shoot, where it bores itself 
a nest, and if not speedily extracted or killed, will soon destroy 
the tree. At Singapore, on account of the depredations of this 
beetle, the difficulties have been considerable. 

In Pinang and Province Wellesley it has only been observed 
within the last two years, and it is believed to have come from 
Keddah, A similar kind of beetle is, however, found on the Coro- 
mandel coast. The natives of Keddah say that this insect appears 
at intervals of two, three, or more years. 

Its larv^, which are also very formidable insects or grubs, about 
three inches long, with large reddish heads, are found in decaying 
vegetable matter. It is when the tree has made considerable 
progress, however, that the parent insect does most mischief. 
When they are from one to two years old, thro^-ing out their 
graceful branches in quick succession with the greatest vigor, and 
promising in three or four years more to yield their ruddy 
fruit, this destructive enemy begins to exercise his boring pro- 
pensities ; and, making his horn act as an auger, he soon pene- 
trates the soft and yielding fibre of the young tree, and if not 
discovered in time, destroys the leading shoot or branch. The 
only remedy which has been adopted in Ceylon, is the following : 
— Several intelligent boys are provided each with an iron needle 
or probe, of about a foot long, with a sharp double barbed point, 
like a fish-hook, and a ring handle ; they go through the plantation 
looking narrowly about the trees, and when they perceive the hole 
in the trunk, which indicates that the enemy is at work, they 
thrust in the barbed instrument and pull him out. Sometimes he 
may only have just commenced, when his capture is more easily 
effected, but even should he have penetrated to the very heart of 
the tree, the deadly needle does not fail in its errand, but brings the 
culprit out, impaled and writhing on its point. This is the only 
known way of checking the ravages of this beetle, except de- 
stroying its larvffi. Some cultivators, however, think pouring salt 
water or brine on the top of the tree, so as to descend among the 
folds of the upper shoots, a good plan to get rid of the larvae. 

iN^early two million coco-nuts are shipped annually from Bahia. 

Prom Cevlon, 114,600 coco-nuts w^ere shipped in 1851, and 
70,185 in 1852. 

Coco-nut oil; 98,159 gallons were shipped from Cevlon in 
1852 ; 359,233 gallons in 1851. 

The prices of Ceylon oil have ranged from £31 to £33 10s. 
per tun ; of Cochin oil, £34 to £35, within the last two years. 
The price per leaguer in Colombo, without casks, has been £8 lOs, 
to £9. 

Copperali is the name given by the natives to the kernel of the 
ripe nut after it has been exposed to the sun on mats, until it has 



THE COCO'^UT PALM. 



56i 



become rancid and dissolred. It has recently been shipped to 
England in tins state for the purpose of converting into oil. 
The exports of copperah from Ceylon Avere, in 1842, 115 cwts. ; 
in 1843, 2,191 ; in 1841, 2,397 ; and in 1852, 39,174 cwts. 

The returned value of the copperah or kernels exported from 
Ceylon, as entered in the Custom House hooks, is — 



1840 . . 


. . £2,508 


1847 .. 


.. £6,503 


1841 . , 


. . 1,460 


1848 .. 


12,639 


1842 


. . 3,022 


1849 . . 


.. 7,819 


1843 .. 


. . 5,795 


1850 . . 


.. 4,166 


1844 . . 


6,194 


1851 .. 


.. 9,678 


1845 .. 


3,282 


1852 


13,325 


1846 


5.517 







632 cwts. of poonac (being the refuse or cake, after expressing 
the od) were exported Irom Ceylon in 1842. It is worth there 
about £10 the ton. 

The oil from the nut is obtained for culinary purposes by boiling 
the fresh pulp, and skimming it as it rises. That for exportation 
is usually obtained by pressing the copperah in a simple press 
turned by bullocks. Eecently, however, steam power has been 
applied in Colombo, with great advantage. About 2|- gallons of 
oil per 100 nuts, are usually obtained. It is requisite that care 
should be taken not to apply too great and sudden a pressure at 
once, but b}' degrees an increasing force, so as not to choke the 
conducting channels of the oil in the press. 

In many of the colonies the oil is expressed by the slow and 
laborious liaud process of grating the pulp. 

The quantity shipped from Ceylon was 2,250 tuns, in 1842 ; 
3,985 in 1843; 2,331 in 1844 ; 1,797 in 1845. The quantity in 
gallons shipped since, was 101,553 in 1846 ; 197,850 in 1847 ; 
300,140 m 1848 ; 867,326 in 1849 ; 407,960 in 1850; 442,700 
in 1851 ; nnd 749,028 in 1852. 

The duty on importation is of and from British possessions, 
7d. and 7-8ths. per cwt. ; if the produce of foreign possessions, 
Is. 3f d. per cwt. In the close of 1852, the price of coco-nut oil 
in the London market Avas, for Ceylon, £32, £33, to £33 10s. per 
ton ; Cochin, middling to fine, £34 to £35. 

The following return shows the Custom House valuation of 
the oil shipped from Ceylon for a series of j ears, and which is of 
course much below its real value : — 



1839 


£26,597 


1846 


£ 7,939 


1840 


32,483 


1847 


19,142 


1841 


24,052 


1848 


24,839 


1842 


34,242 


1849 


34,831 


1843 


43,874 


1850 


35,035 


1844 


24,067 


1851 


31,444 


1845 


15,945 


1852 


58,045 



Among the coco-nut oil exported from Ceylon, in 1849, there 
were 47,427^ gallons, valued at £3,595, the whole of which, I 
believe, was Cochin oil; the raw material of this kind not being, like 
the copperah generally in Ceylon, subjected to the action of fire, 

2 o 



562 



OLEAGINOUS PLANTS. 



the product is finer, and fetches a better price in the London 
market. 

Amongst the imports from British possessions in Asia, were 
2,600 cwts., of copperah (dried coco-nut kernels, from which oil 
is expressed), valued at £1,100; amongst the imports re-exported 
to Grreat Britain, we find 870 cwts. of the same article, valued at 
£300. Of the oil exported a quantity of 11,000 gallons was 
shipped for the United States. About 600,000 piculs of coco-nut 
oil are annuallv exported from Siam. 

A large quantity of oil is made in Trinidad, chiefly on the east 
coast, where, in one locality, there is an uninterrupted belt of coco- 
nut palms fourteen miles in extent. They usually bear when . 
years old. 

The cultivation of the coco-nut in a proper soil presents a ve 
profitable speculation for small capitalists. Whether sold a 
the rate of a dollar per hundred in their natural state, to captains 
of ships, who freely purchase them, or manufactured into oil, they 
are a very remunerative product. Each tree in the West Indies is 
calculated to produce nuts to the value of one dollar yearly. There 
is one thing to which we would draw the attention of chemists 
and other scientific men. 

Por twenty -four or even forty-eight hours after its manufacture 
this oil is as free from any unpleasant taste as olive oil, and can be 
used in lieu of it for all culinary purposes, but after that time it 
acquii^es such a rancid taste as to be wholly unpalateable. If any 
means could be discovered of preventing this deterioration in 
quality, and preserving it fresh and sweet, it could compete with 
olive oil, and the price and consumption would be largely raised. 

COCO-NUT OIL IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM. 

Imports. Eetained for home consumption, 
cwts. cwts. 

1835 19,838 14,015 

1836 26,053 26,062 

1837 41,218 28,641 

1838 — 38,669 

1839 — 15,153 

1840 — 37,269 

1841 — 26,528 

1842 — 26,225 

1843 — 29,928 

1844 — 42,480 

1848 85,453 54,783 

1849 64,451 14,622 

1850 98,040 46,494 

1851 55,995 2,333 

1852 101,863 27,112 

A London coco-nut oil soap was found, on analysis by Dr. Ure, 
to consist of: — 

Soda ....... 4-5 

Coco-nut lard ..... 22-0 

Water ...... 73-5 

1000 



THE COCO-NUT PALM. OIL CAKE. 



563 



This remarkable soap was sufficiently solid ; but it dissolved in 
hot water with extreme facility. It is called marine soap, because 
it washes linen with sea water. 

Of the six principal vegetable oils, namely — palm, coco-nut 
castor, olive, linseed, and rape, the first four are imported in the 
state of oil only ; the two last chiefly as seed. The proportion in 
which they were imported is shown in the following tables ; and 
if to these quantities are added about a million and a half cwt. of 
tallow, and nearly twenty thousand tuns of whale oil and sper- 
maceti, they will nearly represent the total quantity of oil im- 
ported into G-reat Britain, 



IMPORTS IN 1846. 

Palm oil, Olive oil. Castor oil. 

cwts. tuns. cwts. 

Western Africa 475,364 . , 1 . . — 

United States 13,349 . , — . . 290 

Naples and Sicily . . 14 . . 9,661 . . — 

East Indies — . . — . . 6,315 

Canary Islands .... 3,719 ., — — 

Malta — . . 2,237 . . — 

Turkish Empire .. — .. 1,712 .. — 

Tuscany — . . 832 . . 

Spam — . . 753 . . — 

Brazil 525 . . — . . — 

Ionian Islands .... — . . 506 . . — 

Morocco — . . 368 . . — 

Madeira 353 . . — ■ . . — 

Sardinia — . . 333 . . 11 

Miscellaneous 7 .. 471 . . 65 



Total 493,331 . . 16,864 . . 9,681 

IMPORTS IN 1850 

Linseed. Eape seed. 

quarters. quarters. 

Russia . 482,813 . . 3,235 

Sweden 870 . . — 

Norway 268 . . — 

Denmark 37 . . 3,092 

Russia 87,273 . . 645 

Hanse Towns 1,153 . . 2,872 

HoUand.. 7,734 .. 201 

Naples 1,476 . . — 

Austrian Territories . . 40 . . 2,580 

Greece — . . 1,637 

WaUacMa and Moldavia 910 . . 1,280 

Egypt 17,517 . . — 

East Indian Empire . . 26,142 . . 13,126 

Miscellaneous 262 . . 922 



Total 626,495 . . 29,495 



Oil-cake. — It has been observed by Evelyn that one bushel of 
walnuts will yield fifteen pounds of peeled kernels, and these will 
produce half that weight of oil, which the sooner it is drawn is 
the more in quantity, though the drier the nut the better its 
quality. The cake or marc of the pressing is excellent for fattening 
hogs and for manure. 

2 o 2 



OLEAGIJJOrS PLANTS. 



Oats contain, as a maximum, about seven per cent, of oil, and 
Indian com nine per cent. The cake of the gold of pleasure con- 
tains twelve per cent. Indeed the most valuable oil-cakes are 
those of the Gamelina sativa, poppies and walnuts, Vvhich are 
nearly equal ; next to these are the cakes of hemp, cotton, and 
beech-mast. In Prance the extraction and purification of oil from 
the cotton seed is a recent branch of labor, the refuse of which is 
likely to prove useful in agriculture ; its value as a manure being 
nearly ten times greater than that of common dung. Oil is ob- 
tained from maize or Indian corn in the process of making whiskey. 
It rises in the mash tubs and is found in the scum at the surface, 
being separated either by the fermentation or the action of heat. 
It is then skimmed off, and put away in a cask to deposit its im- 
purities ; after which it is drawn off in a pure state, fit for imme- 
diate use. The oil is limpid, has a slight tinge of the yellow 
color of the corn, and is inofieusive to the taste and smell. It is 
not a drying oil, and therefore cannot be used for paint, but burns 
freely in lamps and is useful for oiling machinery. 

Among the various seeds used in the manufacture of oil-cakey 
flour of linseed is the most important. Eape seed is also em- 
ployed, but is considered heating. In Lubeck, a marc, called 
dodder cake, is made from the Gamelina sativa. Inferior oil-cake 
is made from the poppy in India, Cotlon-seed cake has lately 
been recommended on account of its cheapness, being usually 
thrown away as refuse by the cotton manufacturers. It is exten- 
sively used as a cattle food, in an unprepared state, in various parts 
of the tropical world, and to a limited extent in this country. 

The cost of seed, freight included, was 2d, per lb. from Charles - 
town to Port Glasgow. Cotton oil-cake is now ordered at tbe 
same price as linseed cake. The produce of oil-cake and oil from 
cotton seed, is two gallons of oil to one cwt. of seed, leaving about 
96 lbs of cake ; 8 lbs. is the daily allowance for cattle in England. 

Cotton seed oil, very pure, is manufactured to a considerable 
extent at Marseilles, by I)e Grimezne}^, from Egyptian seed ; and 
be received a prize medal at the Great Exhibition. 

Account of the export of linseed and rapeseed cakes ft^om Stettin, 
principally to England, in — 

cwts. cwts. 

1834 .... 33,518 1839 .... 115,416 

1835 . , . . 27,038 1840 . . , . 162,457 

1836 .... 56,581 1841 .... 143,816 

1837 .... 70,643 I 1842 .... 119,814 

1838 .... 119,540 I 



The quantity of oil-seed cakes 
dora was in — 

tons. 

1849 .... 69,462 

1850 . . . 65,055 



imported into the United King- 
ton?. 

1851 .... 55,076 

1852 . . . ; 53,616 



Cargoes of oil-cake, to the value of £22^207, were exported from 
the port of Shanghae, in China, in 1849. 



VOLATILE OE ESSENTIAL OILS. 



565 



2,467 tons of oil-cake were brought down to New Orleans from 
tlie interior in 1848, and 1,032 tons in 1849. 

Seven samples of American oil-cake gave tlie following results: — • 

Oil . 11.41 

Water ...... 7.60 

Nitrogen . . . . . .4.74 

Asli ...... . 6.35 

From the above figures, the scientific farmer will see that the 
manure formed by 100 lbs. of oil-cake is more than that derived 
from 300 lbs, of Indian corn. 300 lbs. of corn contain about 
li lbs. phosphoric acid ; 100 lbs. oil-cake contain about 2 J lbs. 

Volatile on Essetttial Oils occur in the stems, leaves, 
flowers and fruit of many odoriferous plants, and are procured by 
distillation along with water. They are called " essences," and 
contain the concentrated odor of the plant. They usually exist 
ready-formed, but occasionally they are obtained by a kind of fer- 
mentation, as oil of bitter almonds and oil of mustard. Some of 
them consist of carbon and hydrogen only, as oil of turpentine, 
from Juniperus communis ; oil of savin, from Juniperus Sahina ; 
oil of lemons and oranges, from the rind of the fruit ; and oil of 
nerole, from orange flowers. A second set contain oxygen in ad- 
dition, as oil of cinnamon, from Cinnamonum verum ; otto or attar 
of roses, from various species of rose, especially JR,osa centifolia ; 
oil of cloves, from Cari/ophyllus aromaticus. 

Those principally obtained from tropical shrubs and plants are 
citronella, oil of oranges and lemons, from the rind of the fruit 
oil of cinnamon and cloves, croton oil, &c. 

The oil of Sandal or Sanders wood (Santalum album), grown on 
the Malabar coast, is much esteemed as a perfume. Keora oil, 
from Fandanus odoratissimus, in Bengal. Oil of spikenard, so 
highly prized, on account of its perfume, by the ancients, 
may be procured in Sagur, Nepaul, and the mountains of the 
Himalaya. 

956 lbs. of essential oils were imported into Hull in 1850. There 
were exported from Ceylon in 1842, 902 cases ; in 1843, 138 ; in 
1844, 20 ; in 1845, 25 cases of essential oils, and in the last two 
years as follows : — 

1852. 1851. 

cases. cases. 

Cinnamon oil 17 23 

Citronella oil 110 87 

Essential oil 72 35 

Of chemical, essential, and perfumed oils imported from France, 
the quantity is about 35,000 lbs. annually, worth £10,000. The 
duty is Is. per lb. "We also imported from Erance, in 1851, 9,596 
cwt. of oil or spirit of turpentine, worth £14,197, on which a duty 
of 5s. 3d. per cwt. is levied. 

Erom "Western Australia some distilled oil of the Liptospermutn 
was shown at the Exhibition, which it is stated may be obtained 



566 



in any quantity, and a similar oil produced, by distillation, from 
the ilucalyptus piperita, a powerful solvent of caoutchouc, eri- 
dently very similar, if not altogether identical, with the oil of 
cajeput. The characters of these two oils are much alike and 
"without some care it is difficult to distinguish them from oue 
another by the odor : the liptospermum oil has a slight tinge of 
yellow, its specific gravity is 0'9035 ; the eucalyptus oil is colorless, 
and has a density of 0'9ii5. It is probable that these oils might 
be used with great advantage in the manufacture of vai'nish, they 
readily dissolve copal, and when its solution is spread over any 
surface the oil soon evaporates, and leaves a hard, brilliaut and 
uniform coating of the resin. These oils, according to Prof Solly, 
are specially worthy of atrention. 

Dr. Bennett, in his " Wanderings in Xew South Wales," states 
that a large quantity of camphorated oil, which closely resembles 
the cajeputi, is produced from the foliage of several species of 
I^wcalyptus. Some of the leaves, which are of a bluish green, con- 
tain it in such abundance as to cover the hand with oil when one 
of the leaves is gently rubbed against it. 

From the odorous leaves of the Arhor alha is extracted a por- 
tion of the aromatic cajeput oil. This celebrated medicinal oil is 
principally made in the island of Borneo, one of the ^Moluccas. 

The leaf of the MeJaJeuca minor yields, by distillation, the vola- 
tile oil of cajeputi, well known as a powerful sudorific, and a useful 
external application in chronic rheumatism. It is an evergreen 
shrub, with white flowers like a myrtle, native of the East Indies, 
principally flourishing on the sea coasts of the Moluccas and other 
Indian islands. Two sacks full of the leaves yield scarcely three 
drachms of the oil, which is limpid, pellucid, and of a green color. 

Oil of cinnamon and oil of cassia, according to Mulder, have 
the same composition, T\Tien fresh they are pale yellow, but 
become brown on exposure to the air. On exposure they rapidly 
absorb cinnamic acid, two resins and water. 

More than 22,000 lbs, of essence of bergamot was imported in 
1S18. It is obtained by distillation or pressure from the rind of 
the fragrant citron. 

Andropogon calamus aromaticv.s. of Eoyle, A. nardoides, of Xees 
T, Esenb., according to some yields the grass oil of ]S"amur. 

The fruits of Carum carui, a hardy biennial British plant, 
popularly kno^^^l as caraway seeds, supply a volatile oil, which is 
carminitive and aromatic. Oils of a similar kind are obtained from 
Coriandriun sativum, from anise {Pimpinella A?iisum\ and cumin 
{Caminum Cgminum'), a native of Egypt, 

The production of cinnamon, clove, and cassia oils, have abeady 
been noticed in speaking of those spices. 

In Malabar, a greenish sweet- smelling oil is obtained, by dis- 
tillation, from the roots of JJiiona JS^arum, an evergreen climber, 
which is used medicinally as a sttmulaiit. 

Oil or Peppermint. — Mr. De Witt C. Van Slyck, of AUoway, 
Wayne county, Sew York, fui'cished me \\dth the following par- 



OIL OF PEPPEEMINT. 



567 



ticulars on the cultivation of peppermint, in December, 184:9, 
which may appropriately be introduced in this place : — 

As an agricultural production, the ciilture of peppermint in the United 
States is limited to few localities ; this county and the adjoining ones, Seneca 
and Ontario, comprise the largest hed. In the year 1846 about 40,000 lbs. of 
oil were produced. In Lewis county, in this state, it is grown, though to a less 
extent ; the amount of oil produced there in 1846 was estimated at 4,500 lbs. 
In Michigan about 10,000 lbs. are annually produced ; Ohio furnishes about 
3,000 lbs. and Indiana 700 lbs. per annum. The entire crop in the United 
States, in the year 1846, is estimated in round numbers at 58,000 lbs. 

The above comprises all the localities of any importance in the United States, 
and the above estimates of the annual product of oil were made from correct 
data for the year 1846, since which time the cultivation of mint has rapidly de- 
creased in consequence of a speculative movement by a New York company, 
who in the spring of 1847 purchased nearly all the mint then groM^ing in this 
State, and stipulated with the growers not to raise it for two years thereafter, 
•which condition was generally observed on the part of the growers. The pre- 
sent year (1849), on account of the drought, has not realised the expectations 
of those engaged in its culture, although the amount of oil produced is much 
larger than the product of the two preceding years. In this mint district, 
8,000 lbs. have been raised; Lewis county furnishes 1,000 lbs.; Michigan, 
8.000 lbs. ; Ohio, 1,000 lbs., and Indiana 500 lbs. So that the entire crop of 
1849 will not materi;tHy vary from 18,500 lbs. 

I have consulted several of the principal dealers in mint oil, whose oppor- 
tunities have been ample to form a tolerably correct estimate of the amount of 
oil annually consumed, and their opinion fixes the total consumption, for the 
various purposes for which it is used in the United States and in Europe, at 
from 20,000 to 30,000 lbs. annually. 

The price of mint oil is extremely fluctuating. Like other ixnstaple com- 
modities,''the value of which depends upon their scarcity or abundance, it never 
has assumed a constant and standing value, but its price has generally been 
deranged by speculation and monopoly. It has happened that the amount of 
oil produced was for several years greater than the annual consumption, pro- 
ducing an accumulation in the market, and reducing the price to the very low 
rate of 75 cents per pound ; on the other hand, when the article was scarce, it 
readily sold for 5 dollars 25 cents per pound. The average price for fifteen 
years has been about 2 dollars 50 cents, per pound. This year (1849) it readily 
sells for 1 dollar 50 cents., (6s. 6d.). 

Peppermint began to be cultivated in this vicinity as an agricultural product 
about the year 1816, but for several years the want of a proper knowledge of 
its culture, and the expense and difficulty of extracting the oil, prevented its 
extension beyond a few growers, who, however, realised fortunes out of the 
enterprise. Almost any kind of soil that will successfully rear wheat and maize 
is adapted to the growth of mint. Rich alluvions, however, seem to be most 
natural, as would be inferred from the fact that the wild herb is almost uni- 
formly found growing upon the tertiary formations on the margins of streams. 
The rich bottom lands along our rivers and the boundless prairies of the West 
are eminently adapted for its successful culture. It is believed by those best 
acquainted with the subject, that its cultivation must be ultimately confined to 
the western prairies, where it will grow spontaneously, and where the absence 
of noxious weeds and grasses, incident to all older settled lands, renders the ex- 
pense of cultivation comparatively light, and where the low price of land will 
be an important item in the amount of capital employed, the expense of mar- 
keting being slight in comparison to that of the more bulky products of agri- 
cultural industry. 

The method of cultivation is nearly uniform. The mode of propagation is 
by transplanting the roots, which may be done in autumn or spring, though 
generally the latter, and as the herb is perennial, it does not require replanting 
till the fourth year. To ensure a good crop and obviate the necessity of extra 
attendance the first season, the ground intended for planting should be fallowed 
the preceding suuimtT, though this is not necessary if the land is ordinarily 



568 



OLEAGiyorS PLA^^TS. 



clean. Tlie ground should be prepared as for maize, as soon as possible in tlie 
spring furro-vved, and roots planted m drills twenty inelies apart, and covered 
•with, loose earth, two inches deep, the planter walking upon the drill and tread- 
ing it firmly. The proper time to procure roots is when the herb is a year old, 
when from six to eight sqnare rods of ordinaiy mint will yicid a sufficient 
quantity of roots to plant an acre, and the crop fi-om which the roots are taken 
will not he deteriorated, but rather benefited by their extraction. As soon as 
the herb makes its appearance it requires a light dressing with a hoe, care being 
taken not to disturb the young shoots, many of which have scarcely made their 
appearance above the ground. In the course of a week or two the crop requires 
a more thorough dressing, and at this stage of gi'owth the cultivator may be 
used with advantage, followed by the hoe, carefully eradicating weeds and grass 
from the drills^ and giving the herb a light chessing of earth. Another dress- 
ing a week or two later is all the crop requires. 

The two following years no labor is bestowed upon the crop, though it is 
sometimes benefited by ploughing over the whole surface, very shallow, in 
the autumn of the second year, and harrowing lightly the following spring, 
which fi-equently renews the vigor of the plant and increases the product. 

The mint should be cut as soon as it is in full bloom, and the lower leaves 
"become sere; the &st crop_ will not be fit to cut as early as the two succeed- 
ing ones. It is then to be hayed and put in cock, and is then ready for 
distillation. 

I have consulted many mint growers, who have cultivated it for a series 
of years, in regard to the average yield per acre, and have arrived at the 
following estimate, which I think is low, provided the land is suitable, and 
is properly cultivated. I estimate the average yield per acre for the fii'st 
year at IS lbs. ; the second year at 14 lbs. ; and the third year at 8 lbs. — 
making the product for three years 40 lbs., which I think will not materially 
vary fiom the actual result, though growers aver they have raised from 30 
to 40 lbs. per acre the first season. 

Several years since, the only method of extracting the oil then known 
was by distilling the herb in a copper kettle, or boiler, and condensing in 
the usual manner; a slow and tedious process, by which about 12 or 15 
pounds of oil could be separated in a day. But recently steam, that poAverful 
agent, which has wrought such immi nse changes in our social and national 
economy, has been applied to this subject with its usual attendant success. 
The present method consists in the use of a common steam-boiler, of the 
capacity of from 100 to 150 gallons, from which the steam is conveyed by 
con^ductors into large wooden air-tight tubs, of 200 gallons capacity, 
containing the dried herb ; from which it is conveyed, charged with the 
volatile principle of the plant, into a water-vat. containing the condenser. 
The water collected at the extremity of the condenser, although it does not 
re^dilv commingle Avith the oil, is highly tinctured with it, and is used to 
feed the boiler. Two tubs are necessary, in order that when the "charge"' 
is being worked off in one, the other can be refilled. The oil is then to be 
filtered, and is ready for market. The expense of a distillery is estimated 
at 150 dollars, which, with the labor of two men, and a cord of dry wood, 
will run 40 lbs. of oil per day. The usual price for distilling is 25 cents 
per pound. 

The cost of production is of course greatly modified by circumstances. 
If grown on rich bottom lands, or x^rairie, unusually free frcm weeds and 
grass, the labor required will be comparatively trifling. From ir formation 
derived from the principal mint growers in this vicinity, I have prepared 
the following estimate of the cost of production of an acre of mint for three 
years : — 

FIRST YEAR. 

Dollars. 

Eent of an acre of land one year 8.00 

One day plriugh and di-ag, one hand and team 2.00 

Half day furrowing, digging roots, one hand and horse . . 1.00 
Three days planting, at 75 cents 2.25 



OIL or PEPPERMINT. 569 

Tvro days dressing vrith hoe, at 75 cents 1.50 

Two days with cultivator and hoe, 1.00 2.00 

Two days with cultivator and hoe (third dressing) 1.50 

One and a-half days cutting new mint, at 75 cents 1.13 

Curing and drawing to distillery 1.50 

Distilling 18 lbs. oil, at 25 cents 4.50 

Can for oil 25 



25.63 

SECO>D TEAR. 

Eent of an acre of land one year 8,00 

Cutting one acre of old mint 75 

Curing and hauling to distillery 1.50 

Distilling 14 lbs. oil, at 25 cents 3.50 

Can for oil 25 



14.00 

THIRD YEAR, 

Eent of an acre of land one year 8.00 

Cutting, curing, &c , 2.25 

Distilling 8 lbs. of oil, at 25 cents, and can 2.25 



12.50 



Total expenses for three years 52.13 

Forty pounds of oil, at dollars 1,37| per pound 55.00 

Deduct expenses 52.13 

Xet profit 2.87 



In the above estimate I have omitted the expense of roots, for the reason 
that the crop will yield as many as are required for planting. The price of 
roots is about 50 cents per square rod, and if they are in demand, the profit of 
the crop will be greatly enhanced by selling them at that, or even a lower 
price. 

It will be readily perceived that the culture of peppermint promises no great 
return of profit in sections of country where land is valuable, and where the 
expense of production is nearly double what it is in newly- settled distiicts. It 
is a fact that in Michigan, and other "SVestei'n States, the actual expense of 
production is about one-half less than the above estimate, and the yield is a 
fourth greater; the greater distance from market, which is usually 2s ew York 
city, not being taken into account, the freight on oil being comparatively 
trifling. Another consideration in favor of prairie cultivation is, that the mint 
will eudure for years by simply ploughing over the surface every second year, 
which seems to invigorate the herb, and obviates the necessity of replanting 
every second or third year, as must be done in older settled localities," 

In India the perfumed oils are obtained in the following manner : 
— The layers of the jasmine, or other flowers, four inches thick and 
two inches square, are laid on the ground and covered with layers 
of sesamum or any other oil yielding seed. These are laid about 
the same thickness as the flowers, over which a second layer of 
flowers like the fruit is placed. The seed is wetted with water, 
and the whole mass covered with a sheet, held down at the end 
and sides by weights, and allowed to remain for eighteen hours in 
this form. It is now fit for the mil], unless the perfume is desired 
to be very strong, when the faded flowers are removed and fresh 
ones put in their place. The seed thus impregnated is gTound 
in the usual way in the mill and the oil expressed, ha\ing the scent 



570 



OLEAGINOUS PLANTS. 



of the flower. At Grhazipoor the jasmine and bela are chiefly 
employed ; the oil is kept in the dubbers, and sold for about 4s. 
a seer. 

The newest oils aflbrd the finest perfume. In Europe a fixed 
oil, usually that of the bean or morerja nut, is employed. Cotton 
is soaked in this, and laid over layers of flowers, the oil being 
squeezed out so soon as impregnated with perfume. Dr. Johnson 
thus describes the culture and manufacture : — 

Cultivation of Roses. — Around the station of Ghazipoor, there are ahout 300 
biggahs (or about 150 acres) of ground laid out in small detacbed fields as rose 
gardens, most carefully protected on all sides by bigb mud walls and prickly pear 
fences, to keep out tbe cattle. Tbese lands, wbicb belong to Zemindars, are 
planted witb rose trees, and are annually let out at so mucb per biggab for tbe 
ground, and so mucb additional for the rose plants — generally five rupees per 
biggab, and twenty-five rupees for tbe rose trees, of wbicb tbere are 1,000 in 
eacb biggab. Tbe additional expense for cultivation would be about eigbt rupees 
eigbt annas ; so tbat for tbirty-eigbt rupees eigbt annas you bave for tbe season one 
biggab of 1,000 rose trees. 

If tbe season is good, this biggab of 1,000 rose trees should yield one lac of 
roses. Purcbases for roses are always made at so mucb per lac. Tbe price of 
course varies according to tbe year, and will average from 40 to 70 rupees. 

Manufacture of Rose-water. — Tbe rose trees come into flower at tbe begin- 
ning of Marcb, and continue so tbrougb April. Early in tbe morning tbe flowers 
are plucked by numbers of men, women, and children, and are conveyed in 
large bags to tbe several contracting parties for distillation. Tbe cultivators 
tbemselves very rarely manufacture. 

Tbe native apparatus for distilling tbe rose-water is of tbe simplest con- 
struction ; it consists of a large copper or iron boiler well tinned, capable 
of holding from eight to twelve gallons, having a large body witb a rather 
narrow neck, and a mouth about eight inches in diameter ; on the top of this is 
fixed an old dekchee, or cooking vessel, with a bole in tbe centre to receive tbe 
tube or worm. 

This tube is composed of two pieces of bamboo, fastened at an acute angle, 
and it is covered tbe whole length with a strong binding of corded string, over 
which is a luting of earth, to prevent the vapour from escaping. The small end, 
about two feet long, is fixed into tbe bole in tbe centre of the bead, where it is 
well luted with flower and water. The lower arm or end of tbe tube is carried 
down into a long-necked vessel or receiver, called a bbulka. This is placed in 
a bandee of water, which, as it gets hot, is changed. The head of the still is 
luted on to tbe body, and the long arm of the tube in the bbulka is also well pro- 
vided witb a cushion of cloth, so as to keep in all vapour. The boiler is let into 
an earthen furnace, and the whole is ready for operation. Tbere is such a va- 
riety of rose-water manufactured in tbe bazar, and so much that bears the name, 
which is nothing more than a mixture of sandal oil, that it is impossible to lay 
down tbe plan which is adopted. The best rose-water, however, in the bazar, 
may be 'computed as bearing tbe proportion of one thousand roses to a seer of 
water; this, perhaps, may be considered as the best procurable. 

From one thousand roses most generally a seer and a half of rose-water is dis- 
tilled, and perhaps from this even the attar has been removed. Tbe boiler of the 
still will hold from eigbt to twelve or sixteen thousand rcses. On eigbt thousand 
roses from ten to eleven seers of water will be pb-ced, and eight seers of rose- 
water will be distilled. This after distillation is placed in a carboy of glass, and 
is exposed to the sun for several days to become pucka (ripe) ; it is then stopped 
with cotton, and has a covering of moist clay put over it ; this b 3coming bard, 
effectually prevents tbe scent from escaping. The price of this will be from 
twelve to sixteen rupees. This is tbe best that can be procured. 

Attar of Roses. — To procure the attar, tbe roses are put into the still, and the 
water passes over gradually, as in the case of tbe rose-water process ; after the 
whole has come over, the rose-water is placed in a large metal basin, wbicb is 



ATTAR OF EOSES- 



571 



covered vnth wetted muslin, tied over to prevent insects or dust getting into 
it ; this vessel is let into the ground about two feet, which has heen previously 
wetted with water, and it is allowed to remain quiet during the whole night. 
The attar is always made at the beginning of the season, when the nights are 
cool ; in the morning the little film of attar which is formed upon the surface of 
the rose-water dm-ing the night is removed by means ot a feather, and it is thea 
carefully placed in a small phial ; and, day after day, as the collection is made, 
it is placed for a short period in the sun, and after a sufficient quantity has been 
procured, it is poured off clear, and of the color of amber, into small phials. 
Pure attar, when it has been removed only three or four days, has a pale greenish 
hue ; by keeping it los:s this, and in a few weeks' time it becomes of a pale 
yellow. The first few days distillation does not produce such fine attar as 
comes off afterwards, in consequence of the dust or little particles of dirt in the 
still and the tube being mixed with it. This is readily separated, from its sink- 
ing to the bottom of the attar, which melts at a temperature of 84 degrees. From 
one lac of roses it is generally calculated that 180 grains, or one tolah, of attar 
can be procured ; more than this can be obtained if the roses are full-sized, and 
the nights cold to allow of the congelation. The attar purchased in the bazar 
is generally adulterated, mixed with sandal oil, or sweet oil ; not even the richest 
native will give the price at which the purest attar alone can be obtained, and 
the purest attar that is made is sold only to Europeans. During the past year 
it has been selling from 80 to 90 rupees the tolah ; the year before it might have 
been purchased fcr 50 rupees. 

General Eemarls. — Xative stills are let out at so much per day or week, and 
it frequently occurs that the residents prepare some rose-water for their own 
use as a present to their friends, to secure their being pro-^ided with that which 
is the best. The natives never remove the calices of the rose-flowers, but place 
the whole into the stiU. as it comes from the garden. 

The best plan appears to be to have these removed, as by this means the rose- 
water may be preserved a longer time, and is not spoiled by the acid smell occa- 
sionally met with in the native rose-water. It is usual to calculate 100 bottles 
to one lac of roses. The rose-water should always be twice distilled ; over ten 
thousand roses water may be put to allow of sixteen or twenty bottles coming 
out ; the following day these twenty bottles are placed over eight thousand more 
roses, and about eighteen bottles of rose-water are distilled. This may be con- 
sidered the best to be met with. The attar is so much lighter than the rose- 
water, that, previous to use, it is better to expose the rose-water to the sun for 
a few days, to allow of its being well mixed ; and rose-water that has been kept 
six mouths is always better than that which has recently been made. 

At the commencement of the rose season, people from all parts come to make 
their purchases, and very large quantities are prepared and sold. There are 
about thirty-six places in the city of Ghazeepore where rose-water is distilL'd. 
These people geneially put a large quantity of sandal oil into the receiver, the 
oil is afterwards carefully removed and sold as sandal attar, and the water put 
into carboys and disposed of as rose-water. At the time of sale a few drops of 
sandal oil are placed on the neck of the carboy to give it fresh scent, and to many 
of the natives it appears perfectly immaterial whether the scent arises solely 
from the sandal oil or from the roses. I^arge quantities of sandal oil are every 
year brought up from the south and expended in this way. 

6. The chief use the natives appear to make of the rose water, or the sandal 
attar as they term it, is at the period of their festivals and weddings. It is 
then distributed largely to the guests as they arrive, and sprinkled with pro- 
fusion in the apartments. A large quantity of rose water is sold at Benares, 
and many of the native Eajahs send over to Ghazipoor for its purchase. Most 
of the rose water, as soon as distilled, is taken away, and after six months from 
the termination of the manufacture there are not more than four or five places 
where it is to be met with. 

I should consider that the value of the roses sold for the manufacture of 
rose water may be estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 rupees a year; and from 
the usual ])rice asked for the rose water, and for which it is sold, I should 
consider there is a profit of 40,000 rupees. The natives are very fond of 
using the rose water as medicine, or as a vehicle for other mixtures, and 



572 



OLEAGINOUS PLAifTS. 



they consume a good deal of the petals for the conserve of roses, or goolcond 
as they call it. 

The roses of Ghazipoor, on the river Granges, are cultivated in enormous 
fields of hundreds of acres. The delightful odor from these fields can he scented 
at seven miles distance on the river. The valuable article of commerce knoTvn 
as attar of roses is made here in the folio-wing manner : — On 40 pounds of roses 
are poiu-ed 60 pounds of water, and they are then distilled over a slow fire, 
and 30 pounds of rose water obtained. This rose water is then poured over 
40 pounds of fresh roses, and from that is distilled at most 20 pounds of rose 
water ; this is then exposed to the cold night air, and in the morning a small 
quantity of oil is found on the surface. From 80 pounds of roses, about 
200,000, at the utmost an ounce and a-half of oil is obtained ; and even at 
Ghazipoor it costs 40 rupees (4/.) an ounce. 

Five guineas have been often paid for one ounce of attar of roses. The most 
approved mode of ascertaining its quality is to drop it on a piece of paper ; its 
strength is ascertained by the quickness with which it evaporates, and its worth 
by its lea"\ang no stains on the paper. The best otto is manufactured at Con- 
stantinople. 

A volatile oil, erroneously called oil of spikenard, is met with 
in the shops, which is obtained from a plant which has been named 
bj Dr. Eojle, the Aoidropogoii Calamus aromaticus. 

The true spikenard of the ancients is supposed to have been 
obtained from the Nardostachys Jatamansi, a plant of the Valerian 
famil}^ Dr. Stenhouse describes rather minutely (" Journal 
Pharm. Soc." vol. iv. p. 276) a species of East India grass oil, 
said to be the produce of Andropogon Ivaracusa^ which he believes 
to be what is usually called the oil of Namur. It has a very 
fragrant aromatic odor, shgbtly resembling that of otto of roses, 
but not nearly so rich. Its taste is sharp and agreeable, approach- 
ing that of oil of lemons. It has a deep yellow color, and contains 
a good deal of resinous matter. 

Le:mo]S" grass {Andropogon sclioenantlius) . — This fragrant 
grass, which is now cultivated very generally throughout the 
West Indies, in the gardens of the planters, as an elegant and 
powerful diaphoratic, was doubtless introduced from the East. 
The active principle of the leaves seems to reside in the essential 
oil which they contain. Lemon grass oil forms an important 
article of export from Cej^on, amounting in value to nearly 
£7,000 annuaUy. 

The Andropogon sclioenantlius, which may be seen covering ail 
the Kandian hills, is the best possible pasture for cattle — at 
least as long as it is young. This species of grass is very hard, 
and grows to the height of seven feet, and sometimes higher, and 
has a strong but extremely pleasant acid taste. It derives its 
name from having, when crushed, an odor like that of the lemon, 
so strong, that after a time it becomes quite heavy and sickeniug, 
although grateful and refreshing at first. It covers the hills in 
patches — those, at least, that are not overgrown with jungle and 
underwood — and it is to be found nowhere but in the Kandian 
district. Spontaneous ignition frequeutly takes place, and the 
appearance of the burning grass is described as most magnificent. 
A few days after, from the midst of this parched, blackened, 
and apparently dead ground, lovely youug green shoots begin to 



PATCHOULT, 



573 



arise — for the roots of this extraordinary grass have not even been 
injured, far less destroyed, by the fire; and in a very short time 
the whole brow of the mountain is again overspread with tufts of 
beautiful green waving grass. — (-'Journal of Agriculture.") 

Otto of khuskhus or scented grass, from another species, A. 
digitalis, obtained at Ulwar in the States of Eajpootanah, was 
shown at the Grreat Exhibition in 1851, and N'ewar oil (from 4. 
maritima) from Agra. 

CiTEONELL V Oil. — In the Southern province of Ceylon some 
half dozen estrr:es about Galle are cultivated with citronella grass. 
The exports or' this oil from Cevlon in the last three years have 
been as follov- ^ :— 1850, 86,01.8' oz., valued at £3,311 ; 1851, 
114,959 oz., valued at £3,742 ; in 1852, 131,780 oz., valued at 
£2,806. 

PATCHorLT. — Under this name are imported into this country 
the dried foliaceous tops of a strongly odoriferous labiate plant, 
growing three feet high in India and China, called in Bengalee 
and Hindu, pucJia pat. About 46 cases, of from 50 to 110 lbs. 
each, were imported from Chma, by the way of ]New York, in 
1844. The price asked was 6s. per pound. Yery little is known 
of the plant yielding it. Mr. Greorge Porter, late of the island 
of Pinang, stated that it grows wild there and on the opposite 
shores of the Malay peninsula. Dr. WalJich says, that it ob- 
viously belongs to the family Labiatae. Yiney, in the " Prench 
Journal of Pharmacy," suggests that it is tEe Plectranthios grave- 
olens of E,. Brown. It forms a shrub of two or three feet in height. 
It is the Fogostemon patchoiily. The odor of the dried plant is 
strong and peculiar, and to some persons not agreeable. The dried 
tops imported into England are a foot or more in length. In 
India it is used as an ingredient in tobacco for smoking, and for 
scenting the hair of women. In Europe it is principally used for 
perfumery purposes, it being a favorite with the Erench, who im- 
port it largely from Bourbon. The Arabs use and export it more 
than any other nation. Their annual pilgrimship takes up an 
immense quantity of the leaf. They use it principally for stuffing 
mattrasses and pillows, and assert that it is very efficacious in pre- 
venting contagion and prolonging life. It requires no sort of 
preparation, being simply gathered and dried in the sun ; too 
much drying, however, is hurtful, inasmuch as it renders the leaf 
liable to crumble to dust in packing and stowing on board. The 
characteristic smell of Chinese or Indian ink is owing to an ad- 
mixture of this plant in its manufacture. M. de Hugel found the 
plant growing wild near Canton. By distillation it yields a vola- 
tile oil, on which the odor and remarkable properties depend. 
This oil is in common use in India for imparting the peculiar 
fragrance of the leaf to clothes among the superior classes of 
natives. The origin of its use is this : — A few years ago, real 
Indian shawls bore an extravagant price, and purchasers could 
always distinguish them by their odor ; in fact, they were per- 
fumed with Patchouly ; the Erench manufacturers at length 



574 



SAPONACEOUS PLANTS 



discoTered tliis secret, and used to import the plant to perfurae 
articles of their make, and thus palm off homespun shawls as real 
India I Some people put the dry leaves in a muslin bag, and thus 
use it as we do lavender, scenting drawers in which liiien is kept ; 
tills is the best way to use it. as this odor, like musk, is most 
agreeable when very dilute. — (" Gardeners' Chronicle.") 

The root of some parasitical plant, under the name of kritz, is 
used in Cashmere to wash the celebrated shawls, soap is used only 
for white shawls. 

Prom the flowers of the Bengal quince (^^gle marmemolos) a 
fragant liquid is distilled in Ceylon known as marmala water, 
which is much used as a perfume for sprinkling by the natives. 

Jasmine oil is distilled from Jasminum samhac and grandifiora. 

SAPONACEors Plants. — 3Iany plants furnish abroad useful sub- 
stitutes for common soap. The aril which surrounds the seed and 
the roots of Sapindus Saponaria, an evergreen tree. I have seen used 
as soap in South America and the West Indies under the name of 
soap berries. The seed vessels are very acrid, they lather freely in 
water and will cleanse more Hnen than thii-ty times then- weight of 
soap, but in time they corrode or buim the linen. Humboldt says 
that proceeding along the river Garenicuar, in the G-ulf of Cariaco, 
he saw the Indian women washing their linen with the fruit of 
tliis tree, there called the parapara. Some other species of Sapin- 
dus and of GypsopliilaAiSiXe similar properties. The bruised leaves 
and roots of Saponaria officinalis, a British species, form a lather 
which much resembles that of soap, and is similarly efficacious in 
removing grease spots. The barkof many species of Quillaia, as 
Q. saponaria, when beaten between stones, makes a lather which can 
be used as a substitute for soap, in washing woollens and silk 
clothes, and to clean colors in dyeing, in Chili and Brazil, but 
it tuims linen yellow. The fruit of Bromelia Pinguin is equally 
useful. A vegetable soap was prepared some years ago in Jamaica 
from the leaves of the American aloe (Agave Ajnericana) which 
was found as detergent as Castile soap for washing linen, and had 
the superior quality of mixing and forming a lather with salt 
water as well as fresh. Dr. Eobinson, the naturalist, thus describes 
the process he adopted in 1767, and for which he was awarded a 
grant by the House of Assembly : — " The lower leaves of the 
Cui^aca or Coratoe (Agave Jcaj-atu) were passed between heavy 
rollers to express the juice, which, after being strained through a 
hair cloth, was merely inspissated by the action of the sun, or a slow 
fire, and cast into balls or casks. The only precaution necessary 
was to allow no mixture of any unctuous materials, which destroyed 
the efficacy of the soap. A vegetable soap, which has been found 
excellent for washing silk, &c, may be thus obtained. To one 
part of the skin of the Ackee add one and a half part of the Agave 
karatu, macerated in one part of boiling water for twenty-four 
hours, and with the exiract from this decoction mix four per cent, 
of rosin. In Brazil, soap is made from the ashes of the bassura 
or broom plant (^Sidu lanceolata') which abounds with alkali. 



SAPOXACEOrs PLA>'TS. 



575 



There are also some soap barks and pods of native plants used in 
China. Several other plants have been employed in different coun- 
tries as a substitute for soap. The bark of Quillaia saponaria 
renders water frothy and is used as a detergent by wool dyers. 
Saponaria vaccana is common in India. The pericarp of Sapindus 
emarginatus mixed with water froths like soap. Saponaceous 
berries are fouiid in Java. 

The soap-worts to which the genus Sapindus belongs are tropical 
plants. The fi-iiit of many species of Sapindus is used as a sub- 
stitute for soap, as Sapindus acuminata, Laurifolius emarginatus 
and detergens, all East Indian plants. 



SECTION 



VL 



PLANTS TIELDINO DETJGS, KNTCLUDINa NAECOTICS 
AND OTHEE COMMON" MEDICINAL SUBSTANCES. 

The chief plants furnishing the drugs of commerce, and which 
enter largely into tropical agriculture, are the narcotic plants, 
especially tobacco, the poppy for opium, and the betel nut and leaf, 
as masticatories — but there are very many others to which the 
attention of the cultivator may profitably be directed. 1 have 
already trenched so largely upon my space, that I cannot do that 
justice to the plants coming under this section I could have wished. 
There are very many, however, of which I must make incidental 
mention. Some few medicinal plants have been already alluded to 
in former sections, particularly in that on d^^e-stuffs, &c. 

The Coca Plant grows about four or five feet high, with pale 
bright green leaves, somewhat resembling in shape those of the 
orange tree. The leaves are picked from the trees three or four 
times a year, and carefully dried in the shade ; they are then 
packed in small baskets. The greatest quantity is grown about 30 
leagues from Cicacica, among the Yunnos on the frontiers of the 
Tunghos. Some is also cultivated near to Huacaibamba. 

The natives in several parts of Peru chew these leaves as 
Europeans do tobacco, particularly in the mining districts, when 
at work in the mines or travelling ; and such is the sustenance 
that they derive from them, that they frequently take no food 
for four or five days. I have often (observes Mr. Stevenson) been 
assured by them, that whilst they have a good supply of coca 
they feel neither hunger, thirst, nor fatigue, and that without im- 
pairing their health they can remain eight to ten days and nights 
without sleep. The leaves are almost insipid, but when a small 
quantity of lime is mixed with them, they have a very agreeable 
sweet taste. The natives generally carry with them a leather pouch 
containing coca, and a small calabash holding lime or the ashes of 
the moUe to mix with them. 

Cocculus indicus, or Indian berries. — This is the commercial name 
for the berries or fruit of the Menispermum Cocculus of Linnaeus, 
31. lieteroclitum of Eoxburgh, Animerta paniculata of Colebrooke, 



BETEL LEAr. — ARECA PALM. 



57-7 



A. Cocculus of Wright and Arnot, and Cocculus suherosus of De- 
caiidolle. It is a strong climbing shrub or tree, native of Mala- 
bar, Ceylon, and the Eastern Islands. The seeds or drupes con- 
tain a bitter poisouous acid, and are used for the purpose of 
stupefying fish, and, in the form of a black extract, for fraudulently 
increasing the intoxicating power of malt liquors ; one pound of 
the berries, it is said, will go as far in brewing as a sack of malt. 
The berry is kidney-shaped, with a white kernel. Whilst the 
imports in 1846 were but 246 bags, in 1850 they had increased 
to 2,359 bags of about 1 cwt. each. The price is 19s. to 24s. 
the cwt, 

A crystalline, poisonous, narcotic principle called picrotoxin, has 
been detected in these seeds, and occasionally employed externally 
in some cutaiieous diseases. Cocculus crispus is used in inter- 
niitteiit ffvers and liver complaints. 

TiiG annual imports now average 250 tons, and nearly the 
whole is consumed for illegal purposes by brewers. Though the 
practice is nominally discountenanced by the Legislature under 
the penalty of £200 upon the brewer and £500 upon the seller, 
yet under the recent tariff great encouragement is given to the 
introduction of these berries, the duty having been reduced from 
7s. 6d. to 53. the cwt. 

The capsules and seeds of Xantlioxylum hostile are also em- 
ployed for the same purpose as cocculus indicus. The bark of 
JValseria piscidia, a native of the Circar mountains, also intoxicates 
fish. 

About 250 tons of Xux vomica, another species of dried flat 
seed possessing intoxicating properties, are also imported annually 
for the same purposes, and they fetch ab:>ut 63. to 83. the cwt. 

Betel leaf. — Piper Betel, a scandent species of the shrubby 
evergreen tribe of plants belonging to the pepper family, fur- 
nishes the celebrated betel leaf of the Southern Asiatics, in which 
they enclose a few slices of the areca nut and a little shell lime ; 
this they chew to sweeten the breath, and to keep off the pangs 
of hunger, and it acts also as a narcotic. 

Such is the immense consumption of this masticatory, terraed 
Pan, in the East, that it forms nearly as extensive an article of 
commerce as that of tobacco in the West. The tax on the leaf 
forms a considerable portion of the local revenue of Pinang ; in 
1805, the tax yielded as much as 5,400 dollars. 

Bumphius describes six species of this vine, besides several 
wild and cultivated varieties. It is very easily reared in the 
Indian islands, but in the countries of the Deccan requires 
manuring, frequent watering and great care, and in the northern, 
parts of Hindostan it becomes an exotic very difficult to rear. 
The vine affords leaves fit for use in the second year, and con- 
tinues to yield for more than thirty, the quantity diminishing as 
the plants grow older. 

Abeca palm (^Acacia Catechu). — This is a fine, slender, grace- 
ful tree, rising from 20 to 30 feet high, which, being a native of 

2 p 



57-8 



DEIIGS, NARCOTICS, ETC. 



the East, is found abundant in many of the forests of India, from 
16 to 30 degs. of latitude. Tiie principal places of its growth 
are the Burmese territories, a large province on the Malabar 
coast called the Concan, and the forests skirting the northern 
parts of Bengal, under the hills which divide it from Nepaul, the 
south and west coasts of (.^eylon, the south of China, &c., the 
Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and the Eastern islands, it produces 
fruit at five years old, and continues bearing till about its twenty- 
fifth year, when it withers and dies. It thrives at a greater dis- 
tance from the sea, and in more elevated regions than the coco- 
nut palm. In Prince of Wales Island some hundreds of thousands 
of these palms are cultivated. 

The seeds or nuts form a chief ingredient in the celebrated 
eastern masticatory called Pan and which seems to owe its 
stimulating properties to the leaves of the Piper Betel. "When 
prepared for use, the nut is cut into slices and wrapped in the 
fresh leaves of the betel pepper vine, together with a quantity of 
quicklime {Chunain) to give it a flavor. The flavor is peculiar, 
between an herbaceous and an aromatic taste. 

All classes, male and female, chew it ; they say it sweetens the 
breath, strengthens the stomach, and preserves the teeth, to 
which it gives a reddish hue ; there is probably less objection to 
its use than tobaoco or opium, and its taste is more pleasant ; but, 
if taken to excess, it will produce stupor like other narcotics, and 
even intoxication. The nuts grow in large bunches at the top, 
and when ripe are red and have a beautiful appearance ; they 
resemble the nutmeg in shape and color, but are larger and harder. 
When gathered they are laid in heaps until the shell be somewhat 
rotted, and then dried in the sun, after which the process of 
shelling commences. The trees vary in their yield from 300 to 
1,000 nuts, averaging about 14 lbs. ; which the cultivators sell at 
about half a dollar (2s.) a picul of 133 lbs. As these palms are 
planted usually at the distance of 7i feet, it follows that the pro- 
duce of an acre is about 10,841 lbs. The tree bears but once in 
a year generally, but there are green nuts enough to eat all the 
year long. Betel nut is a staple article of import into China ; 
25,000 piculs annually is the amount returned, but there is an 
immense quantity imported in Chinese junks from Hainan, of 
which there is no account kept. In the single port of Canton alone, 
15,565 piculs were imported in 1844, and about 400 to Ningpo. 
3,005 piculs of betel nuts, valued at 8,700 dollars, were imported 
into Canton in 1850, and as much as 4,000 tons of areca nuts are 
shipped annually from Ceylon. 

The astringent extract obtained from the seeds of the Areca- 
palm constitutes two (or perhaps more) kinds of the catechu 
uf the shops. According to Dr. Heyne ("Tracts Hist, and 
Statist, on India"), it is largely procured in Mysore, about 
Sirah, in the following manner : — 

The nuts are taken as they come from the tree and boiled for some hours 
in aa iron vessel. They are then taken out, and the roinaiaing water is in- 



AIIECA PAIM. 



579 



spissated by continual boiling. This process furnishes Kassu, or most astringent 
terra japonioa, which is black and mixed with paddy criu, husks, and other 
impurities. After the nuts are- dried, they are put into a fresh quantity of 
water, boiled again ; and this water being inspissated, like the former, yields 
the best or dearest kind of catechu, called Goony. It is yellowish brown, has 
an earthy fracture, and is free from the admixture of foreign bodies. 

Most of the betel nuts imported into China come from Java, 
Singapore, and Pinang. Betel nut is not so generally used in the 
South of China as among the Southern Islands, and in the north 
of China it is a luxury, as the pepper does not grow freely there. 
Formerly there was a considerable trade in betel nuts with the 
Coromandel coast, from whence the natives brought back manu- 
factured goods and other necessaries in return, but this has ceased 
for i^ome time. The common price was 20,000 for a dollar. These 
nuts are seldom imported into England, though they might be of 
use as a dye in some manufactures. 

The natives of the East chew the fruit of Elate sylvestris, 
(which is something like a wild plum), in the same manner as the 
areca nut, with the leaf of the betel pepper and quick lime. 

The inner wood furnishes a kind of Catechu or Cutch, which 
contains much tannin and is a powerful astringent. It is obtained 
by the simple process of boiling the heart of the wood for a few 
hours, when it assumes the appearance and consistency of tar. 
It hardens by cooling, and when formed into small squares and 
dried in the sun is fit for the market. 

The produce of Bombay is of uniform texture and of a dark red 
color. That of Concan and other parts of India is of chocolate 
color, and marked inside with red streaks. 

The analysis of Sir H. Davy gave the following result: — 



Bombay. 

Tannin 545 

Extractive 34 0 

Mucilage 6*6 

Insoluble matters, sand, lime, &c 5-0 



100- 



Concan. 
48-5 
36-5 
8-0 
7-0 

100- 



Catechu is in extensive use in India tor tanning purposes, and 
of late years it has entirely superseded madder in the calico works 
of Europe for dyeing a golden coffee-brown, one pound of catechu 
being found equivalent to six pounds of madder. 

Value of the areca nuts exported from Ceylon to tlie British 
Colonies and foreign States in the years named: — 



&. 

1839 22,956 

1840 23,096 

1841 22,428 

1842 29,222 

1813 27,028 

1844 20,978 

1845 31,836 



£. 

1846 34,209 

1847 35,723 

1848 42,482 

1849 31,746 

1850 42,907 

1851 54,846 

1852 52,230 



2 p 2 



580 



DUl'GJ-, >'ASCOTICS, ETC. 



THE POPPY. 

Opium is the concrete inspissated juice of the white poppy, Fap- 
aver somniferum and its varieties, obtained by scratching the cap- 
sules and collecting the exuding juice. The plant has been long 
known, and is perhaps one of the earliest described. It is a native 
of Western Asia and probably also of the South of Europe, but it 
has been distributed over various countries. 

In 1826 the imports of opium into the United Kingdom were 
79,829 lbs., of which 28,329 lbs. were consumed in this country. 
The imports and consumption in subsequent years are shown by 
the following figures : — 



Imports. Consumption, 
lbs. lbs. 

1827 113,140 .. 17,322 

1830 ...... 209,076 .. 22,668 

1833 106,846 .. 35,407 

1836 130,794 . . 38,943 

1839 196,247 41,632 

1842 72,373 .. 47,432 

1845 259,644 .. 38,229 

1848 200,019 61,055 

1819 105,724 .. 44,177 

1850 . 126,318 .. 42,324 

1851 118,024 .. 50,682 

1852 205,780 .. 62,521 



Few who have not looked into the statistics of this trade, are 
aware of the enormous consumption of opium all over the world, 
but chiefly in China and India. 

In 1845, 18,792 chests of opium were sent from Calcutta to 
China, and nearly the same number of the Malwa opium from 
Bombay and Damaun. The total production of India exported to 
China, in 1844, was 21,526 chests from Bengal, and 18,821 from 
Bombay, in all 39,847 chests. The number of persons in China 
given to the consumption of opium wa,s estimated, in 1837, at 
three millions, and the average quantity smoked by each individual 
is about 17-| grains a day. The consumption of Indian opium 
(independent of Turkey opium) in China has gradually increased 
from 3,210 chests in 1817, to 9,969 chests m 1827, and about 
40,000 chests in 1837, valued at 25,000,000 dollars. ]Now it has 
reached 50,000 to 60,000 chests. Notwithstanding severe penal- 
ties, imprisonment, temporary banishment, and even death, the 
number of those who smoke opium has multiplied exceedingly, 
and the contraband trade in the drug is carried on to so large an 
extent, that it is to be feared the practice will become general 
throughout the empire. 

According to Mr. E. Thornton's statistics, the production of 
opium in Bengal has increased cent, per cent, in the last ten 
years : — 

chests. 

1840- 41 17,858 

1841- 42 18,827 • 



THE POPPY. 



581 



1842- 43 18,362 

1843- 44 15,104 

1844- 45 18,350 

1845- 46 21,437 

1846- 47 21,648 

1847- 48 30,515 

1848- 49 36,000 

The cTaest is about 140 lbs., so that the production in 1849 was 
5,040,000 lbs. 

According to tbe statements annexed to the statistical papers 
relating to India, the income from the opium monopoly is obtained 
by two principal means, namely, by a system of allowing the cul- 
tivation of the poppy by the natives of British India on account 
of Grovernment, and by the impost of a heavy duty on opium 
grown and manufactured in foreign states, but brought in transit 
to a British port for exportation. The former system obtains in 
Bengal, the latter in Bombay. According to the statements pub- 
lished, Bengal opium yields a profit of 7s. 6d. per lb., whilst the 
duty derived in the Bombay presidency is only equal to a surplus 
of 5s. 8d. per lb. By these means the total revenue realised by 
the opium monopoly, in Bengal and Bombay, in the year 1849-50 
yielded £3,309,637. 

Lest objection should be taken to this large annual revenue 
derived from the cultivation of a drug, the unnatural consumption 
of which would be suppressed under any other European govern- 
ment, the Court of Directors is very anxious to show the benefit 
which the country derives from this monopoly ; they say " that as 
the price of opium is almost wholly paid by foreign consumers, and 
the largest return is obtained with the smallest outlay, the best 
interests of India would appear to be consulted." Nobody at all 
acquainted with the financial resources and the capabilities of any 
country, would hazard such an assertion. By paying cultivators 
for the restricted growth of the poppy a price hardly yielding more 
than the average rate of wages to the common laborer, I do not 
see in what way the best interests of India are consulted, nor is it 
clear that the population derives any benefit by being prohibited 
altogether from manufacturing a drug, which may be brought from 
another country in transitu on the payment of a heavy duty ; unless 
indeed the Court of Directors are of opinion that in the event of 
the abolition of the monopoly, the people of the country would 
have to make up for the loss of the revenue by submitting to some 
other mode of direct or indirect taxation. There is an inconsis- 
tency in the statements of the Court of Directors, which is abso- 
lutely amusing. "The free cultivation of the poppy," say the 
Directors, " would doubtless lead to the larger outlay of capital, 
and to greater economy in production ; but the poppy requires the 
richest description of land, and its extended cultivation must 
therefore displace other products." How very considerate on the 
part of the Directors, but how strongly at variance with facts, since 
all the fear of displacing other products, and all this appropriation 
of the richest description of land for other purposes has not pre- 



682 



DEUGS, KA.EC0T1CS, ETC. 



vented the Indian Government, within less than ten years, from more 
than doubling the cultivation of the poppy and the manufacture of 
opium. The Directors tell us that the heavy transit duty charged 
at Bombay is to discourage production, but they do not say whether 
that discouragement applies, as one would imagine, to those 
foreign districts which have to pay the transit duty for their pro- 
duction. If so, the assertion is again at variance with facts, 
because in a sul3sequent statement they say, " It is stated that 
neither the price of opium, nor the extent of cultivation in Malwa, 
has been affected by the great enhancement of the pass duty, which 
has taken place since 1845." 

The following will show that the Company loses no opportunity 
of applying the screw :— 

The subjugation of Scinde afforded opportunity for the levy of a higher rate. 
Down to the period of that event, a large portion of the opium of Malwa had 
heeu conveyed through Scinde to Kurrachee, and thence onward to the Portu- 
guese pftrts of Diu and Demaun. That route is now closed, and it waa 
reasonably expected that an advance might be made in the charge of passes 
without the risk of loss to the revenue from a diminished demand for them. 
The rate was accordingly increased in October, 1843, from 125 to 200 rupees 
per chest. Upon the principle that it was desirable to fix the price at the highest 
amount that cov:li be levied, without forcing the trade into other channels, a 
further increase was made in 1845. when it was determined that the charge 
should be 300 rupees per chest. TJnfler the like views it was, in 1847, raised to 
400 rupees per chest. 

The company was perfectly correct, for though the quantity of 
opium did not increase, the revenue did ; and whilst in 1840-41 
16,773 chests yielded an incoii.rf of only 22,046,452 rupees — 
16,500 chests brought in 1849-50 actually 72,094,835 rupees into 
the coffers of the Grovernment of Bombay. But the people of 
India earned not a pice by it, and those richest descriptions of 
land, which it was so desirable to reserve for other produce than 
the poppy, remained barren. 

The white variety of the poppy is that which is exclusively 
brouglit under cultivation for the production of the drug in India 
and i^iiy pt. For the successful culture of opium a mild climate, 
plentiful irrigation, a rich soil, and diligent husbandry are indis- 
pensable. One acre of well cultivated ground will yield from 70 lbs. 
to 100 lbs. of " chick," or inspissated juice, the price of which 
varies from 6s. to 12s. a pound, so that an acre will yield from 
£20 to £60 worth of opium at one crop. Three pounds of chick 
will produce one pound of opium, from a third to a fifth of the 
weight being lost in evaporation. A chief cliemical feature, which 
distinguishes Bengal opium from that of Turkey and Egypt, is the 
large proportion which the narcotine in the former bears to the 
morphia, and this proportion is constant in all seasons. It is a 
matter of importance to ascertain whether the treatment which 
the juice receives after its collection can influence in any way the 
amount of alkaloids, or of the other principles in opium. In 
Turkey it is the custom to beat up the juice with saliva, in Malwa 
it is immersed as collected in linseed oil, whilst in Bengal it is 



THE POPPY. 



.583 



brought to the required consistence by mere exposure to the air in 
the shade, though, at the same time, all the watery particles of the 
juice that will separate are drained off, and used in making Lewah, 
or inferior opium. 

The lands selected for poppy cultivation are generally situated 
in the vicinity of villages, where the facilities for manuring and 
irrigation are greatest. In such situations and when the soil is 
rich, it is frequently the practice with the cultivators to take a 
crop of Indian corn, maize, or vegetables off the ground during 
the rainy season, and after the removal of this in September, to 
dress and manure the ground for the subsequent poppy sowings. 
In other situations, however, and when the soil is not rich, the 
poppy crop is the only one taken off the ground during the year, 
and from the commencement of the rains in June or July, until 
October, the ground is dressed and cleaned by successive plough- 
ings and weedings, and manured to the extent which the means of 
the cultiv^ator will permit. In the final preparation of the land in 
October and November, the soil, after being well loosened and 
turned up by the plough, is crushed and broken down by the pas- 
sage of a heavy log of wood over its surface, and it is in this state 
ready for sowing. 

The amount of produce from various lands differs considerably. 
Under very favorable circumstances of soil and season, as much as 
twelve or even thirteen seers (26 lbs.) of standard opium may be 
obtained from each biggah of 27,225 square feet. Under less 
favorable conditions the turn-out may not exceed three or four 
seers, but tlie usual amount of produce varies from six to eight 
seers per biggah. 

The chemical examination of different soils in connection with 
their opium-producing powers, presents a field for profitable and 
interesting inquiry ; nor is the least important part of the investi- 
gation that which has reference to variations in the proportions of 
the alkaloids (especially the morphia and narcotine), which occur 
in opium produced in various localities. That atmospheric causes 
exert a certain influence in determining these variations is probable; 
that they influence the amount of produce, and cause alterations 
in the physical appearance of the drug, are facts well known 
to every cultivator : thus the effect of dew is to facilitate the flow 
of the juice from the wounded capsule, rendering it abundant in 
quantity, but causing it at the same time to be dark and liquid. 
An easterly wind (which in India is usually concomitant with a 
damp state of atmosphere), retards the flow of juice, and renders 
it dark and liquid. A moderate westerly wind, with dew at night, 
form the atmospheric conditions most favorable for collection, both 
as regards the quantity and quality of the exudation. If, however, 
the westerly wind (which is an extremely dry wind) blow violently, 
the exudation from the capsules is sparing. Whilst the effect of 
meteorological phenomena in producing the above results are well 
marked, their action in altering the relative proportions of the 
chemical constituents of the juice of the poppy plant is more ob- 



584 D]iuas, jfARcoTics, etc. 

scure, and it is highly probable that the chemical composition of 
the soil plays a most important part in this respect. Dr. O'Shaugh- 
nessy is certainly the most accomplished chemist who had ever, in 
India, turned his attention to the subject, and he has published 
the results of his analyses of specimens of opium from the different 
di\dsions of the Behar Agency, which are worthy of much attention. 
In the opium from eight divisions of the agency, he found the 
quantity of morphia to range from If grains to 3 J grains per cent., 
and the amount of the narcotine to vary from f grain to 3^ grains 
per cent , the consistence of the various specimens being between 
75 and 79 per cent. In the opium from the Hazareebaugh dis- 
trict (the consistence of the drug being 77), he found 4| per cent, 
of morphia, and 4 per ceut. narcotine ; whilst from a specimen of 
Patna-garden opium he extracted no less than lOf per cent, of 
morphia, and 6 per cent, of narcotine, the consistence of the drug 
being 87. With respect to the last specimen, Dr. O'Shaughnessy 
mentions that the poppies which produced it were irrigated three 
times during the season, and tliat no manure was employed upon 
the soil. It is much to be regretted that these interesting results 
were not coupled with an analysis of the soils from which the speci- 
mens were produced, for to chemical variations in it must be 
attributed the widely different results recorded above. 

Opium as a medicine has been used from the earliest ages ; but 
when it was first resorted to as a luxury, it is impossible to state, 
though it is not at all improbable that this was coeval with its 
employment in medicine, for how often do we find that, from 
having been first administered as a sedative for pain, it has been 
continued until it has taken the place of the evil. Such must have 
happened from the earliest ai':es, as it happens daily in the present; 
but as a national vice it was not known until the spread of Islam- 
ism, when, by the tenets of the Prophet, wine and fermented 
liquors being prohibited, it came in their stead along with the bang 
or hasch-schash (made from hemp), coffee, and tobacco. From the 
Arabs the inhabitants of the Eastern Archipelago most probably 
imbibed their predilection for opium, although their particular 
manner of using it has evidently been derived from the Chinese. 
China, where at present it is so extensively used, cannot be said to 
have indulged long in the vice. Previous to 1767 the number of 
chests imported did not exceed 200 yearly ; now the average is 
50,000 to 60,000. In 1773 the East India Company made their 
first venture in opium, and in 1796 it was declared a crime to 
smoke opium. 

In different countries we find opium consumed in different ways. 
In England it is either used in a solid state, made into pills, or a 
tincture in the shape of laudanum. Insidiously it is given to 
children under a variety of quack forms, such as " Grodfrey's 
cordial," &c. In India the pure opium is either dissolved in water 
and so used, or rolled into pills. It is there a common practice to 
give it to children when very young, by mothers, who require to 
work and cannot at the same time nurse their offspring. In China 



OPIUM. 



585 



it is either smoked or swallowed in the shape of Tye. In Bally it 
is first adulterated with China paper, and then rolled up with the 
fibres of a particular kind of plantain. It is then inserted into a 
hole made at the end of a small bamboo, and smoked. In Java 
and Sumatra it is often mixed with sugar and the ripe fruit of the 
plantain. In Turkey it is usually taken in pills, and those who do 
so, avoid drinking any water after swallowing them, as this is said 
to produce violent colics ; but to make it more palatable, it is 
sometimes mixed with syrups or thickened juices ; in this form, 
however, it is less intoxicating, and resembles mead. It is then 
taken with a spoon, or is dried in small cakes, with the words 
" Mash Allah," or " Word of God," imprinted on them. "When 
the dose of two or three drachms a day no longer produces the 
beatific intoxication, so eagerly sought by the opiophagi, they mix 
the opium with corrosive sublimate, increasing the quantity of the 
latter till it reaches ten grains a day. It then acts as a stimulant. 
In addition to its being used in the shape of pills, it is frequently 
mixed with hellebore and hemp, and forms a mixture known by the 
name of majoon, whose properties are diff'erent from that of opium, 
and may account in a great measure for the want of similitude in 
the efiect of the drug on the Turk and the Chinese. 

In Singapore and China the refuse of the chandu, the prepared 
extract of opium, is all used by the lower classes. This extract, 
when consumed, leaves a refuse, consisting of charcoal, empyreu- 
matic oil, some of the salts of opium, and a part of the chandu 
not consumed. Now one ounce of chandu gives nearly half an 
ounce of this refuse, called Tye, or Tinco. This is smoked and 
swallowed by the poorer classes, who only pay half the price of 
chandu for it. When smoked it yields a further refuse called 
samshing, and this is even used by "the still poorer, although it 
contains a very small quantity of the narcotic principle. Samshing, 
however, is never smoked, as it cannot furnish any smoke, but is 
swallowed, and that not unfrequently mixed with arrack. 

Freparation. — In Asia Minor, men, women, and children, a few days after the 
flower falls from the poppies, proceed to the fields, and with a shell scratch the 
capsules, wait twenty-four hours, and collect the tears, which amount to two or 
three grains in weight from each capsule. These being collected and mixed 
with the scrapings of the shells, worked up with saliva and surrounded by dried 
leaves, it is then sold, but, generally speaking, not without being still more 
adulterated with cow's dung, sand, gravel, the petals of flowers, &c. Different 
kinds of opium are known in the markets of Europe and Asia. 

The first in point of quality is the Smyrna^ known in commerce as the TurJcey 
or Levant. It occurs in irregular, rounded, flattened masses, seldom exceeding 
two pounds in weight, and surrounded by leaves of a kind of sorrel; the quantity 
of morphia said to be derived from average specimens is eight per cent. 

Second, Constantiyioj^le Opiuni^ two kinds of which are found in the market, 
one in very voluminous irregular cakes, which are flattened like the Smyrna ; 
this is a good quality. The other kind is in small, flattened, regular cakes, 
from two to two and a half inches in diameter, and covei ed with the leaves of 
the poppy ; the quantity of morphia is very uncertain in this description of 
opium, sometimes mounting as high as 15 per cent., and sometimes descending 
so low as six, showing the great variety in the quality of the drug. 

Third, Egyptian Opium^ occurs in round flattened cakes, about 3 inches in 



586 



DRU&S, NARCOTICS, ETC. 



diameter, and covered externally witli the vestiges of some leaf. It is dis- 
tinguished from the others hy its reddish color, resemhling " Socotrine Aloes." 
The quantity of morphia in this is inferior to the preceding. It has one quality 
which, when adulterated, ought to be known, that is a musty smell. By keeping 
it does not blacken like the other kinds. 

Fourth, English Opium, is in flat cakes or balls enveloped in leaves. It 
resembles fine Egyptian opium more than any other kind. Its color is that of 
hepatic aloes, and in the quantity of morphia it is inferior to the preceding, but 
in the strength of the mass it is said by one of its most extensive cultivators to 
be superior. 

Fifth, French, and sixth German Opium, require no particular remarks. By 
a recent notice I find the French are cultivating the poppy in Algeria, from 
which they get opium giving a small per centage of morphia. 

Seventh, Trebizond or Persian Opium, is sometimes met with of a very 
inferior quality in the form of cylindrical sticks, which by pressure have become 
angular. 

Eighth, Indian Opium, divided into four kinds, Cutch, Malwa, Patna and 
Benares. Of these Cutch is but little known or cultivated. It occurs in small 
cakes covered with leaves, and its color is much inferior to Smyrna. Malwa 
opium is to be met with of two kinds. The inferior is in flattened cakes, without 
any external covering, dull, opaque, blackish brown externally, internally some- 
what darker, and soft. Its color is somewhat like the Sra3rrna, but less power- 
ful, and with a slight smoky smell. Superior Malwa is in square cakes, about 
three inches in length and one inch thick. It has the appearance of a well 
prepared, shining, dry, pharmaceutical extract ; its color is blackish brown, its 
odor less powerful than Smyrna ; it is not covered by petals as the following 
kinds are, but smeared with oil ; it is then rubbed with pounded petals. 

The Behar, Patna, and Benares Opium, being strictly in the hands of Govern- 
ment, no adulteration can take place, without a most extensive system of fraud; 
but it will not be uninteresting to trace the progress of the opium from the 
hands of the natives, to the condition in ^hich it is delivered to the public by 
the Government. 

From the commencement of the hot season to the middle of the rains the 
Government is ready to receive opium, which is brought by the natives every 
morning, in batches, varying in quantities from twenty seers to a maund. The 
examining officer into each jar thrusts his examining rod, which consists of a 
slit bamboo, and, by experience, be can so judge of the qualities of the speci- 
mens before him, which are sorted into lots of No. 1 to No. 4 quality. Opium 
of the first quality is of a fi le chesnut color, aromatic smell, and dense consis- 
tence. It is moderately ductile, and, when the mass is torn, breaks with a 
deeply notched fracture, with sharp needle-like fibres, translucent and ruby red 
at the edges. It is readily broken down under water, and the solution at first 
filtors of a sher'-y color, which darkens as the process proceeds. One hundred 
grains of this yield an extract to cold distilled water of from 35 to 45, and at 
the temperature of 212 degs., leaves from 20 to 28 per cent,, having a con- 
sistency of 70 to 72, the consistence of the factory. 

The second quality is inferior to the first, and the third quality is possessed 
of the following properties, black paste, of a very hea-vy smell, drops from 
the examining rod, gives off from 40 to 50 per cent, of moisture, and contains 
a large quantity of " Pasewa ;" while the fourth or last number embraces all 
the kinds which are too bad to be used in the composition of the balls, com- 
prising specimens cf all varieties of color and consistence. This number is 
mixed with water, and only used as a paste to cement the covering of 
the balls. 

The three first qualities are emptied from their jars into large tanks, in 
which they are kept until the supply of the season has been obtained. The 
opium is then removed and exposed to the air on shallow wooden frames, until 
it becomes of the consistency of from 69 to 70, when it is given to the cake 
maker, who guesses to a drachm the exact weight, ard envelops the opium in 
its covering of petals, cemented by a covering of quality number 4. The balls 
are then weighed and stored, to undergo a thorough ventilation and diying. 
Formerly the covering of the balls was composed of the leaves of tobacco ; but 



OPIUM. 



587 



the late Mr. Flemming introduced the practice of using the petals of the poppy, 
•\yhicb was such an improvement that the Court of Directors presented him 
with 50,000 rupees. The balls, forty in number, are packed in a mango wood 
case, which consists of two stories with twenty pigeon holes in each, lined with 
lath and surrounded by the dried leaves of the poppy. Sometimes these balls 
are so soft as to burst their skins, and much of the liquid opium running out, 
is lost. In 1823, many of the chests of Patna lost five catties from this cause, 
and to this day we have the same thing continuing to occur. Patna chests are 
covered with bullock hides, Benares with gunnies. 

Dr. Impej, staff surgeon at Poona, who resided in Malwa from 
1843 to 1846, published at Bombay, in 1848, a valuable treatise 
on the cultivation, preparation, and adulteration of Malwa opium. 
It was some time before he obtained the permission of the East 
India Company to publish the result of the experience he had 
acquired in Malwa, and as Government inspector of opium at 
Bombay. It is the most practical treatise I have yet met with, 
although a very elaborate, useful paper, by Mr. Little, surgeon, 
of Singapore, appears in the 2nd vol. of the " Journal of the 
Indian Archipelago," from which I have quoted the preceding 
remarks. 

Mr. Little furnishes a complete history of the drug, and the 
physical and mental effects resulting from its habitual use. There 
are also some able remarks in Dr. O'Shaughnessy's Bengal Dis- 
pensatory : — 

For the successful cultivation of opium, a mild climate, plentiful irrigation, 
a rich soil, and diligent husbandry, are indispensable. In reference to the first 
of these, Malwa is placed most favorably. The country is in general from 
1,300 to 2,OC0 feet above the level of the sea : the mean temperature is mode- 
rate, and range of the thermometer small. Opium is always cultivated in 
ground near a tank or running stream, so as to be insured at all times of an 
abundant supply of water. The rich black loam, supposed to be produced by 
the decomposition of trap, and known by the name of cotton soil, is that pre- 
pared for opium. Though fertile and rich enough to produce thirty successive 
crops of wheat without fallowing, it is not sufficiently rich for the growth of 
the poppy until largely supplied with manure. There is, in fact, no crop known 
to the agriculturist, unless sugar cane, that requires so much care and labor as 
the poppy. The ground is first four times ploughed on four successive days, 
then carefully harrowed ; when manure, at the rate of fr jm eight to ten cart 
loads an acre, is applied to it ; this is scarcely half what is allowed a turnip 
crop at home. The crop is after this watered once every eight or ten days, the 
total number of waterings never exceeding nine in all. One beegah takes two 
days to soak thoroughly in the cold weather, and four as the hot season ap- 
proaches. Water applied after the petals drop from the' flower, causes the 
whole to wither and decay. "WTien the plants are six inches high, they are 
weeded and thinned, leaving about a foot and a-half betwixt each plant ; in 
three months they reach maturity, and are then about four feet in height if 
well cultivated. The full-grown seed-pod measures three and a-half inches 
vertically, and two and a-half in horizontal diameter. Early in February and 
March the bleeding process commences. Three small lancet-shaped pieces of 
iron are bound together with cotton, about one-twelfth of an inch of the blade 
alone protruding, so that no discretion as to the depth of the wound to be in- 
flicted shall be left to the operator ; and this is drawn sharply up from the top 
of the stalk at the base, to the summit of the pod. The sets of people are so 
arranged that each plant is bled all over once every three or four days, 
the bleedings being three or four times repeated on each plant. This operation 
always begins to be performed about three or four o'clock in the afternoon, 
the hottest part of the day. The juice appears almost immediately on the 



588 



DRUGS, j?AECOTICS, ETC. 



wound being inflicted, in the shape of a thick gummy milk, which is thickly 
covered with a browaish pellicle. The exudation is greatest over night, when 
the incisions are washed and kept open by the dew. The opium thus derived 
is scraped off next morning, with a blunt ii'on tool resembling a cleaver in 
miniature. Here the work of adulteration begins — the scraper being passed 
heavily over the seed-pod, so as to carry with it a considerable portion of the 
beard, or pubescence, which contaminates the drug and increases its apparent 
quantity. The work of scraping begins at dawn, and must be continued till 
ten o'clock ; during this time a workman will collect seven or eight ounces of 
what is called " chick." The di'ug is next thi'own into an earthen vessel, and 
covered over or drowned in linseed oil, at the rate of two parts of oil to one 
of chick, so as to prevent evaporation. This is the second process of adul- 
teration — the ryot desiring to sell the drug as much drenched with oil as possi- 
ble, the retailers at the same time refusing to purchase that which is thinner 
than haK dried glue. One acre of well cultivated ground will yield from 
70 to 100 pounds of chick. The price of chick varies from three to six 
rupees a pound, so that an acre will yield from 200 to 600 rupees worth of 
opium at one crop. Three pounds of chick will produce about two pounds of 
opium, from a third to a fifth of the weight being lost in evaporation. It now 
passes into the hands of the Bunniah, who prepares it and brings it to market. 
From twenty-five to fifty pounds having been collected, is tied up in parcels in 
double bags of sheeting cloth, which are suspended from the ceilings so as to 
avoid air and light, while the spare linseed oil is allowed to drop through. 
This operation is completed in a week or ten days, but the bags are allowed to 
remain for a month or six weeks, during which period the last of the oil that 
can be separated comes away ; the rest probably absorbs oxygen and becomes 
thicker, as in paint. This process occupies from April to June or July, when 
the rain begins. The bags are next taken down and their contents carefully 
emptied into large vats from ten to fifteen feet in diameter, and six or eight 
inches thick. Here it is mixed together and worked up with the hands five or 
six hours, until it has acquired an uniform color and consistence throughout, 
become tough and capable of being formed into masses. This process is 
peculiar to Malwa. It is now made up into balls of from eight to ten ounces 
each, these being thrown, as formed, into a basket full of the chafi" of the seeds 
pod. It is next spread out on ground previously covered with leaves and stalks 
of the poppy ; here it remains for a week or so, when it is turned over and left 
further to consolidate, until hard enough to bear packing. It is ready for 
weighing in October or November, and is then sent to market. It is next 
packed in chests of loO cakes, the total cost of the drug at the place of pro- 
duction being about fourteen rupees per chest, including all expenses. About 
20,000 chests are annually sent from Malwa, at a prime cost charge of two 
lacs and 80,000 mpees. It may easily be supposed that manipulations so 
numerous, complex, and tedious, as those described, give the most ample 
opportunities for the adulteration to which the nature of the drug tempts the 
fraudulent dealer. 

In order to enable the cultivator to carry on his agricultural operations, he 
receives from time to time certain advances, the amount of which reaches 
in the aggregate to about one-half of the value of the estimated out-turn of pro- 
duce. If the land has been under cultivation in previous seasons, its average 
produce is known ; if it be new land, and considered by the Sub- Deputy Agent 
as eligible, then the cultivator, in addition to the usual advances, receives 
an advance of so much per biggah to enable him to bestow a certain 
amount of extra care in tilling and dressing the soil. The first advance is 
made on the completion of the agreement or bundobust, and this takes place 
in September and October. The second advance is made on the conpletion of 
the sowings in Xovember, and the final or Chook payment is made imme- 
diately after the delivery and weighing of the produce. Xothing therefore 
can be fairer to the cultivator than this system of advances ; he is subject to no 
sort of exacdon, in the shape of interest or commission on the money which he 
receives, and it puts within his power the certain means of making a fair profit 
by the exercise of common care and honesty. It is an established rule in the 



TOBACCO. 



589 



Agency that the cultivator's accounts of one season shall be definitiyely settled 
before the commencement of the next, and that no outstanding balances siiall 
remain over. When a cultivator has from fraud n(?gLected to bring produce to 
cover his advances, the balances due by him are at once recovered, if necessary 
by legal means ; whereas, if he can satisfactorily show that he has become a 
defaulter from calamity and uncontrollable circumstances, and that the liquida- 
tion of his debt is placed entirely beyond his power, his case is then made the 
subject of report to the Government by the Agent, with the request that the 
debt may be written otf to profit and loss. These provisions are most wise, for 
outstanding balance's may be made the means of oppression, and to their opera- 
tion may be traced a considerable amount of litigation and agrarian crime in 
the indigo districts of lower Bengal. It is clear that when such balances become 
so large that the cultivator cannot discharge them, he is no longer a free agent, 
but is perfectly su;)servient to the will of his creditor, for whom he must culti- 
vate whether he desire it or not. Such burdens may even be handed down from 
fatht-r to son. The I'airness of the Agency system, and the justice with which the 
cultivators are treated, are best evidenced by the readiness with which they come 
forward to cultivate, and also by the comparative rarity of agrarian crime, 
arising out of matters connected with the poppy cultivation, 

Opiiun is grown to some extent in Egypt ; 39,875 lbs. were 
produced in 1831, and sold at two dollars a pound. 

At the end of October, after the withdrawal of the N'ile waters 
the seed, mixed with a portion of pulverised earth, is sown in a 
strong soil, in furrows ; after fifteen days the plant springs up, 
and in two months has the thickness of a Turkish pipe, and a 
heiglit of tour feet ; the stalk is covered with long, oval leaves, 
and the fruit, which is greenish, resembles a small orange. 
Every morning before sunrise, in its progress to maturity, small 
incisiims are made in the sides of the fruit, from which a white 
liquor distils almost immediately, which is collected in a vessel ; 
it soon becomes black and thickish, and is rolled into balls, which 
are covered with the washed leaves of the plant ; in this state it 
is sold. The seeds are crushed for lamp oil, and the plant is used 
for fuel. 

A plant known in Jamaica under the name of bull hoof yields 
a narcotic which has been administered successfully in the shape 
of tincture and a syrup, instead of opium. This is the Muracuja 
ocellafa, or Passijiora muracuja^ of Swartz, an elegant climber, 
bearing bright scarlet blossoms. There is another species, ]}£. 
orbiculata, found in Hayti and other islands, which may be ex- 
pected to partake more or less of the properties of the former. 
The flowers are the parts most commonly employed. 

THE TOBACCO PLANT. 

Seyeral species of Nicotium furnish tobacco ; that chiefly used 
in Europe is procured from A^. Tabacum dLiidi its numerous varieties, 
a plant naturally inhabiting the hotter parts of North and South 
America. The popular narcotic furnished by tobacco is probably 
in more extensive use than any other, and its only rivals are opium 
and the betel-nut and leaf of the East. The herb for smoking 
was brought to England from Tobago, in the West Indies, or 
from Tobasco, in Mexico (w^hence tlie name), by Sir E-alph 



590 



DRUGS, TsAUCOTlCS, ETC. 



Lane, in 1586. Seeds were shortly after ijj trod need from the 
same quarter. 

"Tobacco, as used by man," says Du Tour, "gives pleasure 
to the savage and the philosopher, to the inhabitant of the 
burning desert and the frozen zone ; in short, its use, either in 
powder, to chew, or to smoke, is universal ; and for no other 
reason than a sort of convulsive motion (sneezing) produced by 
the first, and a degree of intoxication by the two last modes of use." 

Tobacco is an annual plant, attaining a height of six feet, 
having dingy red, funnel-shaped flowers, and viscid leaves. 
The leaves are the officinal part, and their active properties 
depend on a peculiar, oily-like alkaloid, called JN'icotin. The 
flavor and strength of tobacco depend on climate, cultivation, 
and the mode of manufacture. That most esteemed by the 
smoker is Havanna tobacco, but the Virginian is the strongest. 
The small Havanna cigars are prepared from the leaves of Nico- 
tium repanda, Syrian and Turkish tobacco from N. rustica, and 
fine Shiraz tobacco from N. persica. With the exception of 
the Macuba tobacco, which is cultivated in Martinique in a 
peculiar soil, the tobacco of Cuba is considered the finest 
in the world. That grown in the island of Trinidad is, how- 
ever, fully equal to it in quality, but all raised in the colony is 
generally consumed there, and is little known in the English 
market. This ought not to be the case, for no article would pay 
b etter. 

The Maryland is a very light tobacco, in thin yellow leaves ; 
that of Virginia is in large brown leaves, unctuous or somewhat 
gluey on the surface, having a smell very like the figs of Malaga; 
that of Havanna is in brownish light leaves, of an agreeable 
and rather spicy smell, — it forms, as I have already stated, the 
best cigars. The Carolina tobacco is less unctuous than the 
Virginian, but in the United States it ranks next to the Mary- 
land. The shag tobacco is dried to the proper point upon sheets 
of copper, and is cut up by knife-edged chopping stamps. 
There are said to be four kinds of tobacco reared in Virginia, 
viz., the sweet-scented, which is considered the best ; the hig 
and little, which follows next ; then the Frederick ; and, lastly, 
the one and all, the largest kind, and producing most in point 
of quantity. 

According to Loudon (" Encyclo. of Plants "), there are 
fourteen species of this genus, besides a few varieties. Lindley, 
however, enumerates 31, but many of these are mere showy 
species, adapted to flower gardens. I shall therefore follow 
chiefly Loudon's classification — 

1. N. Tabacum^ a native of several parts of America, but principally known 
aa Virginian tobacco, having a stem rising from four to six feet or more in 
height, bearing pink flowers. Of this there are three chief varieties known 
in America by the popular names of Orinoco, Broad -leaved and Narrow-leaved. 
Lindley enumerates eight varieties of iV. Tabacum. 

2. N. macrophylla^ or large-leaved tobacco, an ornamental annual, also with 
pink flowers, native of America, which rises to the height of six feet. 



TOBACCO. 



591 



3. y. friificosa, or shrubby tobacco, an ornamental evergreen shrub, native 
of China, vrith pink blossoms, which grows to about three feot. 

4. i\\ undulata, or suaveolens, sweet-scented or New Holland tobacco, a 
green house perennial, native of New South Wales, with white flowers, which 
is only two feet high. 

5. 1y. rustica. — The common green or English tobacco, an annual plant, 
native of America, producing white flowers, which seldom grows higher than 
three feet. 

6. JSf. paniculat or panicled tobacco, an annual plant bearing greenish 
yellow flowers, nr;tLve of Peru, rises to the height of three feet. 

7. X. glntinosa, or clammy-leaved tobacco, also an annual i)lant, native of 
Peru, growing tf> the height of four feet, with bright scarlet flowers. 

8. X plH:nbay aifolia^ or curled-leaved tobacco, an ornamental deciduous 
annual, native ui America, with white blossoms, rising to the height of 
twj feet. 

9. N. pusilla, or primrose-leaved tobacco, an ornam*"!ntal deciduous biennial, 
with white flowers, native of Vera Cruz, rising to three feet. 

10. X. quadrivalvis, four-valved, or Missouri tobacco, an ornamental annual, 
native of North America, with white flowers, seldom growing higher than two 
feet. 

11. N. nana, or rocky mount tobacco, a curious greenhouse annual, native 
of North America, with svhite blossoms, rising only three inches high. 

12. Langsdorffii, or Langsdorfl^'s tobacco, an ornamental annual, with 
greenish yellow flowers, native of Chili, reaching five feet high, 

13. N. cerinthoides, or honey-wort tobacco, an ornamental annual, with 
greenish yellow flowers, native country imknown. 

1 1. N. repanda, or Havanna tobacco, an annual with white flowers, native 
of Cuba, rising two feet high. 

There are a few species, natives of the Province of Buenos Ayres, which 
may be particularised. X. bonariensis, having white flowers ; X. glauca, yellow- 
ish'green flowers ; .N'. longiflora, «hite flowers ; and X. viscosa, pink flowers. 

The important mineral substances presented in Havanna 
tobacco, examined by Hertung, are in 100 parts of ashes, 

Salts of potash 34-15 

Salts of lime 51-38 

Magnesia 4-09 

Phosphates 9-04 

These substances were for the most part insoluble in earth, and 
must have been dissolved during the growth of the crop. 



ANALYSIS 


OF FIVE 


SAMPLES 


OF TOBACCO 








No. 1. 


No. 2. 


No. 3. 


No. 4. 


No. 5. 


Grown on argillaceous soil. 




Grown on 


calcareous soil. 


Potash 


29-08 


30-67 


9-68 


9-36 


10-37 




2-26 








•36 




27-67 


24-79 


49-28 


49-44 


39-53 


Magnesia .... 


7-22 


8-57 


14-58 


15-59 


15-04 


Chloride of sodium . 


•91 


5-95 


4-61 


3-20 


6-39 


Chloride of potassium 






4-44 


3-27 


2-99 


Phosphate of iron 


8-78 


6-03 


5-19 


6-72 


7-56 


Sulphate of lime 


6-43 


5-60 


6-68 


6-14 


9-42 




17-65 


18-39 


5-54 


6-28 


8-34 




100- 


100- 


100- 


100- 


100- 



Erom the above it will be seen that on the argillaceous soil 
the tobacco contained a large quantity of alkalies and silica, 
while on the other hand, the lime, magnesia and chlorides were 
high in proportion, in the tobacco grown on calcareous soil. 



529 



DErGS, ITAECOTICS, ETC. 



There is no doubt that the maaure which coatains the largest 
proportion of alkaline carbonate, magncisia, lime and gjpsiini, is 
that best adapted for tobacco. 

I give an analysis taken from Prof Johnston's " Lectures," 
(2nd edition) of the ash of the tobacco leaf and the composition 
of a special manure for tobacco : — 

All the ingredients ^vllieh. are 
necessary to replace 100 lbs. 
of the ash of tobacco leaves 
are present in the following 
mixture : — 
Bone dust, sulphuric acid 23 lbs. 
Carbonate of potash (dry) 31 „ 
Carbonate of soda (dry) 5 „ 
Carbonate of Magnesia 25 „ 
Carbonate of lime (chalk) 6u 

144 „ 

The following is the result of an analysis of the fresh leaves of 
tobacco, by Posselt andE/Cimann 3Iag. Pharm." xxiv. xxv.) : — 



Potash 


12.14 


Soda 


0.u7 


Lime 


45.90 


Magnesia 


13.09 


Chloride of sodium 


3.49 


Chloride of potassium 


3.98 


Phosphate of iron 


5.48 


Phosphate of lime ... 


1.49 


Sulpnate of hme 


6.3J 


Silica 


8.01 




100.00 



Nicotine 

jS"icotianine 

Extractive matter, slightly bitter 
Gum, with a little malate of hme 

Grreen resin 

Vegetable albumen 

Substance analogous to gluten 

Malic acid 

Malate of ammonia 



0 06 

0-01 

237 

174 

0-26 

0-26 

1-04 

0-51 

0-12 

Sulphate of potash 0-04 

Chloride of potassium 

Potash combir-ed vrith malic and nitric acids . . 

Phosphate oi hme 

Lime m union with malic acid 

Sihca 

"Woody fibre 

Water (traces of starch) 



0-06 
0-90 
0-16 
U-24 
0U8 
4-96 
87-21 

100-1 

Dr. Covell, in "Silliman's American Jouimal," vol. yii., shows 
its components to have been but imperfectly represented in the 
above Grerman analysis. He found in tobacco by chemical 
examination — 1, gum; 2, a viscid slime, equally soluble in water 
and alcohol, and precipitable from both by subacetate of lead ; 
3, tannin ; 4, gallic acid ; 5, chlorophyle (leaf green) ; 6, a green 
pulverulent matter, which dissolves in boiling water, but falls 
down again when the water cools ; 7, a yellow oil, possessing the 
smell, taste and poisonous qualities of tobacco ; 8, a large quan- 
tity of a pale yellow resin ; 9, nicotine ; 10, a white substance, 
analogous to morphia, soluble in hot, but hardly in cold alcohol ; 

11, a beautiful orange red dj'e stuff, soluble only in acids ; it 
deflagrates in the fire, and seems to possess neutral properties ; 

12, nicotianine. Accordino: to Buchner, the seeds of tobacco 



TOBACCO. 



593 



yield a pale yellow extract to alcohol, which contains a compound 
of nicotine and sugar. 

M. M. Henry and Boutron Charlard found in 100 parts of 



Caba tobacco . . 
Maryland . . . . 

Virginia 

lie et Vilaine . . 
Lot et Graronne 



8'6i of nicotine. 

5-28 
1000 
11-20 

8-20 



quantities from 12 to 19 times more than were obtained by 
Posselt and Eeimann. — " lire's Dictionary of Arts and Manu- 
factures," 

The following are the results of a series of experiments made 
by Messrs. Cooper and Brande, for the purpose of ascertaining 
the quantity of soluble matter in eight samples of tobacco, of 
detecting the presence and quantity of sugar contained in them, 
and the nature and relative proportions of their inorganic con- 
stituents. An important paper on the state in which Nicotine 
exists in tobacco, and on the relative proportion of it furnished 
by different varieties of the plant, has been furnished by 
Schloessing (" Ann. Ch. et Ph. " 3ieme Ser. XIX. 230). 



Tobacco diicd 
at 212 dcg3. 


Per cent, of extract, Kc. 
soluble in water. 


Per cent, of woody fibre 
&c. insoluble in water. 


Jter cent, of ash after 
treatment with carbonate 
of ammonia. 


Per cent, of matter so- 
luble in water in the 
ash. 


Per cent, of matter so- 
luble in hydrochloric acid 
in the ash. 


Per cent, of insoluble | 
matter, as silica, &c. in 
the ash. 


Per cent, of alcohol ob- 
tained from fermented in- 
fusion. 


Per cent, of saccharine 
matter deduced from the 
obtained alcohol. 


1. 


Ligbt Missouri i 
leaf and stalk j 


49 


54-t 


20-97 
white 


2-17 


11-73 


59 






2. 


Light Missouri "I 
leaf only J 


50 


47-7 


19-7 

white 


1-77 


12-83 


5-1 


0-75 


1-50 


3. 


Dark Missouri \ 
leaf and stalk j 


50 


52-4 


16-47 

whit t 


4-2 


10-14 


2-13 






4. 


Dark Missouri | 
leaf only j 


51 


50-6 


13-8 

white 


2-17 


8-73 


2-9 


0-35 


0-71 


5. 
6. 


Light Virginia \ 
leaf and stalk j 

Light Virginia | 
leaf only j 


51-5 
54 


531 
46-] 


16-4 
gray, 
white 
11-97 
green- 


2-53 
20 


8 54 
6.86 


5-33 
3-11 


1-015 


209 


7. 


Dark Virginia i 
leaf and stalk ] 


48-5 


51-8 


gray 

14-7 

gray 


4-8 


8-40 


1-5 






8. 


Dark Virginia | 
leaf only ] 


52 


49-8 


12 53 

gray 


2-63 


8-20 


1-7 


1-46 


2-93 



594 



DRUGS. >'AECOTICS, ETC. 



1. The samples were dried and the -woody fihre and extract were also dried 
at 212 degs. The watery infusions of all contained ammoniacal salts. The 
salts from the ash, which were soluble in water, consisted of sulphates, car- 
bonates, phosphates, and chlorides ; the bases being potassa and lime. The 
solution by hydrochloric acid contained lime, alumina, phosphate of lime, and 
oxide of iron. 

3. Contained oxide of manganese in small quantity; sulphates in watery 
solution of ash abundant. Hydrochloric solution contained an abundance 
of lime. 

4. A trace of manganese ; a trace only of phosphoric acid in watery solution. 

5. Contained abundance of oxide of manganese. 

6. Abundance of oxide of manganese. 

7. A mere trace of oxide of manganese, and a trace of oxide of iron ; only 
a trace of alumina. 

8. A trace of oxide of manganese ; quantity of oxide of iron rery great ; 
only a trace of alumina. 

In ricli loams, wliere the solution of ttie minerals of tlie soil 
is rapid, and where 10 to 20 per cent, of vegetable matter is in- 
corporated in the earth, tobacco may be obtained for many years, 
but it is always an exhausting crop. It has been stated that 
170 lbs. of mineral matter are removed in less than three months 
from one acre of land, by a crop of tobacco. This is very much 
more than wheat or other grains abstract from the soil in eight 
or nine months. 

Tobacco is now very extensively cultivated in France and other 
European countries, in the Levant, the East and AVest Indies ; 
and a little is grown at the Cape and in the Australian Settle- 
ments. 

A good deal of tobacco is raised in 3Iexico, but only for 
home consumption, as its export is prohibited. It forms an 
article of culture in Brazil and some of the South American 
republics, and is grown to a small extent along the Western shores 
of Africa. It is from Xorth America, however, that we derive 
the bulk of our supplies of this great article of commerce, which, 
with cotton, forms the chief agricultural wealth of the E^nited 
States. 

In 1S21, the tobacco exported from the Brazils amounted to 
29,192,000 lbs., but its cultivation was greatly injured by the 
siege of the capital in 1822-23. Eresh seed was subsequently 
obtained from Cuba, and in 1835 tbe exports were 6.051,010 lbs. 

131 cases of Princeza snufl" were shipped from Bahia to Lisbon, 
in 1835 ; about 60,000 lbs. per annum of this snuff being now 
manufactured at Bahia, with the aid of two steam-engines. The 
exports of tobacco from Bahia increased from 2,018,000 lbs. in 
1833, to 6,051,040 lbs. in 1835. The average shipments are about 
21,000 bales and rolls. 

The army of smokers in Grreat Britain and Ireland consume 
yearly about six milhons of pounds worth of tobacco. The duty 
alone paid upon snuff and tobacco for the people of Grreat Britain, 
averages four-and-a-half milhons sterling a year ! The quantity 
consumed — smoked, snuffed, or chewed — during the same period, 
is about 28 milhons of poimds weight, or about four pounds weight 
per annum for every male adult. Ireland annually pays not less 



TOBACCO. 



595 



than £809,000 of duty on tobacco and snuff, and only about 
£30,000 on coffee. For eyery pound of coffee tliat the Irish 
people use, they smoke away obou-t four pounds of tohacco. 

North America produces annually upwards of 200 million 
pounds. The combustion of the mass of vegetable material used 
in this kingdom would yield about 340 million pounds of carbonic 
acid gas ; so that the yearly produce of carbonic acid gas from 
tobacco smoking alone cannot be less than 1,000,000,000 lbs. — 
a large contribution to the annual demand for this gas made 
upon the atmosphere for the vegetation of the world. Hence- 
forth let no one twit the smoker with idleness and unimportance. 
Every pipe is an agricultural furnace, — every smoker a manu- 
facturer of vegetation, — the consumer of a weed that he may 
rear more largely his own provisions. 

In the year 1842, 605,000,000 of cigars were made in the 
German Commercial Union. 

In 1839, the revenue on tobacco in this country was about 
£3,600,000. Of this it has been estimated eleven-twelfths are 
drawn from the working classes, and one-twelfth from the richer 
classes. The following is a calculation of the consumption of 
tobacco per head of the population, estimated from the number 
of pounds on which duty was paid : — 

Consumption per head. 
Kate of duty. 0Z3. 

1801 !}'n-in"!ff''f 1 " 

\ Is. 0 7-lOd. Ireland, j 

1811 2s. 2 13-20J. 19^ 

1821 -is. Od. 1145 

1831 3s. Od. 32 35 

IStl 3s. 1 8-lOd. 12 4-5 

1851 3s. 1 4.-5d. 21 

Thus it will be seen the consumption is materially affected by 
the rate of duty. 

A memorial presented to the Eirst Lord of the Treasury a few 
years ago, by the American Chamber of Commerce, and signed 
by Mr. Thomas Todd, the chairman, furnishes some valuable in- 
formation, and I am therefore tempted to give it entire : — 

The American Chamber of Commerce of Liverpool desire respectfully to bring 
under the consideration of her Majesty's Government the impolicy of the 
present high rate of duty on foreign tobacco, and the benefit to commerce, as 
well as to the revenue, which would arise from such a reduction as would 
remove the temptation now held out to the smuggler. 

The cost of tobacco, including freight and all charges, is f) om 3d. to 4d, per 
lb., and the duty is 3s. per lb., being 900 per cent, on the value. A duty so 
enormously disproportioned to the cost offers an irresistible premium to the 
illicit trader ; for the expense of smuggling tobacco by the cargo, including the 
first cost, does not exceed 9|d. per lb., and it has been ascertained that the 
smuggler receives 6d. per lb, less than the duty, or 2s. 6d. per lb., which yields 
him a clear piofit of Is. Sid. per lb,, to the injury not only of the revenue, but 
of the fair trader. 

The effect of this heavy duty in diminishing the consumption of duty-paid 
tobacco is further exemplified by the fact that, while all other articles of general 
consumption have progressively increased with the increase of the population, 
tobacco alone forms an exception, as will appear from the following : — 

2 Q 2 



596 



DEUGS, Is'ARCOTICS, ETC. 



Coffee. 


Tobacco. 


19d. per lb. 


I9d. per lb 


& 12| per ct. 


& 12| per ct. 


871,846 


16,895,752 


8d. per lb. 


26|d. per lb. 




91 ^'yfi 9'7n 
^i,o/ D,o / U 


12d. per lb. 


46. per lb. 


7,593,001 


1,823,365 


6d. per lb. 


3s. per lb. 


22,740,627 


19,418,941 


6d. per lb. 


3s. per'lb. 


28,420980 


22,094,772 



Comparative Scale of Population and Consumption op Tea, Coffee, 
AND Tobacco, in G-eeat Bkitain and Ieeland, Compiled from Par- 
liamentary Papers. 

Population. Tea. 
1801 16,338,102 

Duty, 65 a 95 per ct. 

Lbs., 23,163,999 
1811 18,547,720 
Duty i 96 per cent. 

Lbs., 24,461,308 
1821 21,193,458 
Duty, 96al00perct. 

Lbs., 26,043,257 
1831 24,271,763 
Duty 96al00 per ct. 

Lbs., 30,648,348 
1841 26,855,928 
Duty, 26id. per lb. 

Lbs., 36,396,073 

The consumption of tobacco in tbe island of Great Britain, excluding Irelandj 
and the duty thereon, were in 

Consumption. Duty. 

1801 10,514,998 lbs Is. 7d. 

1811 14,923,243 „ 2s. 2|d. 

1821 12,983,198 „ 4s. Od. 

1831 15,350,018 „ 3s. Od. 

1841 16,083,593 „ 3s. Od. 

1851 28,062,841 „ 3s. Od. 

In the last two periods five per cent is added to all the duties. 
Thus, while the consumption of tea and coffee has increased even beyond 
the ratio of the population, the consumption of tobacco has decreased. 

This table also exemplifies the greater productiveness of a low duty com- 
pared with a high one; for instance, coffee in 1801, at Is. 7d. per lb., yielded 
£77,654; in 1821, at Is. per lb., £379,650; and, in 1841, at 6a. per lb., £7i0,524; 
tobacco in 1821, at 4s. per lb., yielded £3,164,673, and 1841, at 3s. per lb., 
£3,314,215. But the difference in duty in the latter case was not sufficient to 
curtail the profits of the smuggler to any material extent. 

Cigars afford a remarkable example of the amount of duty being increased 
by diminishing the rate. In 1828, when the duty was 18s. per lb., duty was 
paid on 8,600 lbs. only, yielding £7,740. In 1830, when the duty was reduced 
to 9s. per lb., duty was paid on 66,000 lbs., yielding £29,700; and such has 
been the increase of consumption, that, in 1841, duty was paid on 213,613 lbs., 
yielding £100,899. 

"We would further illustrate the position by the following facts : 
In 1798, Ireland, with a population of 4,000,000, consumed 8,000,000 lbs. 
of tobacco, and now, with more than double the population, she consumes about 
3,000,000 lbs. of tobacco less than at the former period. The reason is obvious : 
in 1789 the duty was 8d. per lb ; now it is 3s. In 1798, England and Scotland, 
with a population of 10,000,000, consumed 10,000,000 lbs. of tobacco, being one 
half of the relative consumption of Ireland at the same period ; the duty in 
England and Scotland being then Is. 7d. per Jb., and m Ireland only 8d. 

But the quantity of tobacco on which duty is paid does not even approxi- 
mately show the quantity consumed. If the duty now paid on tobacco in the 
United Kingdom retained the same relative proportion to the population that it 
held in Ireland in 1798, the duty in 1841 would have been actually levied 
upon 53,711,856 lbs., instead of 22,094,772 lbs. ; and such we believe to be 
about the actual amount of consumption, the gieat bulk of the supply being 
furnished by the illicit trader. 

In Prussia, it appears that the consumption of tobacco is at the rate of three 



TOBACCO. 



597 



pounds per head; while, in England, if vre were to judge from the amount on 
which duty is paid, it is considerably less than one pound per head. 

Assuming the actual consumption at only 45,000,000 lbs., or two pounds per 
head, we believe that a reduction of duty to Is. per pound would so effectually 
destroy the illicit trader, that the revenue would gain by the change, not only 
by bringing upwards of 30,000,000 lbs. under duty, which at present escape, 
but by the great increase of the consumption consequent upon the encourage- 
ment given to the fair trader. 

We would not, however, treat the question merely as a matter of revenue. 
We would strongly represent the injustice which this exorbitant duty inflicts 
upon those who pursue a legitimate trade, by enabling the smuggler to lessen 
the extent of their transactions by more than half what they would otherwise 
be ; and we would further earnestly urge upon your consideration the demoral- 
ising tendency of such a systematic and extended violation of the law, not only 
upon those engaged in the illicit trade, also upon those parties who are 
found to connive at the practice from a sense of the gross injustice and impolicy 
of a duty so disproportioned to the value of an article of such extensive 
onsumption. 

We would refer to the opinion of a committee of the House of Commons on 
the growth of tobacco in Ireland, in 1840, as follows : — ' That it further ap- 
pears, from the evidence, that smuggling of foreign tobacco is at present 
carried on to a great extent, and that all the measures now adopted, at great 
expense to the country, are and will be ineff'ectual to repress it so long as the 
temptation of evading a duty equal to twelve times the value of the article on 
which it is imposed, remains.' 

We beg, therefore, respectfully to express our opinion, that if the duty on 
tobacco were reduced to one shilling per pound, it would be alike beneficial to 
the interests of legitimate commerce ; to the consumers, who consist almost 
entirely of the poorer classes ; to the revenue, by increasing the productiveness 
of the duty, and by greatly diminishing the expenditure so ineffectually incurred 
to suppress the illicit trade ; and to the general morals of society by removing 
a powerful inducement to infringe the laws. 



The imports of all kinds of tobacco for the last five years have 
been as follows : — 





1848. 


1849. 


1850. 


1851. 


1852. 




lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 




31,090,360 


41,546,848 


35,166,358 


31,061,953 


33,205,635 


Manufactured and suuif ... 


1,512,714 


1,905,303 


1,557,518 


2,331,886 


2,930,299 




35,603,07-i 


43,452,154 


38,723,876 


33,393,839 


36,135,934 


Gross duty received 












1848. 


1849. 


1850. 


1851. 


1852. 




£ 


£ 


£ 


£ 


£ 




4,267,579 


4,328,217 


4,337,258 


4,386,910 


4,466,533 




97,655 


96,814 


92,873 


98,858 


94,293 




4,365,234 


4,425,031 


4,430,131 


4,485,768 


4,569,831 



The amount of tobacco consumed is so limited that the trade 
will not admit of an excessive growth. In tlie two most thickly 
populated countries in Europe — France and England — not more 
than a certain quantity finds its way there. In Erance the trade is 
monopolised by Government, which gives out contracts to deliver 
a stipulated quantity at certain prices ; in England the duty im- 
posed is so enormous that only a limited quantity of certain 
descriptions can be imported without risk of loss. In G-ermany and 
Holland, where the trade is more extensively carried on than else- 
where, the daty imposed is almost nominal, and all classes of their 
citizens are enabled to use the weed at prices very little higher 
than its first prime cost. The tobacco trade constitutes so large 



598 



DErOS, NAECOTICS, ETC. 



a staple of American produce that it is singular greater efforts are 
not made upon the part of that Grovernment to cause a reciprocal 
duty to be imposed, that more favor may be shown by European 
Governments to this particular article. England, from the duty 
imposed upon it alone, derives a revenue of £4,500,000, being 
about £160 to the hogshead, or from ten to sixteen times its 
original cost. Erance makes the trade a monopoly, from which 
he derives an income of £3,000,000 sterling. 



STATEMENT OF EVIPORTS, SALES, AXD STOCKS OF TOBACCO AND STEMS, IN 
BREMEN, FROM 1840 TO 1850. 





MAETLAND. 


TIBaiNIAN. 


KENTTJCKT. 


STEMS. 






aj 
O 


m 

.2 


Ic last. 


^ 3 


03 

o 






H 


o 




-£ 


k 1st 
uarv, 

orts. 


3. 


-a £ 






ft 

B 


Is 

CQ 


s § 


1 5 




OQ 


O c 


2 5 


ft 

a 


OQ 


i 

S. a- 




CO 


SI 




















'^4 






SP 








1840 


4,890 


14,570 


18,399 


1,061 


245 


3492 


3422 


285 


181 


3,803 


3,699 


285 


2853 '3362 


45&1 


1651 


1841 


1,061 


19,629 


18,321 


2,369 


285 


3466 3025 


726 


285 


5,206 


4,941 


550 


1651 7085 


7054 


1682 


1842 


2,369 


20,821 


19,067 


4.123 


726 


6729 5898 


1557 


550 


9,407 


8,939 


1018 j 1682 4151 


5386 


44i7 


1843 


4,123 


18,483 


15,004 


7;602 


1557 


5541 4242 2856 


1018 


7,485 


6,44ll2062 


447 3969 


3447 


969 


1844 


7,602 


16,978 


18,338 


6,242 2856 


5092 4282 3666 


2062 


9,736 


9,569 


2229 


969:4753 


5513 


209 


1845 


6,242 


24,251 


24,571 


5,922 


3666 


1538 3099 


2155 


2269 


11,439 


10,328 33401 209,n273 


41 52 1 1330 


1846 


5,922 


26,785 


23,788 


8,919 2155 


2336 245612035 


3340 


5,028 


6,099 


22691 133018092 4716 


2706 


1847 


8,919 


21,743 


20,681 


9,981 20S5 


911 2079 


917 


2269 


3,816 


5,013 '1072 12706 16788 8038 1456 


1848 


9,981 


12,084 


9,935 


12,130 917 


847 


1054 


710 


1072 


4,44-8 


4.980 


540 1456;4912;4473 


1895 


1849 


12,130 


19,285 


22,112 


9,303' 710 


1173 1734 


149 


540 


4,620 


4;746! 414|l895!5188i508311000 



Culture and Statistics in the United States. — Tobacco has been 
the great staple of the States of Virginia and Maryland from their 
first settlement. About the year 164*2 it became a royal monopoly, 
and afterwards, in order to encourage its growth in the colonies, 
and thereby increase the revenue of the Crown, Parliament pro- 
hibited the planting of it in England. The average quantity 
shipped from the North American colonies to the parent country, 
for ten years preceding the year 1709, was about twenty-nine 
millions of pounds. Eor some years prior to the American revo- 
lution, about 85,000 hhds. were exported, then valued at little 
more than four millions of dollars, and constituting nearly one- 
third the value of aU the exports of the British JSTorth American 
colonies. Erom 1820 to 1830 tobacco constituted about one-ninth 
in value of all the domestic exports of the United States. It finds 
a market principally in Great Britain, Erance, Holland, and the 
north of Europe.* The crop of tobacco produced in the four 
principal States, was in — 

1838. 1839. 

hhds. hhds. 
Virginia . . . 26,000 . . . 45,000 
Kentucky . . . 27,000 . . . 35,000 
Maryland . . . 16,000 . . . 16,000 
Ohio .... 3,000 . . . 4,000 

72,000 100,000 
* Pitkins' Statistics of the United States. 



TOBACCO. 



599 



The whole crop of 1840 was 219,163,319 lbs., which, at the 
estimate of 1,200 lbs. to the hhd., would be equal to 182,636 hhds., 
and at the average price of that year, 81 dollars 5 cents, per hhd., 
would make the value of the crop of the United States 14,802,647 
dollars 80 cents. The average annual export for the ten vears 
ending with 1840, was 96,775 hhds. The actual exportation of 
1840 was 119,484 hhds. The principal exports are formed of the 
produce of Yii'ginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, and Xorth 
Carolina. The exports are chiefly to the following countries — 
about 30,000 hhds. annuallv to England, 15,000 hhds. to France, 
20,000 hhds. to Holland, 25,000 hhds. Germany, and about 22,000 
hhds. to other countries. The whole crop for 1845 was put down 
at 187,422,000 lbs. In 1839, it was ascertained that one and a 
half million persons were engaged in the cultivation and manufac- 
ture of tobacco in the United States, one million of whom were 
so occupied in the States of Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and 
MissourL In the cit}^ of Xew York the consumption of cigars is 
computed at 10,000 dollars a day, a sum greater than that whicli 
the inhabitants pay for their daily bread ; and in the whole country 
the anuual consumption of tobacco is estimated at 120 million 
pounds, being 7 lbs. for every man, woman, and child, at an annual 
cost to the consumers of 20 million dollars (more than four 
million pounds sterling) . 

It is estimated that the manufacture of tobacco in the United 
States is increasing at the rate of 2,000 hhds. per annum. 

hhds. 

The quantity manufactured in 1851, was stated at 5.5,000 
Exportations for the year estimated at . . 120,000 

175,000 

The production for 1852 is supposed to be as follows : — 

hhds. 

Virginia . . . . . . 27,000 

Maryland ...... 33,000 

"Western States, including frosted . . . 65,000 

Total production .... 125,000 
Deficiency in the year's crop . . 50,000 

The quantity produced in the United States, in 1847, was 
220,164.000 lbs., worth, at 5 cents per lb., nearly 11 million dollars 
(more than two million sterling). The principal producing States 
were — Kentucky, 65 million lbs.; A^irgiuia, 50 millions ; Tennessee, 
35 millions ; Xorth Carolina, 14 millions ; Ohio, 9 millions ; 
Indiana, 4 millions ; Illinois, Connecticut, and a few others in 
smaller proportions. 

The production in 1848 was 218,909,000 lbs., which, valued at 
four cents per lb., would be worth nine million dollars. From 
persons largely interested in the tobacco trade, and well informed 
in relation thereto, I have gathered the following general 
statements : — 

The crops of tobacco to come to market in the year 1851, were esiimated as 
follows — 



600 



DECUS, ^'ARCOTICS, ETC. 



Yirgini-i 30,000 

Keutuoky, Tennessee, and Misscnri, about . 50,000 

Maryland, about ..... 22,000 

Ohio, about ..... 14,000 

From the above estimate it will be seen that tbe quantity produced in 1850 
is less than two-thirds of the usual production in the States named. The en- 
tire crop of Virginia ^\ill be required for home consumption. About 15,000 
hhds. Kentucky, and 5,000 hhds. Maryland will also be wanted for home use. 
Owing to the increase of population by immjgration and otherwise, the domestic 
consumption, which was a few years ago so small as not to bo considered worthy 
of notice, has now increased to a xery important item, and affords a steady home 
market for a large portion of the production. 

The quantity of MaryLmd tobacco left for export to Bremen and Holland, in 
1851, will only be about 17,000 hhds., wMch is not more than half the amount 
usually shipped to these countries erery year. 

Of the Kentucky tobacco contracted for last year by France and Spain, 
through their age ..is in this country, less than one third has yet been purchased, 
and those governments vrill this year require the deficiency to be made up, in 
addition to their annual average supply, wliicb, with the quantity required for 
England, will take the entire crop, leaving nothing for the rest of Europe, 
Africa, South America, the West Indies, kc. The tobacco markets throughout 
the world are in a much more healthy C')nditian than ha^ ever been known, and 
it is thought prices will rule very high the coming season. InMar;\iand, while 
the production has been not more than half an average crop, the price is nearly 
three times as high as usual ; so that the planter will receive more for his 
diminished crops than in ordinary seasons of plenty. 



QUANTITY OF TOBACCO EXPORTED ANNUALLY FPwOM 1821 TO 1850. 



Exports 


for Tear 


ending 


hhds. 


Stocks in 


Europe, year ending 


hlids. 


September 30th, 1821 . 


. 66,850 


December 31 st. 


1 821 . 




J? 


5) 


1822 


. 83,169 


M 




1822 . 




y> 


J» 


1823 ! 


. 99,000 






1823 . 






?J 


1824 . 


. 77,889 


?> 




1824 . 




J) 


J> 


1825 . 


. 75,986* 


?> 




1825 . 








1826 . 


. 64,099 


)> 


1826 . 




jr 


75 


1827 . 


. 100,020 




»> 
>> 


1827 . 






>) 


1828 . 


96,279 


»> 


1828 . . 


69,485 




iJ 


1829 . 


. 77,136 


>> 




1829 . 


63,670 


)» 


>> 


1830 . 


83,810 






1830 . 


50,672 






1831 . 


. 86,718 




)? 


1831 . 


54,690 






1832 . 


. 106,800 




) J 


1832 . 


61,868 




?? 


1833 . 


. 83,153 




M 


1833 . 


50,543 




ji 


1834 . 


. 87,979 


J5 


1834 . 


53,413 


fJ 
)> 


5> 


1835 . 


. 94,353 




)> 


1835 . 


57,458 


)> 


1836 . 


. 109,042 






1836 . 


68.918 


7> 




1837 . 


. 100,232 


)> 




1837 . 


38,703 


M 


fJ 


1838 . 


. 100,593 






1838 . 


31,067 


>> 


>J 


1839 . 


. 78,995 






1839 . 


38,715 


>) 


>> 


1840 . 


. 119,484 


)7 


)> 


1840 . 


37,623 


J> 




1841 . 


. 147,828 


J> 


>) 


1841 . 


50,880 


5> 




1842 . 


. 158,710 




1842 . 


62,496 


June 30 (9 ms.) 1843 . 


. 9^,454 


)? 


>' 


1843 . 


91,196 


» 


(12 ms 


.) 1844 . 


. 163,042 




)? 


1844 . 


88,973 




5> 


1845 . 


. 147,168 




5) 


1845 . 


91,213 


JJ 


>J 


1846 . 


. 147.998 




)) 


1846 . 


100,774 


J) 


JJ 


1847 . 


. 135,762 






1847 . 


88,858 


j> 


?5 


1848 . 


. 130,665 




?> 


1848 . 


80,391 


V 


V 


1849 . 


. 101.521 




)) 


1849 . 


70,527 


JJ 


>> 


1850 . 


. 145,729 


J? 




1850 . 


66,777 



It is a curious fact that, notwithstanding the variety of climate and soil in 



TOBACCO. 



601 



the northern State?, every State and territory in the Union produces some 
tobacco. In many of the States its cultiyation is, of course, a secondary object, 
and perhaps in several it is attended to as a mere matter of curiosity ; but in most 
of the States, probably a sufficient quantity has been grown, to show that with 
attention to this object, it might, in case of necessity, be resorted to as a profit- 
able crop. The States in which the great bulk of the crop is grown lie between 
the latitudes of about 34 and 40 degrees. 

There is a considerable increase of consumption of American tobacco in 
Europe, as well as in the United States, which should encourage the planters 
of Virginia and Xorth Carolina to cultivate this article more abundantly than 
they have done for several years past ; and, since the home manufacture has 
increased so much, and the Virginia tobacco is preferred in many parts of the 
European markets, they may safely count on getting good prices for many years 
to come. 

It is not in the power of Virginia to make any three years together more 
than 56,000 hhds., even with good seasons, and 30,000 hhds. annually of this 
will be wanted by our manufacturers. 

The planters, then, should enrich their lands, and aim to make full crops. 

The increased consumption in Europe is three per cent., and in the United 
States four per cent, per anniircu 

The crop of the United States from 1840 to 1850 inclusive — say 11 years — • 
averaged about 100,000 hhds. ; this embraces the large crops of 1842-43-44. 

The consumption of Europe from 1829 to 1838 was 96,826 hhds. — it is 
now 130,000. 

An account of the quantities of unmanufactured tobacco, manu- 
factured called negro-bead, and cigars, imported into the United 
Kingdom in 1850 : — 



Countries from whence imported. Unmanufactured. Manufactured. 

United States of America . . . 30,173,444 .. 1,191 001 

Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador 895,623 .. 527 

Brazil 12,138 56,802 

Peru 8,649 .. 6 

Cuba 589,627 .. 153,819 

British "West Indies, including Dem- 

erara and Honduras . . . 26,169 .. 3,242 

British Territories in the East Indies 14,500 . . 25,332 

Philippine Islands .... 12,233 . . 51,210 

Hongkong and China . . . 2,706 . . 2,340 

Turkey, Syria, and Egypt . . 140,361 . . 2,882 

Malta 13,028 . . 7,818 

Italy, Sardinian Territories . . 431,939 . . 17 

Gibraltar 7 . . 3,063 

Spain 307,641 .. 1,100 

France 29,950 .. 1,521 

Channel Islands .... 149 . . 1,342 

Belgium 29,922 .. 6,579 

Holland 2,418,732 .. 9,078 

Hanseatic Towns .... 50,610 .. 36,680 

Other parts 8,930 .. 1,980 



Total unmanufactured . . . 35,166,358 1,556,321 
Ditto manfactured . . . 1,556,321 

Snuff . . . 1,197 



Total . . . 36,723,876 

From the tobacco circulars of Messrs. Clagett, Son, and Co., 
leading brokers of London, dated Eeb., 1st, 1850, I take the 
following extracts : — 

The exhaustion of the stock has resulted from the concurrence of a gradually 



G02 



DEUGS, IfAECOTICS, ETC, 



decreasing supply and increasing consumption, which, may be very clearly per- 
ceiyed by a reference, first to the official returns from New Orleans of the yearly 
receipts of the western crops in each of the last seven years ; and secondly, to 
the consumption of American tobacco in Great Britain and Ireland in the years 
1847, 1848, and 1849, as compared with that of 1840, 1841, and 1842. SVe 
have no means of exhibiting with similar accuracy the relative consumption of 
Continental Europe in the latter as compared with the former part of these last 
ten years, but it is quite reasonacio ic assume that the increase, where there has 
been little or no duty, must have gone on more rapidly than it has done here, 
under the restraining force of a duty of 800 to 900 per cent. 

The deliveries from London and Liverpool, independently of those from 
Scotland, Bristol, and Newcastle, for the use of Great Britain and Ireland, have 
been as follows:— In 1840, 15,037 hhds.; 1841, 15,019 hhds.; 1842, 15,468 
hhds. ; 1847, 18,091 hhds.; 1848, 18,595 hhds. ; 1849, 18,738 hhds. 

The highest estimates we have SL-en of the whole of the crops of the United 
States in 1849, do not exceed 140,000 hhds., of which it is not doubted that 
fully 45,000 hhds. will be required for consumption there, and we estimate the 
supply required for the consumption of Europe, South America, the "West 
Indies, and Africa, at certainly not less than 125,000 hhds. ; if these estimates 
be realised in fact, it will follow that the stocks at the close of this year must 
be 30,000 hhds. less than at the close of 1849. 

"We estimate the present consumption of American tobacco in Great Britain 
and Ireland as follows : — 

The deliveries in London and Liverpool in 1849, were 18,738 hhds. ; do. do. 
Bristol 1,400 hhds. ; do. do. Scotland we assume at 2,800 hhds. Total 22,939. 

Of Stripts, the deliveries in Liverpool last year were 8,544 hhds., of which 
about 300 were for exportation ; the deliveries, therefore, were — For the use of 
Great Britain and Ireland, 8,250 hhds. In London we have no account of the 
deliveries of stripts, as distii.guished from leaf, for the whole of last year ; it is 
doubtless less than that in Liverpool, and we assume it at 7,000 hhds. ; in 
Bristol it was about 900 hhds. ; in Scotland we assume it at 2,400 hhds. Total 
18,550 hhds. 

Now, assuming 1,500 hhds. of the deliveries in Scotland and Bristol to be 
included in the coastwise returns in London and Liverpool, then the consump- 
tion of Great Britain and Ireland would appear to be about 21,500 hhds. of 
American tobacco, and 17,000 for these to be stripts. The progressive increase 
which we have shown in the returns of 1849^ as compared with those of 1840, 
must still go on. 

Without troubling you with any detail of the stocks in each of the several 
markets, it may be sufB.cient to show that the summary of the whole in aU the 
markets of Europe, other than Great Britain, consisted on the 31st December, 
1849, of about _22,000 hhds.; of which about 18,000 were Maryland and 2,000 
stalks ; and it is important to notice especially the fact, that the stocks of the 
manufacturers and dealers in Germany, Holland and Belgium are ujiusually 
small. "We have taken very considerable care to inform ourselves on this point, 
and are fully satisfied that the usual stocks in second or dealers' hands do not 
exist. The whole demand of the year must, therefore, be supplied from those 
stocks in importers' hands, from England or from the United States. 

The following were the prices current in London in the spring of 1853 : — 
Virginia Leaf, common, per pound, 3^d. to 3fd. ; middling, od. to 6d. ; good 
and fine 6|d. to "jd. Stripts, 5|d. tolOd. Kentucky Leaf: common 3d., to 
Sfd. ; middling, Sfd. to 4id. ; good and fine, od. to 6d. Stripts, 5d. to 7d. 
Maryland, 3^d. to 9d. Negrohead and Cavendish : common and heated, 4d. to 
6d. middling to good, 6d. to 8d. and 9d. ; fine, lOd., 12d., 16d. ; Barret's 
none. Columbian, 7d. to Is. 8d. ; Brazil, 3d. to 6d. ; flat, 5d. to Is. Id,; Ma- 
nilla, 7d. to 2s. 6d.; Havana, lOd. to 5s. ; Yara, lid, to 3s.; Cuba, 9d. to Is. Id. ; 
ingars, 3s. to 16s.; cheroots, Manilla, 7s. 6d., nominal; German and Amersfoort 
4d. to Is. 3d.; stalks, duty paid, 2s. 6d. to 3s. 4d. ; smalls, 2s. 9d to 2s. 

The shipments to Europe ^ere 76,516 hhds. against 40,652 hhds. the previous 
year, and 43,576 hhds. in 1850. The rapidity of sales, the diminished stocks 
even now held in fij-st hands, were taken as an infallible index of the pro- 



TOBACCO. 



603 



gressive rate of consumption ; and of a truth the quantity of hogsheads re- 
ceived in the principal markets of Belgium, Holland, Germany, and the North, 
and as speedily relieved from the control of the importers, was enough to 
control even those who were alive to the existing necessities of Europe, and 
to give a color to the rumour of almost inexhaustible consumption. 

This extraordinary demand for tobacco on the continent has been occasioned 
by three distinct causes; the first of which was the pressing wants which, for 
the last two years, were well known to have existed, and the constant willing- 
ness of consumers to act at the very moderate rates which prevailed some time 
last spring. The second was the compulsory purchases by the Austrian Go- 
vemment, amounting, it is estimated, to 20,000 hhds., by reason that the dis- 
contented Hungarians, for political considerations, abandoned altogether the 
cultivation of tobacco, and which deficiency was obliged to be replaced by 
American growths. The third cause also had a political origin : the antici- 
pation of tbe extension of the Zollverein or German Customs League to the 
Kingdoms of Hanover and Oldenburg, whereby the duties on tobacco in those 
countries would be greatly increased, was a natural incentive to the dealers 
and manufacturers there to lay in heavy stock:, to reap the benefit thereon ; 
and these last two causes, therefore, may be viewed in the light of fortuitous 
circumstances, which have fostered a speculation originally founded on the 
cheapness of money alone. 

It has been shown, and the statistics of the past year fully confirm the state- 
ment, that a plethora of money and prosperity among the middle classes of 
society, while it induces to the consumption of tobacco in general, rather cur- 
tails than otherwise the demand for American growths. A j^oor man addicted 
to smoking takes his pipe not from choice, but necessity ; as he grows inde- 
pendent, the humble pipe is abandoned and the more costly cigar assumed. 
We have frequently heard this matter noticed, more especially after the dis- 
asters which followed the railway speculations of 1846, when the demand for 
English cigars sensibly declined ; and we have now a fui'ther verification of 
the assertion in the opposite sense, the sales of cigar materials in Bremen 
having been extended more than 40 per cent, in three years, viz., from 94,750 
bales and cases in 1850 to 135,650 during last season. 

From New Orleans we learn that the arrivals from the interior since the 1st 
September had amounted to 18,043 hhds. against 5,165 hhds. last season, and 
the stock on hand was 24,128 hhds. against 7,927 hhds. only. 

The shipments from Virginia during the past year exceeded 13,700 hhds. 
In 1851 they were under 4,000 casks. 

From Baltimore 54,272 hhds. have been exported. The official figures for 
the previous year gave 35,967 as the total. 

The aggregate stock of tobacco on the 1st of January last, in the principal 
ports of America, was taken at 52,982 hhds. against 45,292 the year befoi^e 
and the gi-owth of the Western States, Virginia, and Maryland during 1852, 
to come forward for our supply the present season, is estimated at 185,000 
hhds., notwithstanding all the unfavorable influences and curtailing causes 
which were said to have prevailed. 

The method adopted of cultivating tobacco in Virginia is thus 
described : 

Several rich, moist, but not too wet spots of ground are chosen out in the 
fall, each containing about a quarter of an acre or more, according to the 
magnitude of the crop, and the number of plants it may require. 

These spots, which are generally in the woods, are cleared, and covered with 
brush or timber, for five or six feet thick and upwards ; this is sufiered to re- 
main upon it until the time when the tobacco seed must be sowed, which is 
within twelve days after Christmas. The evening is commonly chosen to set 
these places on fire, and when everything thereon is consumed to ashes, the 
ground is dug up, mixed with the ashes, and broken very fine. The tobacco seed, 
which is exceedingly small, being mixed with ashes also, is then sown and just 
raked in lightly ; the whole is immediately covered with brushwood for shelter 



604 



DRUGS, ^^\RCOTICS, ET-c 



to keep it warm, and a slight fence thrown around it. In this condition it re- 
mains until the frosts are all gone, when the brush is taken oif, and the young 
plants are exposed to the nutritive and genial warmth of the sun, which quickly 
invigorates them in an astonishing degree, and soon renders them strong and 
large enough to he removed for planting, especially if they be not sown too 
thick. Every tobacco planter, assiduous to secure a sufficient quantity of plants, 
generally has several of these plant beds in different situations, so that if one 
should fail, another may succeed ; and an experienced planter commonly takes 
care to have ten times as many plants, as he can make use of. 

In these beds, along with the tobacco, they generally sow kale, colewort, and 
cabbage seed, &c., at the same time. 

There are seven different kinds of tobacco, particularly adapted to the 
different qualities of the soil on which they are cultivated, and each varying 
from the other. They are named Hudson, Frederick, Thick-joint, Shoe-string, 
Thickset, Sweet-scented, and Oronoko. But although these are the principal, 
yet there are a great many different species besides, with names peculiar 
to the situations, settlements and neighbourhoods wherein they are produced ; 
which it would be too tedious here to specify and particularise. The soil for 
tobacco must be rich and strong ; the ground is prepared in the following man- 
ner: — after being well broke up and by repeated working, either with the plough 
or hand hoes, rendered soft, light, and mellow, the whole field is made into 
hills, each to take up the space of three feet, and flattened at the top. 

In the first rains, which are here called seasons, after the vernal equinox, the 
tobacco plants are carefully di'awn Avhile the ground is soft ; carried to the field 
where they are to be planted, and one dropped upon every hill, which is done 
by the negro children. The most skilful slaves then begin planting them, by 
making a hole with their finger in each hill, inserting the plant with the tap- 
root carefully placed straight down, and pressing the earth on each side of it. 
This is continued as long as the ground is wet enough to enable the plants- 
sufficiently grown to draw and set ; and it requires several different seasons, or 
periods of rain, to enable them to complete planting their crop, which operation 
is frequently not finished until July. 

After the plants have taken root, and begin to grow, the ground is carefully 
weeded and worked, either with hand hoes or the plough, according as it will 
admit. After the plants have considerably increased in bulk, and begin to shoot 
up, the tops are pinched off, and only ten, twelve, or sixteen leaves left, ac- 
cording to the quality of the tobacco and the soil. The worms, also, are care- 
fully picked off and destroyed, of which there are two species that prey upon 
tobacco. One is the ground wonn, which cuts it off just beneath the surface of 
the earth ; this must be carefully looked for and trodden to death ; it is of a 
dark brown color, and short. The other is a horn worm, some inches in length, 
as thick as your little finger, of a vivid green color, with a number of pointed 
excrescences or feelers from his head like horns. These devour the leaf, and 
are always upon the plant. As it would be endless labor to keep their hands 
constantly in search of them, it would be almost impossible to prevent their 
eating up more than half the crop had it not been discovered that turkeys are 
particularly dexterous at finding them, eat them up voraciously, and prefer 
them to every other food. For this purpose every planter keeps a flock of tur- 
keys, which he has driven into the tobacco grounds every day by a little negro 
that can do nothing else ; these keep his tobacco more clear from horn worms 
than all the hands he has got could do were they employed solely for that end. 
When the tops are nipped off, a few plants are left untouched for seed. On the 
plants that have been topped, young shoots are apt to spring out, which are 
termed suckers, and are carefully and constantly broken off lest they should 
draw too much of the noiirishment and substance from the leaves of the plant. 
This operation is also performed from time to time, and is called " suckering 
tobacco." For some time before it is ripe, or ready for cutting, the ground is 
perfectly covered with leaves, which have increased to a prodigious size, and 
then the plants are generally about three feet high. When it is ripe, a clammy 
moisture or <5xudation comes forth upon the leaves, which appear, as it were, 
ready to become spotted, and they are then of a great weight and substance. 
The 'tobacco is cut when the sun is powerful, but not in the morning and 



TOBACCO. 



605 



eveninsi'. The plant, if large, is split do"vrn the middle, and cut oW ivro or 
three inches below the extremity of the split ; it is then turned directly- 
bottom upwards, for the sun to kill it more speedily, to enable tne laborers 
to carry it out of the field, else the leaves vrould break off in transporting 
it to the scafi'old. The plants are cut only as they become ripe, for afield never 
ripens altogether. There is generally a second cutting likewise, for the stalk 
vegetates and shoots forth again, and in good land, with favorable seasons, 
there is a third cutting also procured, not-withstanding acts of the Legislatui-e to 
prevent cutting tobacco even a "second time. 

AYhcn the tobacco plants are cut and brought to the scaffolds, "which are 
generally erected all around the tobacco houses, they are placed "with the split 
across a small oak stick, an inch and better in diameter and four fret and a half 
long, so close as each plant just to touch the other without bruising or pressing. 
These sticks are then placed on the scaffolds, with the tobacco thus suspended 
in the middle, to dry or cure, and are called tobacco sticks. As the plants 
advance in curing, the sticks are removed from the scaffolds out of doors into 
the tobacco house, on to other scaffolds erected therein in successive regular 
gradations fiom the bottom to the top of the roof, being placed higher as the 
tobacco approaches to a perfect cure, until the house is all filled and the tobacco 
quite cured, and this cure is frecj^uently promoted by making fires on the floor 
below. When the tobacco house is quite full, and there is still more tobacco 
to bring in, all that is within the house is struck, and taken down, and care- 
fully placed in bulks, or regvJar rows, one upon another, and the whole covered 
with trash tobacco, or straw, to preserve it in a proper condition, that is moist, 
which prevents its wasting and crumbling to pieces. But, to enable them to 
strike the cured tobacco, they must wait for what is there called a season, that 
is rainy or moist weather, when the plants will better bear handling, for in dry 
weather the haves would all crumble to pieces in the attempt. By this means 
a tobacco house may be filled two, three, or four times in the year. Every 
night the negroes are sent to the tobacco house to strip, that is to pull off the 
leaves from the stalk, and tie them up in hands or hurdles. This is also their 
daily occupation in rainy weather. In stripping, they are careful to throw 
away all the ground leaves and faulty tobacco, binding up none but what is 
merchantable. The hands or bundles thus tied up are also laid in what are 
called a bulk, and covered with the refuse tobacco or straw to preserve their 
moisture. After this, the tobacco is carefully packed in hogsheads, and pressed 
down with a large beam laid over it, on the ends of which prodigious weights 
are suspended, the other end being inserted with a mortice in a tree, close to 
which the hogshead is placed. This vast pressure is continued for some days, 
and then the cask is filled up again with tobacco until it will contain no more, 
after which it is headed up and carried to the pubic -w arehouses for inspection. 
At these warehouses two skilful planters constantly attend, and receive a salary 
from the public for that purpose. They are sworn to inspect with honesty, 
care, and impartiality, all the tobacco that comes to the warehouse, and none 
is allowed to be shipped that is not regularly inspected. The head of the cask 
is taken off, and the tobacco is opened by means of large, long iron wedges, 
and great labour, in such places as the inspectors direct. After this strict 
attentive examination, if they find it good and merchantable, it is replaced in 
the cask, weighed at the public scales, the weight of the tobacco and of 
the cask also cut in the wood on the cask, stowed away in the public 
warehouses, and a note given to the proprietor, which he disposes of to the 
merchant, and he neither sees nor has any trouble with his tobacco more. 
The weight of each hogshead must be 950 lbs. nett, exclusive of the cask — for 
less a note will not be given. Under the name of a crop hogshead, however, 
the general weight is from 1,000 to 1,200 or 1,300 lbs. nett, but if the tobacco 
is found to be totally bad, and refused as unmerchantable, the whole is pub- 
licly burnt in a place set apart for that purpose. However, if it be judged 
that there is some merchantable tobacco in the hogshead, the owner must un- 
pack the whole publicly on the spot, for he is not permitted to take any of 
it away again, and must select and separate the good from the bad ; the last 
is immediately committed to the flames, and for the first he receives a transfer 
note, specifying the weight, quality, &c. This great and very laudable care 



606 



DRUGS, FAECOTICS, ETC. 



was taken by the public to prevent frauds, ■which, however, was not always 
effectual, for, even with all these precautions, many acts of iniquity and im- 
position were committed. 

So little is this crop cultivated in the States north of Maryland, 
that scarcely any notice has been taken of it in the agricultural 
or other public journals. 

In Connecticut, in some few towns of Hartford county, con- 
siderable attention has been directed to it for a number of years 
past. A ton and a-half the acre is said to be no uncommon yield. 
The tobacco is planted very thick, two feet and a half each way. 
The seed came originally from Virginia. It is cured in houses, 
without having been yellowed in the sun, and without the use 
of fire. It is said that the best Havana cigars (as they are 
termed) are often manufactured from mixed Cuba and American 
tobacco, and sold under that name in Connecticut, 

In the Connecticut Valley is produced about 500 tons of 
tobacco annually, the average quantity, 1,500 lbs. per acre, value 
from seven to ten cents per pound. 

Culture. — Seed bed made rich and sown as cabbage early in 
April as possible. 

Land well ploughed and manured and harrowed as for corn, 
laid out in rows three feet apart, and slight hills in the row about 
two and a-half feet apart ; begin to plant about 10th of June, 
the ground to be kept clean with hoe and cultivator, and examine 
the plants and keep clear of worms. 

When in blossom and before seed is formed, the plants must 
be topped about thirty-two inches from the ground, having from 
sixteen to twenty leaves on each stalk, after this the suckers are 
broken off, and the plants kept clean till cut. "When ripe the 
leaves are spotted, thick, and will crack when pressed between 
the fingers and thumb. It is cut at any time of the day, after 
the dew is off, left in the row till wilted, then turned, and if 
there is a hot sun, it is often turned to prevent burning ; after 
wilting it is put into small heaps of six or eight plants, then 
carried to the tobacco house for hanging, usually on poles twelve 
feet long ; hung with twine about forty plants to a pole, twenty 
on each side, crossing the pole with a hitch kuot to the stump 
end of the plants ; when perfectly cured, which is known by the 
stems of the leaves being completely dry, it is then taken in a damp 
time, when the leaves will not crumble, from the poles and placed 
in large piles, by letting the tops of the plants lap each other, 
leaving the butts out ; it remains in these heaps from three to ten 
days before it is stripped, depending on the state of weather, but 
it must not be allowed to heat. When stripped it is made into 
small hands, the small and broken leaves to be kept by themselves ; 
it is then packed in boxes of about 400 lbs. and marked "Seed 
Leaf Tobacco." 

One acre of tobacco will require as much labor as two of corn 
that produce 60 bags to the acre, and requires about the same 
quantity of manure. If the tobacco can be cured without fire 



TOBACCO. 



607 



heat the quality will be improved, and if dried in the open air, 
should have shades of boards to keep off rain and excess of sun. 
The chief market for Connecticut tobacco is Bremen. 

In a number of the " Charleston Southern Planter," a remedy 
is described for preventing the destruction of plants by the fly. 
The -writer says : " I had a bushel or two of dry aslies put into a 
large tub, and added train oil enough (say one gallon of oil to 
the bushel of ashes) to damp and flavor the ashes completely : 
this was well stirred and mixed with the hand, and so^nti broad- 
cast over certain patches, and proved thoroughly effectual for 
several years, while parts left without the remedy were de- 
stroyed." 

The best ground for raising the plant, according to Capt. Carver 
(" Treatise on Culture of Tobacco," &c.), is a warm rich soil, not 
subject to be overrun with weeds. The soil in which it grows in 
Virginia is inclining to sandy, consequently warm and light ; the 
nearer, therefore, the nature of the land approaches to that, the 
greater probability there is of its flourishing. The situation most 
preferable for a plautation is the southern declivity of a hill, or a 
spot sheltered from the blighting north winds. But at the same 
time the plants must enjoy a free current of air ; for if that be 
obstructed they will not prosper. 

The different sorts of seed not being distinguishable from each 
other, nor the goodness to be ascertained by its appearance, great 
caution should be used in obtaining the seed through some re- 
sponsible mercantile house, or individual of character. 

Each capsule contains about a thousand seeds, and the whole 
produce of a single plant has been estimated at 350,000. The 
seeds are usually ripe in the month of September, and when per- 
fectly dry may be rubbed out and preserved in bags till the fol- 
lowing season. 

There is a large quantity of tobacco raised in the southern part 
of Indiana annually, equal in quality to the tobacco raised in 
Kentucky. In some counties the article is extensively cultivated, 
and generally pays the producer a handsome profit on the labor 
bestowed on it. The cultivation of it is becoming more extensive 
every year. Nearly all this crop is taken to Louisville for sale, 
very little being shipped south on account of the producer. 

Heretofore, owing to the heaviness of tobacco and bad 
roads, the producer has encountered great difiiculties in getting 
his crop to market. The hauling of a few hogsheads fifty or sixty 
miles, or even forty, is no light job, even over good roads. Hence, 
tobacco has not been as extensively cultivated as it would have 
been under different circumstances. But, with the facilities 
afforded by the railroads in carrying their crops to market, I 
doubt not the farmers of the interior will more generally engage 
in the cultivation of tobacco, and those who have been in the 
habit of raising small crops will extend theii' operations. 

In Maryland the seed is sown in beds of fine mould, and the 
plants arising therefrom are transplanted in the beginning of 



608 



DRUGS, NATICOTICS, ETC. 



May. They are set at the distance of three or four feet apart, 
and are hilled, and kept continually free from weeds, "When as 
many leaves have shot out as the soil will nourish to advantage, 
the top of the plant is broken off, which of course prevents its 
growing higher. It is carefully kept clear from worms, and the 
suckers which put out between the leaves are taken off at proper 
times, till the plant arrives at perfection, which is in August. 
When the leaves turn of a brownish color^ and begin to be 
spotted, the plants are cut down and hung up to dry, after having 
sweated in heaps one night. AYhen the leaves can be handled 
without crumbling, which is always in moist weather, they are 
stripped from the stalks, tied up in bundles, and packed for ex- 
portation in hogsheads. No suckers nor ground leaves are allowed 
to be merchantable. An industrious person may manage 6,000 
plants of tobacco, which will yield 1,000 lbs. of dried leaves, and 
also four acres of Indian corn. 

Miller, an American author, thus describes the mode of cul- 
ture : — 

"WTien a regular plantation of tobacco is intended, the beds being prepared 
and -well turned up with the hoe, the seed, on account of its smallness and to 
prevent the ravages of ants, is mixed -with ashes and sown upon them, a little 
aefore the rainy season. The beds are raked, or trampled with the foot, to 
make the seed take the sooner. The plants appear in two or three weeks. 
As soon as they have acquired foiu- leaves, the strongest are carefully drawn 
up and planted in the field by a line, at a distance of about three feet from each 
other. If no rain fall, they should be watered two or three times. Every 
morning and evening the plants must be looked over in order to destroy a worm 
which sometimes invades the bud. When they are about four or five inches 
high, they are to be cleaned from weeds and moulded up. As soon as they 
have eight or nine leaves, and are ready to put forth a stalk, the top is nipped 
off in order to make the leaves longer and thicker. After this the buds which 
sprout at the joints of the leaves are also plucked off, and not a day is suffered 
to pass without examining the leaves to destroy the large caterpillar, which is 
often most destructive to them. When they are fit for cutting, which is known 
by the brittleness of the leaves, they are cut off with a knife close to the ground, 
and, after lying some time, are carried to the drying- shed or house, where the 
plants are hung up by pairs upon lines, leaving a space between, that they may 
not touch one another. When perfectly dry, the leaves are stripped from the 
stalks and made into small bundles, tied with one of the leaves. These bundles 
are laid in heaps and covered with blankets; care is taken not to overheat 
them, for which reason the heaps are laid open to the air from time to time, 
and spread abroad. This operation is repeated till no more heat is perceived in 
the heaps, and the tobacco is then ready for packing and shipping. 

I have been favored by Mr. J. M. Hernandez, a Cuba planter, 
with some valuable instructions for the cultivation of Cuba 
tobacco, which I subjoin. These remarks apply principally to 
America, but most of the advice and information will be found 
generally applicable to other localities : — 

The first thing to be considered in this, as in every other culture, is the 
soil, which for this kind of tc-bacco {X. repanda) ought to be a rich, sandy, 
loam, neither too high nor too low — that is, ground capable of retaining moisture, 
the more level the better, and, if possible, well protected by margins. The 
next should be the selection of a spot of ground to make the necessary beds. 
It would be preferable to make these on land newly cleared, or, at all events, 
when the land has not been seeded with grass; for grass seeds springing up to- 



TOBACCO. 



609 



gether with the tobacco would injure it materially, as the grass cannot be re- 
moved without disturbing the tobacco plants. In preparing the ground for the 
nurseries, break it up properly, grub up all the small stumps, dig out the roots, 
and caref.ill}" remove them with the hand. This being done, make the beds 
from three to four inches high, of a reasonable length, and from three to three 
and a-half feet broad, so as to enable the hand, at arm's length, to weed out 
the tender young plants with the fingers from both sides of the bed, and keep 
them perfectly clean. 

The months of December and January are the most proper for sowing the 
seed in Florida. Some persons speak of planting it as early as the month of 
November, I am, howevt-r, of opinion, that about the latter part of December 
is the best time to sow tobacco seed ; any sooner would expose the plants to 
suffer from the inclemency of the most severe part of the winter season. 
Before the seed is sown take some dry trash and burn it off upon the nursery 
beds, to destroy insects and grass seeds ; then take one ounce of tobacco seed 
and mix it with about a quart of dry ashes, so as to separate the seed as much 
as possible, and sow it broadcast. After the seed has been thus sown, the sur- 
face of the bed ought to be raked over slightly, and trodden upon by the^foot, 
carrying the weight of tbe body with it, that the ground may at once adhere 
closely to the seed, and then water it. Should the nursery-beds apparently 
become dry from blighting winds or other causes, watering will be absolutely 
necessary, for the ground ought to be kept in a moist state from the time the 
seed is planted until the young plants are large enough to be set out. 

The nurseries being made, proceed to prepare the land where the tobacco ia 
to be set out. If the land is newly cleared — and new land is probably more 
favorable to the production of this plant than it is to that of any other, both 
as respects quality and quantity — remove as many of the stumps and roots as 
possible, and dig up the ground in such a manner as to render the surface per- 
fectly loose ; then level the ground, and in this state leave it until the nursery 
plants have acquired about one-half the growth necessary to admit of their 
being set out ; then break up the ground a second time in the same manner as 
at first, as in this way all the small fibres of roots and their rooted parts will 
be more or less separated," and thus obviate much of that degree of sponginess 
so common to new land, and which is in a great measure the cause of new 
land seldom producing well the first year, as the soil does not lay close enough 
to the roots of the plants growing in it, so that a shower of rain produces 
no other effect than that of removing the earth still more from them. 

The ground having been prepared and properly levelled off, and the plants 
sufficiently grown to be taken up — say of the size of good cabbage plants — 
take advantage of the first wet or cloudy weather to commence setting them 
out. This should be done with great care, and the plants put single at equal 
distances, that is, about three feet north and south, and tv\-o and a-half, or two 
and three-fourths feet east and west. They are pla'-'ed thus close to each other 
to prevent the leaves growing too large. The direction of the rows, however, 
should alter accor>iing to the situation of the land ; where it has any inclina- 
tion, the widest space should run across it, as the bed will have to be made so 
as to prevent the soil from being washed from the roots by rain when bedded ; 
but where the land is rather level, the three feet rows should be north and 
south, so as to give to the plants a more full effect on them by passing across 
the beds, than by crossing them in an oblique direction. To sot the p'ants out 
regularly, take a task line of 105 feet in length, vrith apointed stick three feet 
1( ng attached to each end of it, then insert a small piece of raz or something 
else through the lino at the distance of two feet and three-f airth-i from each 
other ; place it north and south (or as the land may require), at full length, 
and then set a plant at every division, carefully keeping the bud of the plant 
above the surface of the ground. Then remove the line three feet from the 
first row, and so on, until the planting is completed. Care ought to be taken 
to prevent the stretching of the line ft-om misplacing the plants. In this way the 
plants can be easily set out, and a proper direction given to thorn both ways. In 
taking the plants up from the nursery, the ground should be first loosened with a 
flat piece of wood or iron, about an inch broad ; then carefully holding the leaves 

2 B 



610 



DBUaS, ]S^A,HCOTICS, ETC. 



close towards eacli otlier between the fingers, draw them up, and place them 
in a basket or some other convenient thing to receive them for planting. 
After taking up those that can be planted during the day, water the nursery 
that the earth may again adhere to the remaining ones. The evening is the 
best time for setting out the plants, but where a large field has to be cultivated 
it will be well to plant both morning and evening. The plants set out in the 
morning, unless in rainy or cloudy weather, should be covered immediately, 
and the same should be done with those planted the evening previous, should 
the day open with a clear sunshine, — the palmetto leaf answers the purpose 
very well. There should be water convenient to the plants, so as to have them 
watered morning and evening, but more particularly in the evening, imtil they 
have taken root. They should also be closely examined when watered, so as to 
replace such plants as happen to die, that the ground may be properly occupied, 
and that all the plants may open as nearly together as possible. 

From the time the plants are set out, the earth around them should be 
occasionally stirred, both with the hand and hoe. At first hoe flat, but as soon 
as the leaves assume a growing disposition, begin gradually to draw a slight 
heel towards the plant. The plants must be closely examined, even while in 
the nursery, to destroy the numerous worms that feed upon them — some, by 
cutting the stalk and gnawing the leaves when first set out ; these resemble 
the grub- worm, and are to be found near the injured plant, under ground ; 
others, which come from the eggs deposited on the plant by the butterfly, and 
feed on the leaf, grow to a very large size, and look very ugly, and are com- 
monly called the tobacco-worm. There is also a small worm which attacks 
the bud of the plant, and which is sure destruction to its further growth ; and 
some again, though less destructive, are to be seen within the two coats of the 
leaf, feeding as it were on its juices alone. The worming should be strictly 
attended to every morning and evening, until the plants are pretty well grown, 
when every other day will be sufficient. The most proper persons for Avorming 
are either boys or girls from ten to fourteen years of age. They should be made 
to come to the tobacco ground early in the morning, and be led by inducements, 
such as giving a trifling reward to those who will bring the most worms, to 
clear it thoroughly. Grown persons would find it rather too tedious to stoop 
to examine the under part of every leaf, and seek the worm under ground : 
nor would they be so much alive to the value of a spoonful of sugar, or other 
light reward. Beside, where the former would make the search a matter of 
profit and pleasure, it would to the latter prove only a tedious and irksome 
occupation. Here I will observe, that it is for similar reasons that the culture 
of the Cuba tobacco plant more properly belongs to a white population, for 
there are few plants requiring more attention and tender treatment than it does. 
Indeed it will present a sorry appearance, unless the eye of its legitimate pro- 
prietor is constantly watching over it. 

When the plants have acquired from twelve to foui-teen good leaves, and are 
about knee high, it may be well to begin to top them, by nipping off the bud 
with the aid of the finger and thumb nail (washing the hands after this in 
water is necessary, as the acid juices of the plants, otherwise, soon produce a 
soreness on the fingers), taking care not to destroy the small leaves imme- 
diately near the bud : for if the land is good and the season favorable, those 
very small top leaves will in a short time be nearly as large, and ripen quite as 
soon as the lower ones, whereby two or more leaves may be saved ; thus ob- 
taining from 16 to 18 leaves, in the place of 12 or 14, which is the general 
average. As the topping of the tobacco plant is all essential in order to pro- 
mote the growth, and to equalise the ripening of the leaves, I would observe 
that this operation should at all events commence the instant that the bud of 
the plant shows a disposition t) go to seed, and be immediately followed by 
removing the suckers, which it will now put out at every leaf. Indeed, the 
suckers should be removed from tho plant as often as they appear. The to- 
bacco plant ought never to be cut before it comes to full matm'ity, which is 
known by the leaves becoming mottled, coarse, and of a thick texture, and 
gammy to the touch, at which time the end of the leaf, by being doubled, will 
break short, which it will not do to the same extent when green. It ought 



T0T3ACC0. 



611 



not to be cut in wet weather, when the leaves lose their natural gummy sub- 
stance, so necessary to be preserved. About this period, the cultivator is apt 
to be rendered anxious by the fear of allowing the plants to remain in the field 
longer than necessary ; until experience removes those apprehensions, he should 
be on his guard, however, not to destroy the quality of his tobacco, by cutting 
it too soon. When the cutting is to commence, there should be procured a 
quantity of forked stakes, set upright, with a pole or rider setting on each fork 
ready to support the tobacco, and to keep it from the ground. The plant is 
then cut obliquely, even with the surface of the ground, and the person thus 
employed should strike the lower end of the stalk, two or three times with the 
blunt side of his knife, so as to cause as much of the sand or soil to fall from 
it as possible, then tying two stalks together, they are gently placed across the 
riders or poles prepared to receive them. In this state they are allowed to re- 
main in the sun or open air until the leaves have somewhat withered, whereby 
they will not be liable to the injury which they would otherwise receive, if 
they came suddenly in contact with other bodies when fresh cut. Then place 
as many plants on each pole or rider as may be conveniently carried, and take 
them in the drying house, where the tobacco is strung ofi^ upon the frames 
prepared for it, leaving a small space between the two plants, that air may 
circulate freely among them, and promote their drying. As the drying ad- 
vances, the stalks are brought closer to each other, so as to make room for those 
which yet remain to be housed. 

In drying the tobacco, all damp air should be excluded, nor ought the drying 
of it to be precipitated by the admission of high drying winds. The process 
is to be promoted in the most moderate manner, except in the rainy season, 
when the sooner the drying is effected the better ; for it is a plant easily 
alfected by the changes of the weather, after the drying commences. It is then 
liable to mildew in damp weather, which is when the leaf changes from its 
original color to a pale yellow cast, and from this, by parts, to an even brown. 
When the middle stem is perfectly dry, it can be taken down, and the leaves 
stripped from the stalk and put in bulk to sweat, that is, to make tobacco of 
them; for before this process, when a concentration of its better qualities takes 
place, the leaves are always liable to be affected by the weather, and cannot well 
be considered as being a-iything else than common dry leaves, partaking of the 
nature of tobacco, but not actually tobacco. The leaves are to be stripped from 
the stalks in damp or cloudy weather, when they are more uasily handled, and the 
separation of the different qualities rendered also more easy. The good leaves 
are at this time kept by themselves as wrappers, or caps, and the most defective 
ones for fillings, or tripa. When the tobacco is put in hulh^ the stem of the 
leaves should all be kept in one direction, to facilitate the tying of them in 
hanks : afterwards make the bulk two or three feet high, and of a proportionate 
circumference. To guard against the leaves becoming over-heated, and to 
equalise the fermentation or sweating, after the first twenty-four hours, place 
the outside leaves in the centre, and those of the centre to the outside of the 
hulk. By doing this once or twice, and taking care to cover the hulh either 
with sheets or blankets, so as to exclude all air from it, and leaving it in this 
state for about forty days, it acquires an odor strong enough to produce sneezing, 
and the other qualities of cured tobacco. The process of curing may then be 
considered as completed. Then take some of the most injured leaves, but of 
the best quality, and in proportion to the quantity of tobacco made, and place 
them in clean water, there let them remain until they rot, which they will do 
in about eight days ; then break open your buUcs^ spread the tobacco with their 
stems in one direction, and damp them with this water in a gentle manner, that 
it may not soak through the leaf, for in this case the leaf would rot. Sponge 
is used in Cuba for this operation. Then tie them in hanks of from twenty-five 
to thirty leaves ; this being done, spread the hanks in the tobacco house for 
about twelve hours, to air them, that the dampness may be removed, and after- 
wards pack them in casks or barrels, and head them tight, until you wish to 
manufacture them. 

The object of damping the tobacco with this water, is to give it elasticity, 
to promote its burning free, to increase its fragrance, to give it an aromatic 

2 11 2 



812 



DErOS, XAPvCOTICS, ETC. 



smell, and to keep it always soft. This is the great secret of curing tobacco for 
cigars properly, and for which we are indebted to the people of Cuba, who 
certainly understand the mode of curing this kind of tobacco better than other 
people. It is to them a source of great wealth, and may be made equally so to 
others. We have here three cuttings from the original plants; the last cutting 
will be of rather a weak quality, but which, nevertheless, will be agreeable to 
those who confine their smoking to weak tobacco. 

In ratooning the planV, only one sprout ought to be allowed to grow, and this 
from those most deeply rooted ; all other sprouts ought to be destroyed. 

The houses necessary for the curing of tobacco ought to be roomy, with a 
passage way running through the centre, from one extremity of the building to 
the other, and pierced on both sides with a sufficient number of doors and win- 
dows to make them perfectly airy. 

In addition to what I have said respecting the mode of cultivating and 
treating the tobacco plant, I have further to state, that when once the plant is 
allowed to be checked in its growth, it never again recovers it. That in pro- 
moting the drying of the leaf, fire should not be resorted to, because the smoke 
would impart to it a flavor that would injure that of the tobacco itself. 

In order to obtain vigorous plants, the seed ought to be procured from the 
original stalk, and not from_the ratoons, by allowing some of them to go to seed 
for that express purpose. In Cuba, the seed is most generally saved from the 
ratoon plants, but we should consider that that climate and soil are probably 
more favorable to the production of the plant than America, and consequently 
we ought to confide in the best seed, which is had from the original stalk. 

All plants have their peculiar empire : nevertheless, we should not be 
deterred from planting Cuba tobacco here ; for even if we should be compelled 
to import the seed every third year, which would be as often as necessary, it 
would still prove a profitable culture. Taking 600 lbs., M'hich is the average 
prodiict per acre, it would yield, if well cured, at 50 cents, per lb., 300 dollars 
in the leaf. 

The following exhibits the profit to be derived from it when manufactured 
into cigars : — 

Dls. Cts. Dls. Cts. 

Six hundred pounds, allowing eight pounds to the 1,000, would 

produce 75,000 cigars, vv^hich at ten dollars per thousand . . 750.00 

Cost of the leaf 300.00 

Worth of manufacture, at two dollars fifty cents per thousand 18.750 — 487.50 



Difference in favor of manufacturer 262.50 

This amount being the profits of the manufacturer alone, the profit to him 
who could combine both pursuits would be more than doubled. 

As to the quantity of land which can be cultivated to the hand, there is some 
difi"erence in the practice of planters ; however, I think that I am within the 
usual calculation in saying, that an acre and a half would not exceed the 
quantity that an able hand can easily cultivate and manage properly. 

Witli reference to the cultivation of Spanish tobacco from the 
seed, the following remarks are also made by a gentleman residing 
in Marjdand : — 

My experience for some years in the cultivation and manufacture of Spanish 
tobacco into cigars, convinces me that the first-rate variety of Spanish tobacco 
— -that is, the most odorous and fine — will bear reproduction in our climate 
twice, without much deterioration ; by that time it becomes acidulated and 
worthless as Spanish tobacco. For seven years I have imported annually first 
seed from Cuba, but have occasionally made experiments with reproduced seed, 
and I have arrived at the conclusion above stated. I have obtained, annually, 
a cigar maker from Baltimore, who has made for me on my farm, and from 
Spanish tobacco. These produced about the average of 70,000 cigars, per year; 
they have been sold in Baltimore and Philadelphia for five dollars the half box, 
that is ten dollars the thousand. The tobac-ou L;i3 been uniformly admired. 



TOSACCO. 



61S 



but in former years they hare been very badly made ; for the last t^vo years, 
(writing in 1843.) my crops "^rere destroyed by the unfavorable weather. This 
growth and manufacture do not interfere -vrith my cultivation of other crops ; 
in fact they are wholly unconnected with the other operations of the farmer." 
He mentions having obtained a premium from an agricultural society, for 
having produced on one and a half acres, growth and manufacture included, 
of Spanish tobacco oO-i dollars net profit. 

The following letter from ]Mr. Clarke, to the Hon. H. L. 
Ellsworth, Washington, speaks favorably of a new variety of 
tobacco : — 

"Willow Grove, Orange Count v, Virginia, 
Feb. 13, 1844. ' 

Dear Sir, — -Agreeably to ray promise I enclose you the Caiifornian tobacco 
seed. It grew from the small parcel given to me by Mr. Wm. Smith, in 
your office in March last. On getting home, although late, I prepared a bed, 
and sowed the small parcel, the first week in April, and not having seed enough 
to finish the bed, sowed the balance of the bed in Oronoko tobacco seed, and to 
my astonishment the Caiifornian plants were soon ready to set out, as soon as 
the other kinds of tobacco sown in the month of January ; and the Oronoko 
seed, that was sown with the Gulif ,>rnian, did not arrive to sufficient size until 
it was too late to set out. The Caiifornian tobacco, if it continues to ripen and 
grow for the time to come, as it did for me on the first trial, must come into 
general use — first, because the plants are much earlier in the spring (say ten 
days at least), than any kind we have ; secondly, when transplanted, the growth 
is remarkably quick, matures and ripens at least from ten to fifteen days earlier 
than any kind of tobacco we have in use amongst us. It is a large broad, 
silky leaf, of fine texture, and of a beautiful color, and some plants grow as 
large as seven feet across, from point to point ; upon the whole, I consider it 
a valuable acquisition to the planting community. 

Tobacco is one of the chief staples of Cuba. There are many 
qualities, but it is usually classed into two kinds. That which is 
raised on the western end of the island and is unequalled for 
smoking, is called " Yuelta abajo." That which is raised east of 
Havana, is called " Yuelta arriba," and is far inferior to the former. 

The best Havana tobacco farms are confined to a very narrow 
area on the south west part of Cuba. This district, twenty-seven 
leagues long and only seven broad, is bounded on,the 'north by 
mountains, on the south and west by the ocean, whilst eastward, 
though there is no natural limit, the tobacco sensibly degenerates 
in quality. A light sandy soil and rather low situation suit the 
best. 

The " Yuelta abajo" is usually divided into five classes. 

Calidad or Libra. 

Tnjuriado Principal or Firsts. 

Segundas or Seconds. 

Terceiras or Thirds. 

Cuartas or Fourths. 
Calidad is the best tobacco, selected for its good color, flavor, 
elasticity and entireness of the leaves. The bales contain sixty 
hands of four gabillas, or fingers of twenty-five leaves each, 
and are marked L.60. Tnjuriado Principal has less flavor, and is 
usually of a lighter color. The leaves should be whole and some- 
what elastic. The bales contain eighty hands of four gabillas, or 
thirty leaves each, and are marked B. 80. Segundas is the most 



614 



DRUGS, I>'ABCOTICS, ETC. 



inferior class of wrapper. There are many good leaves in it, but 
the hands are usually made up of those which are stained, have a 
bad color, or have been slightly touched by the worm. The bales 
contain eighty hands of four gabillas of thirty-six to forty leaves 
each, and are marked T. 2a. 80. 

Terceiras is the best tilling, and much wrapper can usually be 
selected from it when new. The bales contain eighty hands of 
four gabillas of more than forty leaves each, and are marked 3a. SO. 

Cuartas is the most inferior class, fit only for fillmg. The bales 
contain eighty hands of four gabillas of no determined number of 
leaves, and are marked 4a. 80. 

The A'uelta arriba tobacco is prepared in a similar manner, 
but neither its color or flavor is good, and it does not bum well. 

The crop is gathered in the spring, and usually begins to appear 
at market in July. Good tobacco should be aromatic, of a rich 
brown color, without stains, and the leaf thin and elastic. It 
should burn well and the taste should be neither bitter nor biting. 
The best is grown on the margins of rivers which are periodically 
overflowed, and is called " De rio." It is distinguished from other 
tobacco by a fine sand, which is found in the creases of the leaves. 

The tobacco plantations in Cuba increased in number from 
5,534 in 1827, to 9,102 in 1846. The production of tobacco has 
nearly doubled in the province, of which St. Jago is the port, in 
the last ten years. 

The following figures show the exports from the Havana : — 





Leaf tobacco. 


Cigars. 


1840 


. 1,031,136 103. 


147,818 thousand 


1841 


. 1,450,302 „ 


151,928 „ 


1842 


. 1,053,161 „ 


135,127 „ 


1843 


. 2,125,805 „ 


153,227 


1844 


. 1,197,136 „ 


147,825 


1845 


. 1.621,889 „ 


120,352 „ 


1846 


. 4,066,262 „ 


158.841 


1847 


. 1,936,829 


. 1,982,267 


1848 


. 1,350.815 „ 


150,729 „ 


1849 


. 1,158,265 „ 


111,572 



The class of tobacco shipped at the port of Havana, is not the 
same as that gathered in the districts irom which the manufac- 
turers of cigars there receive their supplies — it would cost too 
dear. However, it is not a rare occurrence to find among a num- 
ber of bales a few of a quality about equal to that employed there, 
and this happens in years when the crop has been very abundant, 
as in J 846 and 1848. The various classes are paid in proportion 
to the capa, or outside leaves, which are found in an assortment ; 
the three first classes are employed as covers, and often, if the 
tobacco is new, they may be found in the fourth and even in the 
fifth. In parcels well assorted, one-fourth is composed of capa — 
say, first, second, and third, and the rest is composed of tripa, or 
interior of the cigar. In the first-named, there generally comes 
more of the cajpa than is necessary to use ; the remaining bales, 
which contain the inferior class, are fit only for filHngs. 



TOBACCO, 



615 



The following is an analysis of the ashes of Havana tobacco : — 

Salts of potash . . . . .24-30 

Salts of lime and magnesia . . . . 67"40 

Silica ....... 8-30 

100. 

Hayti exported in 1836 . . . 1,222,716 lbs. 

Porto Rico, in 1839 . . . . 43,203 cwt. 

The French hare been so successful in cultivating tobacco, iu 
their possessions in Northern Africa, that thej hope soon to be 
independent of the foreign grown article. The mode of pre- 
paring it, however, is not very well understood by the colonists. 
In 18ol, the number of planters in Algeria was only 137, whereas 
in 1852, it was 1,073. The number of hectares under culture with 
the tobacco plant was 446 in 1851, and 1,095 in 1852. The total 
of the present year's crop is estimated at 1,780,000 kilogrammes, 
of which 700,000 kilogrammes have been grown by the natives, 
and the rest by Europeans. 

In the province of Algiers alone, the quantity of tobacco sold 
will amount to 550,000 kilogrammes, which is nearly three times 
as much as in 1851, and an equal progression has taken place in 
the provinces of Oran, and Constantina, 

The cultivation of tobacco in Algeria has proved most success- 
ful ; in 1851, only 264,912 kilogrammes were produced ; in 1852, 
the quantity had risen to 735,199 kilogrammes. There are two 
crops in the year, the first being the best, but even this is capable 
of almost indefinite augmentation. 

CrLTURE or TOBACCO IN THE EAST. 

Having touched upon the practice of culture in the western 
world, we will now bend our steps towards the east, and it may 
be curious to notice the method pursued in cultivating and curing 
the celebrated Shiraz tobacco of Persia {Nicotiana Persica), which 
is so much esteemed for the delicacy of its flavor, and its aromatic 
quality. It is thus described by an intelligent traveller. The 
culture of the plant, it will be seen, is nearly the same ; it is only 
the preparation of the tobacco that forms the difference : — 

In December the seed is sown in a dark soil, which has been slightly 
manured (red clayey soils will not do). To protect the seed, and to keep it 
warm, the ground is covered with light, thorny bushes, which are removed 
when the plants are three or four inches high ; and during this period, the plants 
are watered every four or five days, only however in the event of sufficient rain 
to keep the soil well moistened not falling. The ground must be kept wet until 
the plants are six to eight inches high, when they are transplanted into a well 
moistened soil, which has been made into trenches for them ; the plants being 
put on the top of the ridges ten or twelve inches apart, while the trenched 
plots are made, so as to retain the water given. The day they are transplanted, 
water must be given to them, and also every five or six days subsequently, un- 
less rain enough falls to render this unnecessary. "When the plants have 
become from thirty to forty inches high, the leaves will be from three to fifteen 
inches long. At this period, or when the flowers are forming, all the flower 
capsules are pinched or twisted off. After this operation and watering being 
continued, the leaves increase in size and thickness until the month of August 



616 



DRUGS, NABCOTICS, ETC. 



or September, when each plant is cut off close to the root, and again stuck 
firmly into the ground. At this season of the year, heavy dews fall during the 
night ; when exposed to these the color of the leaves change from green to the 
desired yellow. During this stage, of course no water is given to the soil. 
When the leaves are sufficiently yellow, the plants are taken from the earth 
early in the morning, and while they are yet wet from the dew, are heaped on 
each other in a high shed, the walJa of which are made with light thorny bushes, 
where they are fi-eely exposed to the wind. While there, and generally in four 
or five days, those leaves which are still green become of the desired pale yellow 
color. The stalks and centre stem of each leaf are now removed, and thrown 
away, the leaves are heaped together in the drying house for three or four days 
more, when they are in a fit state for packing. For this operation the leaves 
are carefully spread on each other and formed into sorts of cakes, the circum- 
fcrei C8 from four to five feet, and three to four inches thick, great care being 
taken not to break or injure the leaves. 

Bags made of strong cloth, but thin and very open at the sides, are filled 
with these cakes, and pressed very strongly down on each other ; the leaves 
would be broken if this were not attended to. When the bags are filled, thuy 
are placed separat 'ly in a drying house, and turned daily. If the leaves were 
so dry that there would be a risk of their breaking during the operation of 
packing, a very slight sprinkling of water is given them to enable them to 
withstand it without injury. The leaf is valued for being thick, tough, and 
of a uniform light yellov>^ color, and of an agreeable aromatic smell. 

In India, tlie Surat, Eilsali, and Sandov/aj (Arracan) varieties 
of tobacco are the most celebrated. The two first are found to 
be good for cultivation in the district about Calcutta, but the 
Cabool is still more to be preferred. Tobacco requires in the East, 
for its growth, a soil as fertile and as well manured as for the pro- 
duction of the poppy or opium. It is, therefore, often planted in 
the spaces enriched by animal and vegetable exuviae, among 
the huts of the natives. I have tried seed in different soils, 
says Capt. C. Cowles, — namely a light garden mould with a 
large portion of old house rubbish, dug to a good depth, which had 
a top dressing of the sweepings of the farm-yard and cow-houses ; 
a rather heavy loam, highly manured with burnt and decayed 
vegetables, and old cow' dung ; the third was a patch of ground, 
which was originally an unwholesome swamp, from being 
eighteen inches to two feet, lower than the surrounding 
land ; the soil appeared to be a hard sterile clay, and covered 
with long coarse grass and rushes. As there was a tank near it, 
I cut away one side of it, and threw the soil over the ground, 
bringing it rather above the level. Such was its appearance, (a 
hard compost marly clay,) that I expected bo other good from it 
than that of raising the land so as to throw the water off ; con- 
trary, however, to my expectations, it produced a much finer crop 
of tobacco than either of the other soils, and with somewhat less 
manure. The agricultural process is limited to some practical 
laws founded on experience, and these are subject to two principal 
agents ; viz., the soil and climate. AVith respect to the former, 
it is the practice amongst the growers in tobacco countries, such 
as Cuba, the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and 
the Philippine Islands, to select a high and dry piece of land, 
of a siliceous nature, and combined with iron, if possible ; and 
with respect to the latter, there are seasons of the year too well 



TOBACCO. 



617 



known to the planters to need any explanation. The only differ- 
ence (if there is any) depends on the geographical situation of 
the place, with respect to its temperature, or in the backwardness 
or advancement of seasons, and even on the duration of the same 
— in which circumstances the planter takes advantage of the one 
for the other. 

The influence of a burning climate may be modified by choos- 
ing the coolest month of the year, whereas the soil cannot be 
altered without incurring great expense. I have seen tobacco 
lose its natural quality and degenerate by transplanting from one 
soil to another, although of the same temperature, and vice versa. 

Mr. Piddington has analysed several Indian soils, distinguished 
for the production of superior tobacco. These are the table soils 
from Arracan, (Sandoway,) a soil from Singour, in Burdwan, near 
Chandernagore, the tobacco of which, though of the same species 
as that of the surrounding country, sells at the price of the 
Arracan sort ; and the soil of the best Bengal tobacco, which is 
grown at, and about Hingalee, in the Kishnagur district. 

The best tobacco soils of Cuba and Manila, are for the most 
part red soils. Now, the red and reddish soils contain most of 
their iron in the state of peroxide, or the reddish brown oxide of 
iron ; while the lighter grey soils contain it only in the state of 
protoxide, or the black oxide of iron. Mr. Piddington believes 
the quality of the tobacco to depend mainly on the state and 
quantity of the iron of the soil, while it is indifferent about the 
lime, which is so essential to cotton. JMone of the tobacco soils 
contain any lime. Their analysis show them to contain : — 

Arracan soil. Singour soil. Hingalee soil- 
Oxide or iron, f peroxide) 15,65 10,60 6,00 

Water and saline matter 1,10 75 1,50 

Vegetable matter and fibre 3,75 1,10 75 

Silex 76,90 80,65 87,25 

Alumina . . 2,00 . . . . 4,50 1,50 

99,40 97,60 97,00 

Water and loss 60 2,40 3,00 

100 100 100 

Prom which it will be seen that the best tobacco soil hitherto 
found in India contains about sixteen per cent., or nearly one- 
sixth, of iron, which is mostly in a state of peroxide ; and that 
the inferior sort of tobacco grows in a soil containing only six 
per cent., or one-sixteenth of iron, which is, moreover, mostly in 
the state of protoxide, or black oxide. Mr. Piddington thought 
it worth examining \^ hat the quantity of iron in the different sorts 
of tobacco would be, and found that while the ashes of one ounce, 
or 480 grains of Havana and Sandoway cheroots gave exactly 
1.94 grains, or 0.40 per cent., of peroxide of iron the ashes of 
the same quantity of the Pliugalee, or best Bengal tobacco, only 
gave 1.50 grains, or 0.32 per cent. ; and it appears to exist in the 
first two in a state of peroxide, and in the last as a protoxide of 



618 



DEUGS, NARCOTICS, ETC. 



iron ; rendering it highly probable that the flavor of the tobacco 
to the smoker depends on the state and quantity of the iron it 
contains ! G-reen copperas water, which is a solution of sulphate 
of iron, is often used by the American and English tobacconists 
and planters, to colour and flavor their tobacco ; and this would 
be decomposed by the potass of the tobacco, and sulphate of 
potass and carbonate of iron is formed. Carbonate of iron is of 
an ochre-yellow color. Mr. Piddmgton says he took care to 
ascertain that this process had not been performed with the 
tobacco used for this experiment ; and adds that Bengal cheroot 
makers do not know of this method. Mr. Laidley, of Gronitea, 
dissents from the idea suggested by Mr. Piddington that ferru- 
ginous matter in the soil is essential to the successful growth of 
tobacco. He observes that if we attend only to the ir(m con- 
tained, why every plant will be found to require a ferruginous 
soil ; but tobacco contains a notable quantity of nitrate of potass 
and muriate of ammonia (the latter a most rare ingredient in 
plants), and these two salts are infinitely more likely to affect the 
flavor of the leaf than a small portion of oxide of iron, an inert body. 
Now as neither of these can be supplied by the atmosphere, we 
must search for them in the soil, and accordingly he imagined 
that a compost similar to the saltpetre beds which Napoleon em- 
ployed so extensively in Erance, would be a good manure for 
tobacco lands ; namely, calcareous matter, snch as old mortar, 
dung, and the ashes of weeds or wood. He was aware that good 
tobacco might be grown in Beerbhoom, having raised some him- 
self several years ago from American seed. The plants grew most 
vigorously, and he further observed, in confirmation of his opinion 
about the proper manure, that in other districts in which he had 
resided the natives always grew the tobacco (each for his own 
use) upon the heap of rubbish at his door, consisting of ashes, 
cow-dung, and offal of all kinds. While the soil of the Gangetic 
diluvium almost always contains carbonate of lime, the Beerb- 
hoom soil does not, as far at least as Mr. Laidley had ex- 
amined it. 

The following is the mode of culture pursued about the city of 
Coimbetore. Between the middle of August and the same time 
in September, a plot of ground is hoed and embanked into small 
squares ; in these the seed is sown, and covered by hand three 
times at intervals of ten days. To secure a succession of seed- 
lings water is then given, and the sun's rays moderated by a 
covering of bushes. Watering is repeated every day for a month, 
and then only every fifth day. The field in which the seedlings 
are transplanted, is manured and ploughed at the end of August. 
Cattle are also folded upon the ground. Eour or five ploughings 
are given between mid September and the middle of October, 
when the field is divided as above into small squares. These are 
watered until the soil is rendered a mud. Plants of the first 
sowing are then inserted at the end of September, about a cubit 
apart, the transplanting being done in the afternoon. At intervals 



TOBACCO. 



G19 



of ten davs tlie seedlings of tlie otlier two sowings are removed. 
A month after being transplanted the field is hoed, and after 
another month the leading shoot of each plant is pinched off, so 
as to leave them not more than a cubit high. Three times during 
the next mouth all side shoots thrown out are removed. When 
four months old, the crop is ready for cutting. To render the 
leaves sweet the field is watered, and the plants cut down close 
to the surface, being allowed to remain when cut until next morn- 
ing. Their roots are tied to a rope and suspended round the 
hedges. In fine weather the leaves are dry in ten days, but if 
cloudy they require five more days. They are then heaped up 
under a roof, which is covered with bushes and pressed with stones 
for five days. After this the leaves are removed from the stems, 
tied in bunches, heaped again, and pressed for four days longer. 
They are now tied in bundles, partly of the small leaf and partly 
of the large leaf bundles, and again put in heaps for ten days — • 
once during the time the heaps being opened and piled afresh. 
This completes the drying. A thousand bundles, weighing about 
570 lbs., is a good produce for an acre. 

In 1760, Ceylon produced a considerable quantity of tobacco, 
principally about Jafiha, a demand having sprung up for it in 
Travancore, and on the Malay coast. The cultivation spread to 
other districts of the island, Negombo, Chilaw, and Matura. Not 
long after the possession of the island by the British, a monopoly 
was created by an import duty of 25 per cent., ad valorem, and 
in 1811 the growers were compelled to deliver their tobacco into 
the Grovernment stores at certain fixed rates. The culture and 
demand thereupon decreased. In 1853, the duty on the exports 
of tobacco from this island amounted to £8,386, and in 1836 to 
£9,514. 

Ceylon now exports a considerable quantity of tobacco. The 
value of that exported in 1844 was nearly £18,000 : it went ex- 
clusively to British colonies. The shipments since have been as 



foUows : — 

1848 . . . £17,992 . . . 

1849 . . . 22,300 . . . 

1850 . . . 20,721 . . . 22,184 cwta. 

1851 . . . 21,422 . . . 22,523 „ 

1852 . . . 20,531 . . . 21,955 „ 



About 96,000 piculs of cigars, of five different qualities, 
are exported annually from Siam. A good deal of very fine 
tobacco is grown in the Philippines, and the Manila cheroots 
are celebrated all over the globe. The quantity of raw to- 
bacco shipped from Manila in 1847 was 92,106 arrobas (each 
about a quarter of a cwt.) ; manufactured tobacco, 12,054 
arrobas ; and 1,933 cases of cigars. 5,220 boxes of cigars were 
shipped from Manila in 1844. 73,439 millions of cigars were 
shipped in 1850, and 42,629 quintals of leaf tobacco. 

The manufacture of cigars in Manila is a monopoly of the 
government, and not only is this the case, but it is a monopoly of 



620 



DRUGS, NARCOTICS, ETC. 



the closest description, and any infringement of the assumed rights 
of the Spanish Indian government is visited by the most severe 
penalties. Public enterprise, however little of that commodity 
there now exists in the Spanish character, is thus kept down; and 
this is not only detrimental to the nation itself, but is also unjust 
towards those persons who are the purchasers of the article, 
enhanced in price, as is always the case, by monopoly. The 
cheroot, which now costs, free of duty, about one halfpenny, 
could be rendered for half that sum, according to well-authenti- 
cated opinions. To protect itself from illicit manufacturers, or 
smuggling of any kind in connection with cigars, the government 
is compelled to maintain an army of gendarmes, in order to adopt 
the most stringent means which despotic states alone tolerate. 
No person is, therefore, permitted to have even the tobacco leaf 
in its raw state on his premises, and gendarmes pay, at stated in- 
tervals, domiciliary visits to the habitations of the people, in search 
of any contraband materials. There are several extensive manu- 
factories of cigars and cheroots belonging to the government in 
and near Manila. Mr. Mac Micking, in his recent work on the 
Philippines, thus describes the mode of manufacture by those em- 
ployed by the government : — 

In making cheroots -women only are employed, the number of those so 
engaged in the factory at Manila being generally about 4,000. Beside these, a 
large body of men are employed at another place in the composition of cigar- 
illos, or small cigars, kept together by an envelope of white paper in place of 
tobacco ; these being the description most smoked by the Indians. The flavor 
of Manila cheroots is peculiar to themselves, being quite different from that 
made of any other sort of tobacco ; the greatest characteristic probal^ly being 
its slightly soporific tendency, which has caused many persons in the habit of 
using it to imagine that opium is employed in the preparatory treatment of the 
tobacco, which, however, is not the case. 

The cigars are made iip by the hands of women in large rooms of the factory, 
each of them containing from 800 to 1,000 souls. These are all seated, or 
squatted, Indian like, on their haunches, upon the floor, round tables, at each 
of which there is an old woman presiding to keep the young ones in order, 
about a dozen of them being the complement of a table. AH of them are sup- 
plied with a certain weight of tobacco, of the first, second, or third qualities 
used in composing a cigar, and are obliged to account for a proportionate number 
of cheroots, the weight and size of which are by these means kept equal. As 
they use stones for beating out the leaf on the wooden tables before which they 
are seated, the noise produced by them while making them up is deafening, and 
generally sufficient to make no one desirous of protracting a visit to the place. 
The workers are well recompensed by the government, as very many of them 
earn from six to ten dollars a month for their labor ; and as that amount is 
amply sufficient to provide them with all their comforts, and to leave a large 
balance for their expenses in dress, &c., they are seldom very constant laborers, 
and never enter the factory on Sundays, or, at least, on as great an annual num- 
ber of feast days as there are Sundays in a year. 

The Japanese grow a good deal of tobacco for their own con- 
sumption, which is very considerable. They consider that from 
Sasma as the best, then that from Nangasakay, Sinday, &c. The 
worst comes from the province of Tzyngaru ; it is strong, of a 
black color, and has a disgusting taste and smell. The tobacco 
from Sasma is, indeed, also strong, but it has an agreeable taste 



TOBACCO. 



621 



and smell, a]id is of a bright yello^Y color. The tobacco from 
Xangasakay is very weak, in taste and smell perhaps the best, 
and of a bright brown color. The tobacco from Sinday is very 
good. The Japanese manufacture the tobacco so well, says Capt. 
Grolownin, (EecoUections of Japan,) that though I was before no 
friend to smoking, and even when I was at Jamaica could but 
seldom persuade myself to smoke an Havana cigar, yet I smoked 
the Japanese tobacco very frequently, and with great pleasure. 

The culture of tobacco is a very profitable article for the 
laborers, seeing that the produce is obtained from grounds which 
have already given the first crop. The qualities of Java tobacco 
are more and more prized in the European markets, the prepara- 
tion and assortment are not yet all that could be desired, but they 
have progressed in this branch, and the contracts made with, the 
new adventurers assure them of a considerable benefit. But 
before the Java tobaccos can fijid an assured opening in the 
European markets, it is necessary that the cultivators should make 
use of seed from the Havana or Manila. The residencies of Eem- 
bang, Sourabaya, Samarang, Chinbou, and Tagal, present districts 
suited for its culture ; it has been carried on with success for a 
good many years in the residencies of Treanger, Pakalongan, and 
Kedu, but only for the consumption of the interior, and of the 
Archipelago. 

Tobacco is cultivated in Celebes, but merely in sufficient quantity 
for local consumption. It is exclusively grown by the Bantik 
population — the mode of preparation is the same as in Java ; it is 
chopped very fine and mostly flavored with arrack. When 
bought in large quantities, it may be had for thii^ty cents the 
pound ; but in smaller quantities it costs double that price. 

Tobacco is cultivated in New South Wales with much success. 
Australia produces a leaf equal to Virginia, or the most fertile 
parts of Kentucky, but the great difficulty is to extract the super- 
abundant "nitre." The first crop in New South Wales exceeds 
one ton per acre, and the second crop olf the same plants, yields 
about half the weight of the first. In 1844 there were about 871 
acres in cultivation in New South Wales with tobacco, and the 
produce was returned at 6,382 cwts. In New England, New 
South Wales, as fine a "fig" as could be wished for is manu- 
factured under the superintendence of a thorough-bred Virginia to- 
bacco manufacturer — but the impossibility of extracting the nitre 
by the heating, or any other process, renders the flavor rank and 
disagreeable. Perhaps cheroots, or the lower numbers of cigars, 
manufactured from the Australian leaf, might prove more 
successful. 

In Sydney the time for sowing tobacco seed is September, but 
in Van Diemen's Land it should be a month later, as tobacco 
plants cannot stand the frost. The ground should be made fine, 
and in narrow beds three feet wide from path to path, to allow for 
weeding without stepping on the beds. The seed, being small, 
should not be raked in ; but after the ground is raked fine, and 



622 



DEUGS, NAECOTICS, ETC. 



perfectly clean, and well pulverised, mix the seed with wood ashes, 
and sow over the beds, and pat in with the spade, or tread in with 
the naked feet, which is preferable. The ground should be moist, 
but not much watered, or it moulds the plants. When about as 
large as moderate sized cabbage plants, they should be put out — 
three feet or three feet six in the rows, and five feet apart between 
the rows. When the plant rises to about two feet high, it will 
throw out suckers at each leaf, which must be carefully taken off 
with the finger and thumb, and all bottom and decayed leaves that 
touch the ground taken off. When the tobacco plant throws out 
flower, it must be topped off, leaving about twelve leaves in the 
stalk to ripen and come to maturity. When the leaves feel thick 
between the finger and thumb, and assume a mottled appearance, 
they are fit to cut. 

In " Tegg's New South Wales Almanac" it is stated that the 
end of July is the usual time for sowing the seed. In order, how- 
ever, to prevent the plants from being subsequently destroyed by 
frost, care must be taken not to sow the seed until the frost has 
ceased in any respective locality (unless raised in a frame). 
Tobacco requires a rich light soil, and w^ell manured. 

By the instructions for cultivating it, the plant must be three 
feet apart each way, which w^ould give 4,840 plants to an acre ; 
assuming that each plant would yield half a pound for the first 
crop, this would give 2,420 lbs. to an acre, which is only 180 lbs. in 
excess of a ton. In New South Wales several parties use the 
tobacco stems for sheep wash. One pound of tobacco is sufiicient 
to wash five sheep on an average (one washing), which would 
give 12,100 sheep to one acre. 

Assuming that only one crop was grown in New Zealand in one 
year, of 2,420 lbs. to an acre, at 3d. per pound, (which is about 
half the market price of a fair sampk of tobacco in bond,) it would 
amount to £30 5s. per acre. 

Three rows of Indian corn are planted outside the tobacco plants 
to shelter them from the wind. In order to save seed, a few 
plants are allowed to flower. The Virginian tobacco is the largest ; 
it is known by a pink flower ; the Micotiana rustica (common 
green) has a yellow flower. 

A planter in Northern Australia furnishes the following 
directions : — 

The land selected for the growth of tobacco ought to be of the most fertile 
description, of a friable description, and upon which no water can rest within 
eighteen inches of the surface. Newly cleared brush lands of this nature are 
the most prolific ; upon such, after good tillage, put the plants about four feet 
or more apart, in rows, and five feet six inches asunder. In interior or old 
ground, plant proportionately closer. Before topping or nipping off the head, 
all the lower leaves (that is such as may touch the ground) ought to be 
broken olf, leaving only from five to seven for the crop, which will yield a 
greater weight and be of a superior quality than if double that number were 
left. When ripe, a dry and cloudy day should be selected to cut it, as the sun 
destroys its quality after cutting. It ought then to lie sufficiently long upon 
the ground so as to welt before carting to the sheds, hanging up each stalk next 
morning so as not to touch its fellow. 



TOBACCO. 



623 



The drying sheds ought to be built upon an elevated or dry spot, with a 
boarded flour of rough split stuff, fifteen or eighteen inches from the ground, 
with apertures as windows to admit or to exclude the external atmosphere. In 
damp weather close all the doors and windows, also every night ; in contrary 
weather open all. 

In these drying houses the stalks should remain suspended until the vegetable 
moisture is entirely evaporated, so that on a dry day the stems of the leaves 
will break like a glass pipe, and the finer parts crumble into snuff upon com- 
pression ; after whic h, in humid weather, they will become quite pliable ; then 
strip the leaves off the stems, make them up into hands, and pack them tightly 
into a close bin : when fall, cover it with boards and old bagged stuff, upon 
which place heavy weights. In this state it undergoes the svv^eating process, 
which, in this colony, is little understood or not properly attended to, and 
yet, upon the skill displayed thereon, the quality of the tobacco greatly depends. 
I will therefore give some general directions upon this portion of the planter's 
office. If the tobacco happen to be too damp when put into the bin, it will 
attain either an injurious or a destructive degree of heat ; it must therefore be 
watched for some days after it is packed. To an experienced operator I would 
say, if the heat exceed 80 degrees of temperatui-e, immediately unpack and 
re-hang the whole, waiting its condition as before explained, before it is again 
put into the sweating bin. Should the degree of heat be below that stated, it 
may remain for weeks or until the heat has subsided. I have generally removed 
it from the sweating process in about fourteen or twenty days, sometimes con- 
siderably longer, regulating that act by the odor and color of the leaf. If, how- 
ever, it appears to be attaining a very dark; brown color and its heat not sub- 
sided, it should be taken out and closely pressed into large cases or casks, when 
it will again attain a gentle heat called the "second sweating," as is invariably 
the case with the hogsheads of the American leaf tobacco : this again improves 
its quality. Here the growler's operations terminate. 

It may be necessary to ren:iark, that how skilful and experienced soever the 
grower may be, it is hardly possible for him to produce a good article iipon a 
small scale ; for with a less quantity than one ton to place in the sweating bin 
at a time, the requisite heat to insure success will not be generated. I would 
further observe, that the practice of the colonists in growing what they term a 
" second crop" is most injurious to their interests, their lands, and the quality 
and character of the colonial tobacco. The American planter never attempts 
it. I would therefore strongly recommend its discontinuance, and also never 
to crop one piece of land with tobacco more than two or three years m suc- 
cession. The Americans rarely take more than two crops unles"k the land, be 
new ; after which they sow it down with grasses, in which state it remains 
for two or three years until it is again planted with tobacco. I womd i^ecom- 
mend this plan to the growers. 

The character of the American tobacco has been greatly advanced in the 
mercantile world by an ordinance regulating that source of national wealth. 
The planters are thereby obligated to deposit their crops in warehouses, over 
which sworn inspectors preside, who rigidly examine every hogshead, and if 
found to be of mercantile quality, grant the owner a certificate, by which in- 
strument only he sells his produce. The purchaser is hereby safe in buying 
these certificates. The tobacco to which they refer is delivered to the holder 
on presentation to the inspector. I mention this not as applicable here at pre- 
sent, but it most probably may hereafter. 

When the colony is suffering severely for the want of labor, it may by some 
be deemed inopportune in offering remarks u|ion this article of commerce. To 
such dissentients I will remark, that a great portion of the work can be per- 
formed by women and children. A moiety of our anticipated increase of popu- 
lation will be available for this hitherto mismanaged source of wealth. At 
present the quantity grown in the colony is equal to three-fourths of its con- 
sumption, and which production is of a very inferior quality to the imported. 
These facts tend to show that my notice of the subject is not inopportune, and 
particularly so when the object is to point out those errors so generally adopted 
by the tobacco growers here. Years of practical experience, of personal obser- 



624 



DRUGS, NASCOTICS, ETC. 



vation upon the plantations of North America, and my having been, I believf, 
the grower of the greatest quantity of tobacco in the colony, qualify me to afford 
instructions thereon ; whereby, if attended to, our tobacco will become fully 
equal to the American, as was proved to be the case by the crops I grew here 
(upwards of 40 tons),* which were sold in Sydney by the Commissariat Depart- 
ment at public auction, at an advance of twenty per cent, more than the im- 
ported leaf. As the duty on tobacco is about to be reduced, the present produc- 
tion may fall off, unless an immediate improvement in its quality take place. 
Instead of being importers of tobacco, we should, if it was grown here to 
perfection, be exporters of it to all our .=ister colonies ; and in its raw state, also 
to the European markets. At present, for home consumption, there is a greater 
profit to be made by its cultivation, if skilfully managed, than in any part of 
the world ; for the duty upon imported is a positive bonus to the grower. 

In 1849-50 there were fifteen manufactories of tobacco on a 
small scale in ISTew South Wales, but these were reduced in 1851 
to six. 

Many samples of tobacco grown in the colony have been pro- 
nounced by competent judges equal to Virginian, but a very con- 
siderable prejudice exists against it. There is, however, no doubt 
that the dealers dispose of a great deal as American tobacco, and 
get a best price for it. The reduction of the import duties on 
foreign tobacco, recently made by the Legislative Council, will 
probably retard the progress of the colonial ])roduction and manu- 
facture of this article ; but with an abundance of labor there is 
no question that this branch of industry will be again profitably 
resorted to. The quantity of tobacco manufactured in I^ew South 
Wales, in 1847, was 1,321 cwt. ; in 1848, 714 cwt. ; in 1849, 
2,758 cwt. ; in 1850,3,833 cwt. ; in 1851, 4,841 cwt. 

A correspondent of the Adelaide Observer recommends its 
culture in South Australia, and supplies the foUovring useful 
information : — 

Without entering into botanical details, I will simply state that the plant is 
of a shrubby nature, about five feet high, and ought not to be planted nearer 
than four feet from each other, in rows five feet apart — thus allowing for each 
plant a space of ground four feet by five, or 20 square feet. Aji acre will 
consequently furnish sufficient room for 2,178 plants. 

The tobacco plant will thrive in almost any climate, from the torrid zone to 
the temperature of Great Britain. It luxuriates in rich alluvial valleys, where 
the soil is either of a loamy or a peaty nature. 

Maiden soil is not recommended. The ground should be trenched, worked 
as fine as possible, and well manured. Tobacco will not answer unless the 
subsoil is thoroughly broken. The best manure is that obtained from the 
bullock-yard, and bark from the tan yard ; and by two or three ploughings the 
earth can be brought to a proper consistency, and fit for the reception of the 
plants. 

The usual method adopted in Xew South Wales, is to raise the plants in a 
warm, sheltered bed, neither exposed to Mdnd nor to the sun's rays ; but if the 
weather is dry, they should be well watered night and morning. The time of 
sowing is the end of August or the beginning of September in the latitude of 
Sydney, according to the state of the weather; and they may be transplanted 
when they have attained their sixth leaf, which is generally about a month or 
five weeks after they are up. 

The period is rather later in this colony, and care should be taken that the 

* A great portion of tlie crop I grrw had leaves measuring two feet nine inches in length 
and eighteen inches wide, being larger than I ever knew to have been grown in America. 
The average weight I obtained per acre, was 25 cwt. ; whereas I see b}' the piiblic returns, 
the average of what is grown here is only 17 l-7th cwt. 



TOBACCO. 



625 



plants have gained sufficient strengtli in the ground after transplanting to with- 
stand the effect of the hot winds, and, if practicable, the aspect should be either 
J^".E. or and the rows should incline towards either of these points. 

The most suitable spots in this colony for the cultivation of tobacco, are 
Lyndoch Valley and the districts round the town of Willunga and Morphett 
Vale. 

The greatest care is required from the cultivator to prevent the destruction 
of the plant from its greatest enemy, the black grub. Daily search should be 
made for it, and not a plant should be left unexamined ; they make their ap- 
pearance about the beginning of jSTovember, ^vhen the plants have scarcely had 
time to take root. The soil between the rows should be kept constantly stirred 
with a three-pronged fork, that air and the sun's rays may be admitted, which 
latter are as indispensable to the growing plant as injurious to the seedling. 
The labor is great, and from first to last requires the constant attention of one 
man throughout the year, with an additional hand for about six weeks during 
the process of curing. 

The profits even in bad seasons are considerable ; but when the season and 
soil are favorable, they average upwards of 100 per cCnt. The consumption of 
tobacco is great in this colony, not only for personal use, but for sheep -wash; 
and the profits may be considerably greater for the lower leaves, which, owing 
to their gritty nature, cannot be manufactured, but may be advantageously 
cured for wash. 

It is not my office to argue the point as to the advantages which may ac crue 
from a free trade in tobacco ; but this I know, and confidently assert it, from 
actual experiments made in this province, that a more lucrative article cannot 
be grown. 

The consumption in South America, in 1850, was 147,178 lbs. ; and the 
annual increase since 1840 has been a higher per centage than the increase of 
population, chiefly owing to extension in sheep -farming. 

The probable expense of cultivation per acre may be as under : — 



£ 3. d. 

Kent 0 10 0 

Labor, 12 months 52 0 0 

Ditto, 2 months 8 10 0 

Ploughing three times 2 2 0 

Han owing twice 1 0 0 

Manure, say 2 10 0 

Seed, say 0 10 0 



£67 2 0 

The Sydney average quantity is said to be 11| cwt. per acre, say 10 cwt. ; 
and the cost price per lb. wiU be l4|d., or £6 15s. 4d. per cwt. 
The profit will at once be seen on this article of consumption. 

Miscellaneous Dktjgs. — The blood tree {Groton gossypifolia), 
an evergreen shrub, native of the Trinidad mountains, is remark- 
able for yielding, when wounded, a thick juice resembling blood 
in color, which is one of the most powerful astringents 1 know 
of, and as such would be valuable to medical science. The bark of 
Croton CascariUa is, as we have seeii in a former section, aromatic, 
and the seeds of C. TigJhim^ the physic nut, are purgative ; so are 
those of the purging nut (^Jatropha muUiJida) , and another species 
(J", gossgpifoliu). 

The pods of cow-itch {Mucuna pruriens) act as a vermifuge; the 
roots of the UueUia tuberosa, or manyroofc, and the bulbs of the 
white lily (Pancratium GarrihcEum and maritimum), are emetic. 
The Indian root or bastard ipecacuan {Asclcpias curassavica) has 

2 s 



626 



DEUOS, NARCOTICS, ETC. 



medicinal properties. A. tuberosa is used as a mild cathartic, and 
a remedy for a variety of disorders. Hydrastis canadensis, or 
Canadian yellow root, is a valuable bitter, and furnishes a useful 
yellow dye. Knowltonia vesicatoria is used commonly as a blister 
in the Cape Colony. Banunculus sale^^afus (the B. indicus of 
Roxburgh, and B. camosus of Wallich), common in India, is also 
used by the natives for blistering purposes. 

A kind of sedge rush, common in swampy places in the West 
India islands, the Adme cyperus, enjoys a reputation for the cure 
of yellow fever. It is also stated to be cordial, diuretic and 
cephalic, serviceable in the first stages of the dropsy, good in 
vomitings, fluxes, &c. 

Dr. Impey, the residentiary surgeon of Malwa, has just confi- 
dence in the indigenous drugs in use by the natives of the Ea.-t, 
many of which are quite unknown in European practice. He be- 
lieves that, in the Indian bazaars and the jungle, drugs having 
precisely the same effect as those of Europe may be discovered, 
and has recently drawn up a list of ninety substances, which are 
perfect substitutes for an equal number of European medicines. 
The class of tonics, in particular, is most amply supplied, and th^ 
Englishman is not the only animal who sufiers from disorders of 
the digestive organs. 

My friend Dr. Hamilton, of Plymouth, recently brought under 
the notice of the profession the medical properties of the prickly 
poppy or Mexican thistle {Argemone Meccicaha). It is indigenous 
to and grows wild in the greatest profusion throughout the whole 
of the Caribbean islands, and may be found at every season of the 
year covered with its bright golden blossoms, and bearing its 
prickly capsules in all their several stages of maturity. It is an 
annual plant, attaining a height of about two feet, growing 
abundantly in low and hot uncultivated spots. Its stem is round 
and prickly, furnished with alternate branches and thorny leaves. 
The seeds possess an emetic quality. The whole plant abounds 
in a yellow milky juice, resembling gamboge in color, and not im- 
probably possessing properties similar to the seeds. In Nevis the 
oil is obtained from the bruised seeds by boiling, and sold by the 
negroes in small phials, containing about an ounce each, under the 
name of "thistle oil," at the price of a quarter of a dollar each. 
The usual dose for dry bellyache is thirty drops upon a lump 
of sugar, and its effect is perfectly magical, relieving the pain in- 
stantaneously, throwing the patient into a profound and refreshing 
sleep, and in a few hours relieving the bowels gently of the con- 
tents. This oil seems fitted to compete in utility with the far 
more costly and less agreeable oil of the croton. 
I The seeds of the sandbox (Hura crepitans) when bruised, 
operate powerfully as emetico-cathartic. It is probable that an 
oil might be obtained from them similar in its operation to the 
thistle oil. 

A cucurbitaceous fruit, one of the Luffas (called by Yon 



POISOJfJ?. 



627 



Martius Lujfa purgans), a tribe closely allied to the colocynth 
and mornordicas, growing in South America, is a powerful 
purgative, and is used in the province of Pernambuco, where it is 
called Cabacinha. The fruit is about the size of a small pear 
and resembles the wild cucumber. An infusion of a fourth part 
of one of these fruits is administered chiefly in the form of an 
injection. 

Another species {Jjuffa drastica of Martius) is also employed 
for the same purpose. 

The Lujfa purgans grows spontaneously in the suburbs of 
Becieffe, the capital of the province of Pernambuco, and flowers 
in November and December. The fruit is a drastic purgative, 
and an infusion of it is used either internally or in the form 
of clyster. The tincture is prepared by macerating, for twenty- 
eight hours or more, four of the fruit deprived of the seeds in a 
bottle of spirit 21 degrees. The dose is three or four ounces 
daily, which occasions much sickness. 

Poiso^^s. — The vegetable kingdom (observes Mr. Simple), to 
which man is largely indebted for the materials of food, clothing, and 
shelter, produces also some of the most d_^adly poisons with which 
science, experience, or accident, has made him acquainted. In 
examining the poisonous productions of the vegetable kingdom, 
we find that their properties are generally due to the presence 
of some acid or alkali contained in the plant from which they 
are derived. Oil of bitter almonds and cherry laurel water are 
poisonous in consequence of containing prussic acid. Opium 
owes its activity to the alkaloid morphia. The Upas-tiente 
derives its energetic powers from the alkaloid strychnia; conia is 
the active principle of hemlock ; veratria of hellebore ; aconita of 
monk's hood; and although there are several poisonous plants in 
which the active principle has not yet been detected, there can be 
little doubt that such a principle exists, although it has hitherto 
eluded the researches of the chemist. — ("Pharmaceutical J ournal," 
vol. 2, p. 17.) 

The bark taken from the roots of the Jamaica dogwood (Piscidia 
erythrind)^ which is extensively distributed throughout the Archi- 
pelago of the Antilles, is used for stupefying fish. The pounded 
root is mixed with slaked lime and the low wines or lees of the 
distillery, and the mixture is put into small baskets or sacks, and 
so suffered to wash out gradually, coloring the water to a reddish 
hue. The fish rise to the surface in a few minutes, when they 
float as if dead. 

The expressed juice of the root of Maranta Arundinacea is 
stated to be a valuable antidote to some vegetable poisons, and also 
serviceable in cases of bites or stings of venomous insects or 
reptiles. One of the most popular remedies for the bites of snakes 
is a decoction of the leaves pf the Guaco, or snake plant, of South 
America, a species of willow which flourishes along the banks of 

2 s 2 



028 



DRUGS, KARCOTICS, ETC. 



the streams in the sultry regions shaded by other trees. It is 
said to be botli a. preventive and cure. 

Mr. Edward Otto, writing from Cuba to the " Gardener's Maga- 
zine" for May, 1842, p. 286, describes the guaco as a tree grow- 
ing from four to eight feet in height, with beautiful dark green 
leaves, having a brown tinge round the margin. The blossoms are 
small, of a bluish brown, and hang like loose bunches of grapes 
at the points of the shoots, or even on the stem itself, as it has 
seldom branches. The m Iky sap is said to have poisonous effects. 
" I was told (he adds) that this plant is nsed efiiciently in 
cholera and yelloAV fever." This tree is said to be the Camoeladia 
ilicifolia of ISwartz, common in Antigua and Hayti, being known 
in Antigua by the popular name of the holly-leaved maiden plum. 

Aloes. — The drug called aloes is the bitter, resinous, inspissated 
juice of the leaves of various species of an arborescent plant 
of the lily family, with a developed stem and large succulent 
leaves, growing principally in tropical and sub-tropical regions, 
and having a wide extent of range, being produced in Borneo and 
the East, Africa, Arabia, and the "West Indies ; many are also 
natives of the Cape of Grood Hope. The plant will thrive in 
almost any soil, and, v»dien once established, it is extremely 
difficult to eradicate. 

The cultivation and manufacture are of the most simple kind. 
The usual mode of propagating the plants is by suckers ; and all 
the care required is to keep them free from weeds. 

Erom the high price wliich the best Barbados aloes fetches in 
the market, £7 per cwt., its culture might be profitably extended 
to many of the other islands. The aloes plant is indigenous 
to the soil of Jamaica, and although handled by thousands of 
the peasantry and others, there is not perhaps one in five thou- 
sand v.'ho understands its properties or the value of the plant. 
With the Jamaicans it is commonly used in fever cases, by 
slicing the leaves, permitting the juice to escape partially, and 
then applying them to the head with bandages ; — this is the only 
generally known property which it possesses there. 

A series of trials made recently in Paris proved that cordage 
manufactured from the fibre of this plant grown in Algiers, 
Avas far preferable in comparative strength to that manufactured 
from hemp. Cables, of equal size, showed that that made of the 
aloe raised a weight of one-fifth more than that of hemp. 

The drug is imported into this country under the names of 
Sec )trine, iEast Indian or Hepatic, Barbados, Cape and Caballine 
aloes. It contains a substance called Aloetine, which some regard 
as its active principle. The various species now defined are — 
Aloe sjjicata, vulgaris, Socotrina, Indica, ruhescens, Arahica, linr/uce- 
formis and Commelina. The average imports in 1841 and 1842 
were only about 170,780 ^cwts. ; it is now much larger, and a 
great portion of the supply is drawn from the Cape colony. 

The mode of preparing the drug, w^hich I have my self seen in 



ALOES. 



629 



the AYest Indies, is exceedingly simple. When the plant has 
arrived at proper maturity, the laborers go into the field with 
tubs and knives, and cut the largest and most succulent leaves 
close to the stalk ; these are placed upright in the tubs, side 
by side, so that the sap mry flow out of the wound. Some- 
times a longitudinal incision is made from top to bottom 
of the leaf, to facilitate the discharge. The crude juice thus 
obtained is placed in shallow flat-bottomed receivers, and exposed 
to the sun until it has acquired sufScient consistency to be 
packed in gourds for exportation. Jn preparing the coarser 
Ivind, or horse aloes, the leaves are cut into junks and thrown 
into the tubs, there to lie till the juice is pretty well drained out; 
they are then squeezed by the hand, and water, in the proportion 
of one quart to ten of juice, is added, after which it is boiled to 
a due consistence and emptied into large shallow coolers.. 

The following analysis by M. Edmond Eobiquet of a specimen 
of Socotrine aloes, obtained from M. Chevallier, is given in the 
sixth volume of the "Pharmaceutical Journal," p. 277. The 
constituents in 100 parts were : — 

Pure aloes (Aloetine) .... 85.00 

Ulmate of potash . . . .2.00 

Sulphate of lime , . . . 2.00 

Carbonate of potash . . . .\ 

lime . . . . ; traces. 

Phosphate of lime . . . . ) 

Gallic acid . . . . .0.25 

Albumen . . . . .8. 

The true Socotrine aloes is the produce of A. Socotrina, which 
grows abundantly in the island of Socotra in the Indian 
Ocean. Lieutenant Wellstead says, the hills on the west side 
of the island are covered for an extent of miles with aloe plants. 
The aloe grows spontaneously on the limestone mountains of 
Socotra, from 500 to 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
The produce is brought to Tamarida and Colliseah, the prin- 
cipal town and harbor for exports. In 1833, the best quality 
sold for 23. a pound, while for the more indifferent the price 
was 13d. The value is much impaired by the careless manner in 
which the aloes is gathered and packed. Aloes once formed 
the staple of its traffic, for which it was chiefly resorted to ; but 
only small quantities are now exported. It was formerly 
shipped by the way of Smyrna and Alexandria, but is usually 
now brought by the way of Bombay ; ]Melinda, on the Zanzibar 
coast, and Maccula on the Ai'abian shore, furnish the greater 
part of that sold in Europe as Socotrine aloes. It comes home 
in chests or packages of 150 to 200 lbs. wrapt in skins of the 
gazelle, sometimes in casks holding half a ton or more. It is 
somewhat transparent, of a garnet or yellowish red color. The 
smell is not very unpleasant, approaching to myrrh. Socotrine 
aloes, although long considered the best kind, is now below Bar- 
bados aloes in commercial value. 



DRUG?!, TT^ECOTICS, ETC. 



About two toils were irapoitei fr tni ^ocotra in 1833, but a 
mucii larger quantify could be obtained if required. 

The price of Socotrine aloes in the Liverpool market, in the 
early part of 1853, was 30s. to £(3 the cwt.; of Cape, 30s. to 32s. 

East Indian, or Hepatic a^.oes. — The real hepatic aloes, 
so called from its liver coldr, is believed to be the produce of 
A. Arahica, or perfoliala, wbich grows in Yemen in Arabia, from 
w'hence it is exported by the way of Bombay to Europe. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Thomson and the " Materia Medica," it is duller 
in its color than the other kinds, is bitterer, and has a less plea- 
sant aroma than the Socotriae aljes. It should not be liquid, 
which deteriorates the quality. 

A. Imlica — a species with reddish flowers, common in dry 
situations, in the north-west provinces of India, is that from 
which an inferior sort of the drug is produced. It is obtained 
in Gruzerat, Salem, and Trichiuopoly, and fetches a local price 
of 2i. to 3d. a pound. In the Bombay market, Socotrine aloes 
fetches wholesale 16s. to 20s. the Surat maund of 41 lbs., and 
Maccula aloes only 9s. 

Barbados aloes, is the produce of ^. vulgaris, or A. harladensis, 
a native of the Cape colony," and is often passed off for the 
Hepatic. It is brought home in calabashes, or large gourd 
shells, containing from 6) to 70 lbs. each, or more. It is duskier 
in hue than the East Indian species, being a darkish brown or 
black, and the taste is more nauseous and intensely bitter. 

In 1783 one hogshead and 409 gourds of aloes were exported 
from Barbados. In 1827, there were about 96,000 packages 
shipped from the island. In 1841, there were 4,600 packages 
exported. The exports have fallen off considerably, only about 
850 gourds having been shipped in the season of 1849-50 ; but 
in 185 L it increased to 2,505 gourds. 

Cahadline, or Horse-aloes, is the coarsest species or refuse of the 
Barbados aloes, and from its rank fetid smell is only useful for 
veterinary medicine. It is also obtained from Spain and 
Senegal. 

A very good description of the mode of cultivating and pre- 
paring the aloes in Barbados is given in the 8th vol. of the 
" London J^dedical Journal " : — 

The lands in the vicinity of the sea, that is from two to three miles, -which 
are rather subject to drought than otherwise, and are so strong and shallow as 
not to admit ot the planting of sugar-canes with any prospect of success, are 
generally found to answer best for the aloe-plant. The stones, at least the 
larger ones, are first picked up, and either packed in heaps upon the most 
shallow barren spots, or laid round the fi-jld as a dry v\^all. The land is then 
lightly ploughed and very carefully cleared of all noxious weeds, lined at one 
foot distance from row to row, and the young plants set like cabbages, at about 
five or six inches from each other. This regular mode of lining and setting 
the plants is practised only by the most exact planters, in order to facilitate the 
frequent weeding by hand; because if the ground be not kept perfectly clean 
and free from weeds, the produce will be very small. Aloes will bear being 
planted in any scasoa nf the year, even in the dryest, as they will live on the 



ALOES. 



631 



surface of tlie eartli fur many week? -vrithout a drop of rain. The most general 
time of planting them, however, is from April to June. 

In the March following, the laborers carry a parcel of tubs and jars into the 
field, and each takes a slip or breadth of it, and begins by laying hold of a bunch 
of the blades, as much as he can conveniently grasp with one hand, whilst with 
the other he cuts it just above the surface of the earth as quickly as possible 
(that the juice may not be wasted), and then places the branches in the tub 
bunch by bunch or handful by handful. When the first tub is thus packed 
quite full, a second is begun (each laborer having two) ; and by the time the 
second is filled, all the juice is generally drained out of the blades in the first 
tub. The blades are then lightly taken out and thrown over the land by way 
of manure, and the juice is poured out into a jar. The tub is then filled again 
with blades, and so alternately, till the laborer has produced his jar full, or 
about four gallons and a half of juice, which is often done in six or seven hours, 
and he has then the remainder of the day to himself, it being his employer's 
interest to get each day's operation as quickly done as possible. It may be 
observed that although aloes are often cut m nine, ten, or twelve months after 
being planted, they are not in perfection till the second or third year, and that 
they will be productive for a length of time, say ten or twelve years, or even 
for a longer time, if good dung or manure of any kind is stirred over the field 
once in three or four years, or oftener if convenient. 

The aloe juice Avill keep for several weeks without injury. It is therefore 
not boiled till a sufficient quantity is procured to make it an object for the 
boiling house. In the large way, three boilers or coppers are placed to one 
fire, though some have but two, and the s-nall planters only one boiler. The 
boilers are filled with the juice, and as it ripens or becomes more inspissated 
by a con taut but regular tire, it is ladled from boiler to boiler, and fresh juice 
is added to that farthest from the fire, till the juice in that nearest the fire (by 
much the smallest of the three) becomes of a proper consistency, to be skipped 
or latUed out into gourds or other small vessels used for its final reception. The 
proper time to skip or ladle it out of the last boiler is when it has arrived at 
what is termed a resin height, or when it cuts freely or in thin flakes from the 
edges of a small wooden slice that is dipped from time to time into the boiler 
for that purpose. A little lime water is used by some aloe boilers during the 
process, when the ebullition is too great. 

Ca.pe Aloes is the produce chiefly of A. sj)icata, and A. Com- 
melini, which are fouud growing wild in great ahnndauce in the 
interior of the Cape Colony. It has not the dark opaque appear- 
ance of the other species. About fifty miles from Cape Town is 
a mountainous tract, ahnos^t entirely covered with numerous 
species and varieties of the plant, and some of the extensive arid 
plains in the iuterior of the colony are crowded with it. The set- 
tlers go forth and pitch their waggous and camps on these spots to 
obtain the produce. The shipments from Table Bay and the eastern 
port of Algoa Bay are verj considerable. The odor of the Cape 
aloes is stronger and more disagreeable than that of the Socotrine 
or Barbados, and the color is more like gamboge. It is brought 
over in chests and skins, the latter being perferred. 

Mr. Greorge Dunsterville, surgeon of Algoa Bay, gives the 
following description of the manufacture ot Cape aloes : — 

A shallow pit is dug, in which is spread a bullock's hide or sheep's skin. 
The leaves of the aloe plants in the immediate vicinity of this pit are stripped 
off and piled up on the skin to variable heights. These are left for a few days. 
The juice exudes from the leaves, and is received by the skin beneath. The 
Hottentot then collects in a basket or other convenient article the produce ol 
many heaps, which is then put into an iron pot capable of holding eighteen or 



632 



DRUGS, NAliCOTICS, ETC. 



twenty gallons. Fire is applied to effect evaporation, during whicli tlie contents 
of the pot are constantly stirred to prevent burning. The cooled liquor is then 
poured into wooden cases of about three feut square by one foot deep, or into 
goat or sheep skins, and thus is filled for the market. In the colony aloea 
realises about 2^d. to 3|d. per pound. The Hottentots and Dutch boors employ 
indiscriminately different species of aloe in the preparation of the drug. 

The Cape aloesy Avhich is usually prized the highest in the English market, is 
that made at the Missionary institution of Bethelsdorp (a small village about 
nine miles from Algoa Bay, and chiefly inhabited by Hottentots and their 
missionary teachers). Its superiority arises not from the employment of a par- 
ticular species of aloe, for all species are used, but from the greater care and 
attention paid to what is technically called the cooking of the aloes ; that is, 
the evaporation, and to the absence of all adulterating substances (fragments of 
lime-stone, sand, earth, ttc), often introduced by manufacturers. 

Mr. Moodie, in his " Ten Tears' Eesidence in Southern Africa," 
gives a somewhat similar account. 

Mr. Bnnbmy states that, about the neighbourhood of Gra- 
ham's TowD, three large kinds of aloe are very abundant, v^diich 
form striking and characteristic features of the scenery ; they 
grow irregularly scattered over the parched and naked faces of 
the hilis, but most abundantly among the low broken ledges and 
knolls of sandstone rock, and are often seen spiring up above the 
evergreen bushes in the ravines, and crowning the eliifs. One 
kind grows to the height of a man. They are plants of a strange, 
rigid, and ungracefid appearance, but with very handsome flowers, 
which form tall and dense spikes, of a fine coral-red color in two 
of the species (A. arhorescens and lineata?'), and of an orange 
scarlet in the third {A. glaucescens ?). "When in blossom they are 
conspicuous at a great distance, and might easily be mistaken, 
when seen from far off, for soldiers in red uniforms. 

The importance of this indigeiious plant to the Cape Colony, 
may be estimated from the following figures ; — • 

AMOUNT OF ALOES, THE PRODUCE OF THE COLONY, AND VAT HE THEREOF, EX- 
PORTED IN THE TEARS ENDING 5tH JaNUARY 1841, 1842, AND 1846. 

lbs. £ 

1841 485,574 8,821 

1842 682,620 11,877 

1846 266,725 3,018 

exports AND VALUE FROM THE EASTERN PROVINCE. 

lbs. £ 

1835 68,042 474 

3 836 30,808 285 

1837 13,400 115 

1838 28,867 306 

1839 75,500 918 

1840 82,478 1,145 

1S41 220,214 4,271 

1842 283,305 5,003 

1844 318,035 3,225 

EXPORTS AND VALUE FROM THE WESTERN PROVINCE. 

lbs. £ 

1841 242,860 4,175 

1842 379,315 6,874 

1844 506,796 6,586 



ASArCETIDA— CAilPHOE. 



633 



AsATffiTiDA. — This drug of commerce is procured from the 
milky juice of Ferula asafoetida, a plant recently described by Dr. 
Falconer, under the name of Narthex asafoetida. It is I'ound in. 
Persia, the mountains of Chorasan, the central table land of 
Affghanistan, and some seeds of it, sent to this country by Dr. 
Falconer, germinated in the Botanical Garden at Edinburgh, and 
are now vigorous thriving plants of six years growth. Its leaves 
have a resemblance to those of a paeony ; the fruit is distinguished 
by divided and interrupted vittae, which form a net-work on the 
surface. The perennial roots grow to a very large size, and are 
seldom of any use until after four or five years' growth. The 
asafcetida is procured by taking successive slices olf the top of 
the root and collecting the milky juice, which is allowed to concrete 
into masses of a fetid resinous gummy matter, with a sulpliur oil, 
similar to that of garlic, which is probably its active ingredient. 

An inferior sort is obtained from F.persica, another species with 
very much divided leaves, growing chiefly in the southern provinces 
of Persia, It comes over usually in casks and cases. Tho 
British consumption of the drug is about 10,000 lbs. a year. A 
little is procin-ed from Scinde. In 1825 the quantity imported 
was 106,770 lbs., in 1839 only 24 cwts. 

The wholesale price in the Liverpool market, in January 1853, 
was £1 to 5t*3 10s. the cwt. 

Camphor. — The Camphor tree {CampTiora qfficinarum, Laurus 
Camphor a) is a native of China, Japan, and Cochin China, of the 
laurel tribe, with black and purple veins. Camphor is procured 
from all parts of the tree, but it is obtained principally from the 
wood by distillation, and subsequent sublimation. 

Many plants, such as the cinnamon tree, supply a kind of cam- 
phor, but the common camphor of the shops is the produce 
chiefly of C. officinarum. 

Two kinds of unrefined camphor are known in commerce. — 1. 
The Dutch, which is brought from Batavia, and is said to be the 
produce of Japan. This is imported in tubs covered by matting 
and each surrounded by a second tub, secured on the outside by 
hoops of twisted cane. Each tub contains about one cwt. Most 
of this goes to the continent. 2. Ordinary crude camphor is im- 
ported from Singapore and Bombay, in square chests lined with 
lead-foil, and containing \\ to \\ cwts. It is chiefly produced in 
the island of Formosa, and is brought by the Chin Chew junks in 
very large quantities to Canton, whence foreign markets get 
supplied. — ("Pereira's Materia Medica.") 

In the southern part of Japan the tree grows in such abundance 
that, notwithstanding the great consumption of it in the country, 
large quantities are exported. Koempfer says, that the Japanese 
camphor is made by a simple decoction of the wood and roots, but 
bears no proportion in value to that of Borneo. There is aloo an 
imitation of camphor in Japan, but every body can distinguish it 
from the genuine. 



631 



DEUGS, JfAECOTICS, ETC. 



The camphor of Sumatra is procured from the stem of a large 
tree, Dryohalanops CampJiora^QoAohYOok; D. aromatica, Graertner. 
It is secreted in crystalline masses naturally into cavities of the 
wood. It supplies this camphor only after attaining a cousider- 
ahle age. In its young state it yields, ho^Yever, by incision, a 
pale yellow liquid, called the liquid camphor of Borneo and Su- 
matra, '.vhich consists of resin and a volatile oil having a camphor- 
ated odor. 

An account of this tree, and of the mode of procuring the pecu- 
liar and high-priced camphor which it yields, is given by Dr. 
Junghuhn, who has travelled lately in Sumatra, and Prof, De 
Vriese, of Leyden, in the " Xederlandsch Kruidkundig Archief" 
for 1851. An abstract of the memoir, translated into English by 
Miss De Yriese, is pubhshed in "Hooker's Journal of Botany" 
for Februar}^ and March 1852 : — 

The Dryobalanops is a gigantic tree, rising for fifty or even a hundred feet 
above those which compose the chief mass of the forests where they grow, just 
as the steeples of the churches appear above the roofs of the houses in a town. 
The trunks of the full-grown trees are from 7 t3 10 feet in diameter at the very 
base, and from o to 8 feet higher up ; they rise to the height of 100 or 130 feet, 
and their ample crown is from 50 to 70 feet in diameter. The tree has a 
limited range, being confined to the seaward slope of the mountains of south- 
western Sumatra, most abundant on the lower slopes and the outlying hills of 
the alluvial plain, and extending in latitude from Ideg. 10m. to 2deg. 20m. X., 
and perhaps further to the north. Camphor oil occurs in all the trees, and is 
most abundant in the younger branches and leaves. The solid camphor is found 
only on the trunks of older trees, espec^'ally in fissures of the wood, and in 
smaller quantity than is generally supposed. Colebrooke, and authors who have 
copied from him, assert that camphor is found in the heart of the tree in such a 
quantity as to fill a cavity of the thickness of a man's arm, and that a single 
tree yields about eleven pounds. The price ot this camphor, which at Padang 
sells for about 340 dollars per hundred weight, suffices to show that the account 
is much exaggerated. The camphor occurs only in small fissures, from which 
the natives, having felled the trees and split up the wood, scrape it oft" with 
small splinters or with their nails. From the oldest and richest trees they 
rarely collect more than two ounces. After a long siay in the woods, frequently 
of three months, during which they may f^'ll a hundred trees, a party of thirty 
persons rarely bring away more than 15 or 20 pounds of s- lid camphor, worth 
from 20O to 250 dollars. The variety and price of this costly substance are 
enhanced by a custom which has immemorially prevailed among the Battas, of 
delaying the burial of every person who during his life had a claim to the title 
of Eajah (of which each village has one) until some rice, sown on the day of 
his death, has sprung up, grown and borne fruit. The corpse, till then kept 
above ground among the living, is now, with these ears of rice, committed t 
the earth, like the grain six months before ; and thus the hope is emblematically 
expressed that, as a new life arises from the seed, so another life shall begin for 
man after his death. Dui'ing this time the corpse is kept in the house, enclosed 
in a coffin made of the hollowed trunk of a Durion, and the whole space 
between the coffin and the body is filled with pounded camphor, for the purchase 
of which the family of the deceased Eajah frequently impoverish themselves. 
The camphor oil is collected by incisions at the base of the trunk, from which 
the clear balsamic juice is very slowly discharged. 

In Sumatra the best camphor is obtained in a district called 
Barus, and all good camphor bears that local name. It appears 
that the tree is cut down to obtain the gum and that not in one 



CIXCnOXA — QriXI2s'E. 



635 



tenth of the trees is it found. Earns camphor is getting scarce, 
as the tree must be destroyed before it is ascertained whether it 
is productive or not. About 800 piculs aie annually sent to 
China. The proportion between Malay and Chinese camphor is 
as eighteen to one ; the former is more fragrant and not so pun- 
gent as the latter. 

^^ine hundred and eighty-three tubs of camphor were exported 
from Java in 1S43 ; 025 bales were imported in 1843, the produce 
of the Japanese empire ; and 559 piculs exported from Canton 
in 1844. 

The price of unrefined camphor in the Liverpool market in 
July, 1853, was £4 to £4 lOs. the cwt. There have been no im- 
ports there direct in the last two years. 

Camphor (says Dr. TJre) is found in a great many plants and is secreted in 
purity by several laurels; it occurs combined 'vritb. the essential oils of many 
of the labiarce ; but it is extracted for manufacturing purposes only from the 
La-dus Camphora, which abounds in China and Japan, as well as from a tree 
which grows in Sumatra and Borneo, called in the country kapur bams, from 
the name of tl.e place where it is most common. The camphor exists, ready 
lormed, in these vegetables between the wood and the bark ; but it does not 
exuda spontaneously. On cleaving the tree Laurus Suniatrensis (Q,j. Bryoba- 
lanops Cxmphora J, masses of camphor are found in the { ith. The wood of the 
LaiuHis is cut into small pieces and put, with plmty of water, into large iron 
boilers, which are covered with an earthen capital or dome, lined within with 
rice straw. As the water buili, the camphor rises with the steam, and attaches 
itself as a sublimate to the stalks, under the form of granulations of a grey 
color. In this state it is picked off the straw and packed up for exportation to 
Europe."— ("Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures.") 

The price of camphor at Canton in July, 1850, was from 
fourtetn to fifteen dolhirs per picul. 

Cinchona. — Peruvian or Jesuit's Bark — One of tlie most valu- 
able and powerful astringents and tonics used in mediciue, is the 
produce of several species of cinchona, natives of the Andes, 
from ]1 north latitiids to 20 touth latitude, at elevations varying 
from 1,200 to 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, and in a dry 
rocky soil. There are at least twelve trees which are supposed 
to furnish the barks of commerce, and great obscurity prevails as 
to the species whence the various kinds of cinchona bark are 
derived. The names of yellow, red, and pale bark have been very 
vaguely applied, and are by no means vrtll defined. Dr. Lindley 
mentions twenty-six varieties; of which tvveuty-one are well 
known. The barks are met ^ ith either in thick, large, flat pieces, 
or in thinner pieces, which curl inwards during drying, and are 
called quilled. 

Quinine is one of the most important of the vegetable alkaline 
bitters. It was first discovered by A'auquelin, in 1811, and its 
preparation on a large scale pointed out by Pelletier and Caventon 
in 1820. It is obtained by boiling the yellow bark {Cincliona) 
in water and sulphuric acid, and then treating it with lime and 
alcohol, when the quinine is precipitated in the form of a white 
powder. Upwards of 120,000 ounces are made annually in Paris. 



G36 



DRUGS, isAECOTICS, ETC. 



Cinchona, or the Peruvian bark, was gathered to the amount 
of two million dollars in one 3'ear recent!}', and the demand is con- 
stantly increasing. 

Peruvian bark is cut in th.e eastern Provinces of Eolivia, skirt- 
ing the river Paraguay, and now conveyed an immense distance 
by mules over a mountainous region to El Puerto, the only port 
of Bolivia on the Pacific, It is thence brought by Cape Horn to the 
cities of the United States and Europe. IVow that Government has 
been successful in opening the Soutli American rivers, this important 
article of commerce will be furnished in market by the Paraguay 
and La Plata rivers, at a much reduced price. 

A species of bark from Colombia, known as Malambo or Matias 
bark, has been frequently administered by Dr. Alexander Ure as a 
substitute for cinchona with good effect. It offers the useful 
combination of a tonic and aromatic. It is supposed to be the 
produce of a species of Drimys. It is stated that in New Granada, 
and other districts of Central America, where the tree is indige- 
nous, incisions are made in the bark, and there exudes an aromatic 
oil which sinks in water. 

Cinchona bark contains two alkaloids, cinchonia and quina, to 
which its active properties are due ; the former is best obtained 
from gra}^ bark, the latter from yellow bark. In combination 
with these there exists an acid called kinic acid. 

The imports of cinchona bark to this country are from 225,000 
to 556,000 lbs. annually, and about 120,000 lbs. are retained for 
home consum.ption. It comes over in chests and serons, or ox- 
hides, varying from 90 to 200 lbs. "We imported from Erance, in 

1850, 489 cwt. of Peruvian bark, of the value of £6,840 ; and in 

1851, 1,128 cwt., of the value of £15,787 ; also the following 
quantities of sulphate of quinine, on which there is a duty of 
6d. and 3-lOths per ounce. 

oz. £ 
1S48 3,856 o,?98 

1849 1,114 1,560 

1850 8,976 12,566 

1851 7,605 10,647 

The following is the arrangement of these barks adopted by 
Pereira, who has gone very fully into the subject : — 

A. True cinchonas, with a brown epidermis. 

I. Pale barks 

1. Crown or Loxa bark. C. Conclaminea. 

2. Gray or silver or Huanuco bark. C. micratiiha. 

3. Ash. or Jaen bark. C. ovata. 

4. Rusty or Huamalies bark. C. imhescens. 

II. Yellow barks. 

5. Royal, yellow or Calisava bark. C, sp f 

III. Red barks. 

6. Red bark. C. sp f 

B. True cinchonas, with a white epidermis. 
I. Pale barks. 

7. White Loxa bark. 



637 



II. Yello^r barks. 

8. Hard Carthagena bark. C. cordifolia. 

9. Fibrous ditto. Perhaps C. cordifolia. 

10. Cuzco bark. C. sp. f 

11. Orange bark of Santa Fe. C. lancifolia. 

III. Eed barks. 

12. Eed bark of Santa Fe. C. Gblongifolia. 

The genus Exostemma yields various kinds of false cinchona 
bark, Avhich do not contain the cinchona alkalies. The following 
are some of the kinds noticed by Pereira : — 

1. St. Lucia or Piton bark. Exostemma floribundv.m. 

2. Jamaica bark. B. caribaeum. 

3. Pitaya bark. E. sj) ? 

4. False Peruvian bark. E. peruviamim. 

5. Brazilian bark. E. souzianum. 

The mode adopted by the bark-peelers of obtaining cinchona 
varies somewhat in different districts. The Indians (says Mr. 
Stevenson, "Twenty Tears' Eesidence in South America") dis- 
cover from the eminences where a cluster of trees grow in the 
woods, for they are easily discernable by the rose-colored tinge of 
their leaves, which appear at a distance like bunches of flowers 
amid the deep -green foliage of other trees. They then hunt for 
the spot, and having found it out, cut down all the trees, and take 
the bark from the branches, and after they have stripped off" the 
bark, they carry it in bundles out of the wood, for the purpose 
of drying it. The peelers commence their operation about May, 
when the drv season sets in. Some writers state that the trees 
are barked without felling. 

In a letter published in one of the Calcutta papers not long- 
ago, from the pen, I believe, of Mr. Piddington, he strongly 
urged the introduction of the cinchona tree into British India : — 

There is (he observes) one tree, the introduction and the copious distribution 
of which within certain appropriate points of the sub-Himalayan range, would 
confer a greater blessing on the great body of natives, than any effort the 
Government has made or can make, and that is the cinchona bark tree. 

AYithout any reference to the greater or less force of medical theories as to 
the efficacy of cinchona bark, I now only take an experienced and practical 
view, w^ell knowing that the sufferings of many millions of poor and rich 
natives, especially in the jungle districts, are yearly very great, and the mortality 
quite enormous from remittent and intermittent fevers, by far the greater part 
of which would be immensely relieved, or wholly cured, by the free use of 
cinchona bark. 

If by abundance the price be once brought within the poor native's reach, 
he will readily take to it, having no objection v/liatever on account of caste to 
anything of the nature of the bark of a tree. 

If the cinchona tree were once growing in abundance, quinine could, be easily 
prepared in India, from the facility of procuring, and cheapness of spirits of 
wine used in the process of its elimination. 

I take it that every hundred Sepahees sick of fevers remaining in hospital 
off duty for thirty days, drawing an average pay of eight rupees each, form a 
full monthly loss to Government of eight hundred rupees ; while a free use of 
quinine and bark Avould cure them in ten days on the average, costing at present 
about forty rupees ; thus by the twenty days' services gained, Governn.ent 
would save nearly five hundred rupees. 



638 



DETJGS, KAECOTICS ETC. 



But the cinchona tree once gi owing abundantly, quinine would of course 
become infinitely cheaper. 

Under a proper system of cultLre, quill hark only need he taken without 
destroying the trees, and an earlier return be obtained. 

There never yet has been a substitute found for cinchona hark and its salts, 
as an antiperiodic and tonic. 

It yet remains for some one to find an equally efficacious substitute, and thus 
make a fortune. In the mean time the importance of the cinchona is paramount. 

The cinchona tree, like the pimento, deteriorates under cultivation, and in moist, 
warm, rich valleys the bark becomes inert. The best bark is.from trees growing 
on mountain tops or steep declivities, 

f rom the full accounts of Condamine, Mutis, and Humboldt, a soil and climate 
like that of the north west sub-Himalayan range is admirably adapted to the 
planting and prospering of cinchona trees. 

In Lord W. Bentinck's time, before there were steamers in or to India, seeing 
the immense benefit to be derived, I sent in a proposition to procure young 
cincliona plants from Vera Cruz, begging to be then permitted to proceed there 
on that account, and my proposition was civilly and even favorably received ; 
but these were not the days to act on it. 

Of about the twenty species of cinchona trees the following would of course 
be the best to bring — the Cinchona bineifolia, the cinchona cordifolia^ the cinchona 
oblo7igifolia, the cinchona micrantha^ and the cinchona condaminea. 

The Calumba plant {Cocculus pahnatus, Decandolle, or Me- 
nispermuffc palmafum) furnishes the medicinal Colombo root, whicli 
is one of the most useful stomachics and tonics in eases of dys- 
pepsia. It is scarcely ever cultivated, the spontaneous produce 
of thick forests ou the shces of Oibo and Mozambique and 
many m:les inland on the eastern shores of Africa, Mada- 
gascar and Bombay, proving sufliciejit. The supplies j rincipally 
go to Ceylon. The roots are perennial, and consist of several 
fasciculated, fusiform, branched, fleshy, curved and descending 
tubers, from one to two inches thick, with a brown warty 
epidermis ; internally deep yellow, odorless, very bitter. 

The main roots are dug up by the natives in March (the hot 
season). Ttie offsets are cut in slices and hung up on cords to 
dry in the shade. It is deemed fit to ship when, on exposure to 
the sun, it breaks short, and of a bad quality when it is soft 
and black. — (" Pereira's Materia Medica.") 

It contains a bitter crystallizable principle called Calumbin. 

The commercial parcels are often adulterated with the roots 
of Costus indicus, C. speciosus, and C. Arahicus (Kusmus, 
Putckuk, &c.). It is imported into this country in bags and 
chests of from one to three cwt., and ranges in price from £1 
to £2 the cwt. The imports in 1846 to London were 82 
packages, and in 1S50, 214 packages, hut the stock held in 
Loniion is always large, being nearly 2,500 packages. 

CoLOCTNTH, furnished by Ci/cumis colocynthis and C. pseudo 
colocynthis, is the dried medullary part of a wild species of 
gourd which is cultivated in Spain. It also grows wild in Japan, 
the sandy lands of Coromandel, Cape of Grood Hope, Syria, 
Nubia, Eg\pt, Turkey, and the inlands of the Grecian Archi- 
pelago. It may be obtained in the jungles of India in cart 



CUBEB3 AND GAMBOGE. 



639 



loads. The fruit, which is about the size of an orange, with a thin 
but solid rind, is gathered in autumn, when ripe and yellow, and in 
most countries is peeled and drijd either in the sun or by stoves. 
It comes over from Cadiz, Trieste, Mogadore, &c., in cases, casks, 
&c., and duty was paid on about 11,000 lbs. m 1839. 

CuBEBs. — The dried unripe fruit of P, Cubebi^ or Cubeba 
officinalis^ a climbing plant of the pepper tribe, native of Prince 
of AV ales' Island, Java, and the Indian islands furnishes the 
medicinal cubebs, which is used extensively in arresting dis- 
charges from mucous membranes. In appearance cubebs re- 
semble black pepper, except that they are higher colored and are 
each furnished vv ith a stalk two or three lines long. Dr. Blume 
says, that the ciibebs of the shops are the fruit of P. caninum. 
This species of pepper, when fresh and good, contains nearly 10 
per cent, of essential oil. 

In 1812 the quantity entered for home consumption was 
67,093 lbs. The average imports are about 40 to 50 tons annually. 
3 cases were imported into Liverpool in 1851. The price in the 
Liverpool market, in January 1853, was £3 lOs. to £4 10s. the 
cwt. 

Gamboge. — This resinous juice, which is a most important 
article of commerce, is furnished by some of the plants of 
Gambogia, natives principally of South America. It is a power- 
ul irritant, and is employed medicinally as a drastic and hydra- 
gogue cathartic. From its bright yellow color it is also used 
as a pigment. 

Gamboge fetches in the London market from £5 to £11 per cwt. 

Some of the species of Stalagmites (Murray), natives of 
Ceylon and the East, yield a similar yellow viscid juice, hardly 
distinguishable from gamboge, and used for the same purpose 
by paiuters. They are a genus of fiue ornamental trees, thriving 
well in soils partaking of a mixture of loam and peat. 

According to Koenig, the juice is collected by breaking off 
the leaves or young branches. From the fracture the gamboge 
exudes in drops, and is therefore called gum gutta. It is re- 
ceived on leaves, coco-nut shells, earthen pots, or in bamboos ; it 
gradually hardens by age, and is then wrapped up in leaves prior 
to sale. 

The common gamboge of Ceylon is produced by a plant which 
Dr. Graham was led to view as a species of a new genus under 
the name of TIebradendron Gambogoides. A very different 
species, the Garcinia Gambogia, of Roxburgh, once supposed to 
produce gamboge, and indeed actually confounded by LinnaBus 
with the true gamboge tree of Ceylon, he has proved not to 
produce gamboge at all. 

This substance is also obtained from several other plants, as 
the Mangostana Gambogia (Gaertner), Hypericum bacciferum and 
Oayanense, natives of the East Indies, Siam and Ceylon, whence 
it is imported in small cakes and rolls or cylindrical twisted 



640 



DHUGS, yAECOTICS, ETC. 



masses. Its composition is as follows : number 1 being an 
analysis by Professor Christison of a commercial specimen from 
Cejdon ; number 2 of a fine sample of common ditto : — 

1. 2 

Resin, or fatty acid 78-84 ... 74-8 

Coloring matter 4-03 ... 3-5 

Gum 12:59 ... 16-5 

Eesidue 4-54 ... 5-2 

100- 100- 

The average imports of gamboge into tlie port of London, 
during the past five or six years, have been from 400 to 500 
chests of one to two cwt. each. 

GetvttiajS". — The yellow gentian root {Gentiana, luted) is the 
oflicinal species, and a native of the Alps of Austria and Switzerland. 

The stems and roots of G. amarella and campestris^ British spe- 
cies, and G. cruciata, 'purpurea, punctata, &c., are similar in their 
effects, having tonic, stomachic, and febrifugal properties. So 
has G. Icurroo of the Himalayas. The root is generally taken 
up in autumn, when the plant is a year old. It is cut longitudinally 
into pieces of a foot or a foot and a half long. They are im- 
ported into this country in bales from Havre, Marseilles, &c., 
and a good deal comes from Germany. In 1839, 470 cwts. were 
entered for home consumption. 

Chiretta is the herb and root of AgatJiotes Chirayta, Don ; 
Gentiana Chirayta, Fleming; or Oplielia chirayta, a herbaceous 
plant, growing in the Himalaya mountains about jN"epaul and 
the Morungs. 

Ipecacuan. — Ceplicelis Ipecacuanhce, Eichard, yields the ipe- 
cacuan of the shops. The plant is met with in the woods of 
several Brazilian provinces, as Pernambuco, Bahia and Rio Janeiro. 
It is found growing in moist shady situations, from 8 to 20 degs. 
south latitude. The roots, which are the oflicinal part, are con- 
torted, knotty and annulated, and about the thickness of a goose 
quill. 

Besides this brown or gray annulated ipecacuan, there are 
spurious kinds, such as the striated or black Peruvian, the pro- 
duce of JPyschotria elliptica, and other species ; and white or 
amjdaceous ipecacuan, furnished by Richardsonia scal)ra, an her- 
baceous perennial, native of the provinces of E-io Janeiro and 
Minas Geraes. Manettia glabra or cordifolia, also furnishes ipeca- 
cuan in Buenos Ayres. It is imported into this country from 
Bio in bales, barrels, bags, and serous, and the average annual 
imports in the eight years ending in 1841 were 10,000 lbs. In 
1840, the shipments from Rio were as much as 20,000 lbs. 

Castelnau states, that one expert hand can gather 15 lbs. of the 
ipecacuan root in a day, which will fetch in Eio one dollar per 
pound. He estimates that, from 1830 to 1837, not less than 
800,000 lbs. of this drug Avere exported from the province of 
Mat to Grosso to Eio. 



JALAP — SCAHMONY. 



641 



Jalap. — This drug is obtained from the dried tubers or root- 
stock of IpomcBa Jalapa or Convolvulus Jalapa, a perennial plant, 
native of America. Some suppose it takes its specific name from 
Xalapa, in Mexico, Vnence we chiefly import it. It grows in the 
woods near Chicanquiaco, at an altitude of 6,000 feet above the 
level of the sea. Large quantities might be gathered and exported 
in Jamaica. The root is of a roundish tuberous form, black ex- 
ternally, and of a deep, yellowish grey within, and varies in size 
from that of a walnut to that of a moderate sized turnip. It con- 
tains a resin in which its active properties reside. It is brought 
to this country in thin transverse slices, and the amount entered 
for home consumption is about 45,000 lbs. a year. It is imported 
in bales, from Vera Cruz direct, or indirectly by way of ?^ew York, 
and other places. 

Two sorts of jalap root occur in commerce. The one which was 
first introduced into the market, and which is even at the present 
day most frequently met with, is obtained from the Ipomoea Schie- 
deana of Zuccarini, a plant growing on the eastern declivity of the 
Mexican Andes, and discovered by Yon Schiedes, The root, as 
met with in commerce, consists of pieces varying from the size 
of a nut to that of the fist, sometimes whole, sometimes cut into 
disks, and at other times divided into two or three portions. The 
external surface is of a more or less dark gray brown color, 
corrugated and rough. It is very hard, presents a shining 
resinous even surface when broken, and is difficult to reduce to 
powder. The powder is of a brownish color, has a faint peculiar 
odor and irritant taste. 

The second quality, which was introduced into commerce iu 
great quantities a few years ago, by the name of stalk jalap, is 
now more scarce, and obtained from the Ipomoea orazahensis of 
Pelletan, a plant growing without cultivation in the neighbour- 
hood of the Mexican town of Orizaba. The root, as met with 
in the trade, consists of pieces varying from one to three inches 
in length, and 1| to two inches in diameter. They are of a 
higher color than tlie first-named root, and of decidedly fibrous 
structure. The chief constituents of both varieties is a peculiar 
resin, of which they contain about 10 per cent. 

SoAMAiojrT. — The root of Convolvulus Scammonia, another 
plant of the same family, afibrds, when cut, a gummy resinous ex- 
udation or milky juice, which soon concretes and forms scammony. 
The plant grows abundantly in Greece, the Grrecian Islands, and 
various parts of the Levant. It is imported from Aleppo in drums, 
weighing from 75 to 125 lbs. each, and from Smyrna in compact 
cakes like wax packed in chests. In 1839, the quantity on which 
duty (2s. 6d. per lb.) was paid amounted to 8,5811bs. The duty 
received for scammony, in 1842, was £607. A spurious kind is 
prepared from Calystegia (Gonvolvalus) sejnum, a native of Aus- 
tralia, and several plants of the Aselepiadacse order. 



642 



DRUGS, IS'ATICOTICS, ETC. 



Dr. Eussell ("Med. Obs. and Inqui.") thus describes tbe mode 
of procuring scammony : — 

Having cleared awaj the earth from the upper part of the root, the peasants 
cut off the top in an ohlique direction, about two inches belo-w where the stalks 
spring from it. Under the most depending part of the slope they affix a shell, 
or some other convenient receptacle, into which the milky juice flows. It is 
then left about twelve hours, which time is sufficient for the drawing off of the 
whole juice; this, however, is in small quantities, each root affording but a few 
drachms, This milky juice from the several roots is put together, often into 
the leg of an old boot, for want of some more proper vessel, when in a little 
time it grows hard, and is the gemaine scammony. Various substances are often 
added to scammony while yet soft. Those with which it is most usually adul- 
terated are wheat flour, ashes, or fine sand and chalk. 

LiQroETCE. — The plant which yields the liquorice root of com- 
merce is Glycirrliiza glabra or Liquirifia officinalis. It is a native 
of Italy and the southern parts of Europe, but has been occasion- 
ally cultivated with success in Britain, especially at Pontefi'act, in 
Yorkshire, and at Mitcham, in Surrey. The plant is a perennial, 
with pale blue flowers. It grows well in a deep, light, sandy loam, 
and is readily increased by slips from the roots with eyes. The 
root, which is the only valuable part, is long, slender, fibrous, of a 
yelloAv color, and when grown in England is fit for use at the end 
of three years. The sweet, sub-acid, mucilaginous juice is much 
esteemed as a pectoral. It owes its sweetness to a peculiar 
principle called glycrin or glycirrhiza, which appears also to be 
present in the root and leaves of other papilionaceous plants, as 
O. ecJiinata and glanduJifera, Trifolium alpinum, and the wild 
liquorice of the West Indies, Abrus precaforius, a pretty climber. 

The greatest portion of our suppKes of the extract, which 
amount to 7,000 or 8,000 cwts. a year, are obtained from Spain 
and Sicily. The juice, obtained by crushing the roots in a mill, 
and subjecting them to the press, is slowly boiled, till it becomes 
of a proper consistency, when it is formed into rolls of a consider- 
able thickness, which are usually covered with bay leaves. It is 
afterwards usually re-dissolved, purified, and, when formed into 
small quills, is known as refined liquorice. 

In 1839, 1,16G tons of liquorice paste were exported from 
iSTaples, valued at £15 per ton. Mr. Poole, in his Statistics of 
Commerce, states that the consumption of liquorice root and paste 
in this country averages 500 tons per annum. 110 cwt. of the juice 
and 100 cwt. of the root are annually brought into Hull Irom the 
continent. 

Matico — the Peruvian styptic, a powerful vegetable astringent^ 
was first made known to the medical profession of England hj Dr. 
Jeffreys, of Liverpool, in the Lancet, as far back as January 5th, 
1839. A paper on its history and power was published in May, 
1843, in tlie " Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Sur- 
gical Association," vol. 10. It is stated to be the Piper angusti- 
folium of Euiz and Parsons. Dr. Martin believes it to be a 
species of JPhlomis. The leaves are covered with a fine hair. 



QUASSIA RHUBAET]. 



643 



The powdered leaves of the JEupatorium glutinosum, under the 
name of Matico, are used about Quito for stanching blood and 
healing wounds. A good article on the pharmaceutical and chemi- 
cal character of matico, bj Dr. J. F. Hodges, appeared in the 
"Proceedings of the Chemical Society of London," in 1845. It 
is stated, by Dr. Martin, that, like the gunjah, which the 
East Indians prepare, from the Cannabis Indica, the leaves and 
flowers of the matico have been long employed by the sensual 
Indians of the interior of Peru to prepare a drink which they 
administer to produce a state of aplirodisia. The leaves and 
flowering tops of the plant are the parts imported and introduced 
to notice as a styptic, which property seems to depend on their 
structure and not on their chemical composition. 

Quassia. — The quassia wood of the pharmacopoeia was originally 
the product of Quassia amara, a tall shrub, never above fifteen 
feet high, native of Guiana, but also inhabiting Surinam and 
Colombia, It is a very ornamental plant, and has remarkable 
pinnate leaves with winged petioles. This wood is well known as 
one of the most intense bitters, and is considered an eflectual 
remedy in any disorder where pure bitters are required. Surinam 
quassia is not, however, to be met with now. That sold in the 
shops is the tough, fibrous, bitter bark of the root of Bimariiba 
{Quassia) excelsa and officinalis, very large forest trees, growing 
in Cayenne, .Jamaica, and other parts of the West India Islands, 
where they bear the local name of bitter-wood. Its infusion is 
used as a tonic. 23 tons of bitter-wood were shipped from Mon- 
tego Bay, Jamaica, in 1851. Quassia acts as a narcotic poison on 
flies and other insects. Although prohibited by law, it is fre- 
quently employed by brewers as a substitute for hops. The duty 
of £8 17s. 6d. per cwt., levied on quassia, is intended to restrict 
its use for such a purpose. 

E.HUBAEB. — This most important plant belongs to the genus 
Rheum. The officinal rhubarb is the root of an undetermined 
species. There are about thirteen different kinds which are said 
to yield rhubarb. Lindiey enumerates fifteen. I however take 
Professor Balfour's classification : — • 

1. Rheum palmatum, native of Bucharia, which has perhaps the hest title to 
be considered the true rhubarb-plant, grows spontaneously in the Mongolian 
empire on the confines of China. 

2. E. imclulatum, native of China, which yields much of the French rhubarb. 

3. B. compactum, native of Tartary, another species yielding French rhubarb, 
and often cultivated in Britain for its acid petioles. 

4. E. Emodi (Wallich). This species yields a kind of Himalayan rhubarb. 
Its petioles are much used for their acid properties. 

5. E. Ehaponticum, native of Asia. Used in France and Britain in the same 
way as the third species. It is much cultivated in the department of Morbihau. 

6. E. hybridum (Murr). Much cultivated in Germany for its root and in 
Britain for its stalks. 

7. E. Webbianum (Boyle). 8. E. Spiceformi (Boyle). 9. E. Moorcrofti- 
anum (Boyle). Himalayan species or varieties. 

10. E. crassinervium (Fisch), a Bussian species. 



6i4 



DUUG-S, NARCOTICS, ETC. 



11. i?. leucornizum (Pall), a Siberian and Altai species, said to yield imperial 
or white rhubarb. It has striped flowers, while all others are whitish gi-een. 

12. R. Caspicain (Fisch), a Russian and Altai species. 

13. R. Ribes, native of the Levant, but some say an Affghanistan or Persian 
species. 

All these grow in the cold parts of the world, as on the Altai 
mountains, in Siberia, Thibet, North of China, and on the Hima- 
layan range. The rhubarb procured from one or more of these 
species is known in commerce under the names of E-ussian or 
Turkey, Chinese or East Indian, and English rhubarb. 

The plants all thrive well in a rich loamy soil, or light sandy 
soil, and are increased by divisions of the roots or by seed. 

The extent of country from which rhubarb of one kind or an- 
other is actually collected, according to Christison, stretches from 
Ludall, in 77|- east longitude, to the Chinese province of Shen-si, 
29 degrees farther east, and from the Sue-chan mountains, in north 
latitude 28 degrees, nearly to the frontiers of Siberia, 24 degrees 
northward. The best rhubarb is said to come from the very heart 
of Thibet, within 95 degrees east longitude and 35 degrees north- 
latitude, 500 or 600 miles north of Assam. 

The Chinese rhubarb is inferior to that of Eussia and Turkey. 
The price varies in China from 38 dollars per picul upwards, and 
about 1,500 piculs are annually exported, on an average at 50 
dollars per picul. In 1844, 2,077 piculs were shipped from Can- 
ton for Great Britain; and of 95,701 lbs. imported in 1841, 43,640 
lbs, were brought from China, 8,349 lbs. from the Philippines, 
7,290 lbs. from' the East Indies, and 33,710 lbs. from the United 
States ; only 1,462 lbs. were brought from Eussia, The imports 
from the East Indies have decreased more than 70 per cent, in the 
last twelve years, as compared with the preceding. The wholesale 
prices are, for round rhubarb, 8d. to 3s. per lb. ; flat, 6d. to 
3s. 3d. per lb. ; Dutch trimmed, 6s. to 7s. per lb. ; Eussian, 
13s. to 13s. 6d. per lb. 

In 1831, we imported 133,462 lbs. from the East India Com- 
pany's possessions, and 6,901 lbs. from Eussia. In 1843, only 
71,298 lbs. came from the East. From China we received, in 1843, 
172,882 lbs. 

The quantities of rhubarb on which duty of Is. per lb. was paid 
in the six years ending 1840, were as follows : — 

East Indian. Foreign, 

lb.?. lbs. 

1835 32,515 10,647 

1836 36,836 7,752 

1837 44,669 5,946 

1838 37,026 7,402 

1839 22,575 12,525 

1840 16,745 22,203 

T]:e imports and consumption of rhubarb are thus stated in the 
FJiarmacGutical Journal : — • 



SAESAPAEILLA. 



615 



Imports, Consumption, 
lbs. lbs. 

1826 102,624 32,936 

1831 140,395 40,124 

1836 122,142 44,468 

1841 95,701 67,877 

1846 427,694 — 

1847 305,736 — 

1848 116,005 — 

1849 94,914 — 

The rhubarb broug;bt into Siberia grows wild in Chinese Tar- 
tary, especially in the province Gransun, on hills, heaths, and 
meadows, and is generally gathered in summer from plants of six 
years of age. "NV^hen the root is dug up, it is washed to free it 
from earthy particles ; peeled, bored through the centre, strung 
on a thread, and dried in the sun. In autumn all the dried rhu- 
barb collected in the province is brought in horsehair sacks, con- 
taining about 200 lbs., to Smin (the residence of the dealers), 
loaded on camels, and sent over Mongolia to Kiachta, and the ports 
and capital of China. 

Saesapaeilla. — -The root of various species of Smilax consti- 
tutes the sarsaparilla of the shops. It is an evergreen climbing 
undershrub, having whitish green flowers, . and grows readily 
from suckers. It is a native of the temperate and tropical regions 
of Asia and America, The officinal part is the bark, which comes 
ofi" from the rhizomes. They are mucilaginous, bitter, and slightly 
acid. Sarsaparilla is used in decoction and infusion as a tonic and 
alterative. The following are enumerated as sources whence sar- 
saparilla of various kinds is derived. 

Smilax China and sagittcEfoUa, yielding the Chinese root, are 
said to come from the province of Onansi in China. 

S. pseudo Clii'na, S. Sarsaparilla, S. rulens, and S. Watsoni, 
furnish the drug of Xorth America. 

The sarsaparilla distinguished in commerce as the Lisbon or 
Brazilian is the root of S. papyracea of Poiret. It is an under- 
shrub, the stem of which is compressed and angular below, and 
armed with prickles at the angles. The leaves are elliptic, acu- 
minate, and marked with three longitudinal nerves. This species 
grows principally in the regions bordering the river Amazon, 
and on the banks of most of its tributary streams. It is generally 
brought from the provinces of Para and Maranham. It is in 
large cylindrical bundles, long and straight, and the flexible stem 
of the plant is bound round the bundles, so as to entirely cover 
them. Its fibres are very long, cylindrical, wrinkled longitudinally, 
and furnished with some lateral fibrils. Its color is of a fawn 
brown, or sometimes of a dark grey, approaching to black. The 
color internally is nearly white. Besides this species there are 
others indigenous, such as S. officinalis, which grows in the 
province of Mina ; S. sypliilitica, which grows in the northern 
regions, and three new species, S. japicanga, S. Brasiliensis, and S. 



646 



DRUCrS, JfABCOTTCS, ETC. 



syringioides. There is also met with in Brazil another plant, 
ILerreria sarsapariUa, belonging to the same natural order, which 
abounds in the provinces of Eio, Bahia, and Mina, and the roots 
of which receive the name of wild sarsapariUa. 

Prom Mexico, Honduras, and Angostura very good qualities are 
imported. S. zeylanica, glabra, and perfoliata furnish sarsapariUa 
from Asia, and S. excelsa and aspera are used as substitutes for 
the oiiicinal drug in Europe. 

Smilax officinalis, found in woods near the Eio Magdalena in 
New Grranada, furnishes the best in the market, which is commonly- 
known as Jamaica Sarza. It differs from the other kinds in having 
a deep red cuticle of a close texture, and the color is more generally 
diffused through the ligneous part. It is shipped in bales, formed 
either of the spirally formed roots, as in the Jamaica and Lima 
varieties, or of unfolded parallel roots, as in the Brazilian varieties. 
The roots are usually several feet long, about the thickness of a 
quill, more or less wrinkled, and the whole quantity retained for 
home consumption, in 1840, was 143,000 lbs. In i844, 184,748 
lbs., and in 1845 111,775 lbs. were shipped from Honduras. 

The prices in the London market, at the close of 1853, were 
— Brazil, Is. 3d. per lb. ; Honduras, Is. 3d. to Is. 8d. per lb. ; 
Yera Cruz, 6d. to lid. per lb. ; Jamaica, Is. 8d. to 3s. 4d. per lb. 
The duty received on sarsapariUa in 1842 was £1,536. 

The average annual quantity of sarsapariUa obtained from 
Mexico and South America, exclusive of Brazil, and taken for 
home consumption, in the twelve years ending with 1843 was 
37,826 lbs. 



IMPORTS OF BRAZILIAN 8ARSAPARILLA. 



1827 28,155 

1828 

1829 

1830 

1831 

1832 

1833 

1834 



lbs. 




28,155 


1835 


49,280 


1836 


52,772 


1837 


19,842 


1838 


31,972 


1839 


91,238 


1840 


13,077 


1841 


28,803 


1842 



lbs. 

22,387 
1,718 
12,842 

9,484 
4,141 
1,399 
5,572 



The total imports in 18 i9 were 118,934 lbs. 

SarsapariUa has been found growing in the Port Phillip district 
of Australia, and has been shipped thence in small quantities. 
It seems to be indigenous to the Bahamas, and is to be found on 
many of the out islands. Mr. Wm. Dalzell, of Abaco, collected 
some considerable quantity at a place caUed Marsh Harbor, 
which was found to be of a superior quaUty. 

Some thousands of pounds of sarsapariUa were brought to 
Falmouth, Jamaica, last year, and bought by merchants for export. 
It came from the parish of St. Elizabeth, and there are whole 
forests covered with this weed, for such in reality it is. It is too 
the real black Jamaica sarsapariUa, that is so much valued in the 



647 



European and American markets. It is also found in otlier parts 
of the island. 

In 1798 3,674 lbs. of sarsaparilla were shipped from La Gruayra ; 
2,394 lbs. in 1801 from Puerto Cabella, and 400 quintals from 
Costa Eica, in 1845, valued at eight dollars a quintal. 

Sen^ta. — Several varieties of Cassia, natives of the East, are 
grown for the production of this drug. The dried leaves of C. 
lanceolata or orientalis, grown in Egypt, Syria, and Arabia, the 
true Mecca senna, are considered the best. In Egypt the leaves 
of Oynanchum Arghel are used for adulterating senna. Cassia 
ohovata or C. senna, also a native of Egypt, cultivated in the East 
Indies, as well as in Spain, Italy, and Jamaica. It is a perennial 
herb, one or two feet high. In the East Indies there is a variety 
(C. elongata) common about Tinnivelly, Coimbatore, Bombay, and 
Agra, &c. Several of this species are common in the West India 
islands. The plants, which are for the most part evergreens, grow 
from two to fifteen feet high ; they delight in a loamy soil, or 
mixture of loam or peat. 

The seed is drilled in the ground, and the only attention re- 
quired by the plant is loosening the ground and weeding two or 
three times when it is young. 

The senna leaves imported from India are not generally so clean 
and free from rubbish as those from Alexandria. They are worth, 
from 203. to 27s. per cwt. in the Bombay market. 

The prices are — Alexandria, l|d. to 6d. per lb. ; East Indian, 
2d. to 3d. per lb. ; Tinnevelly, 7d. to 9id. per lb. 

Senna is collected in various parts of Africa by the Arabs, who 
make two crops annually ; one, the most productive, after the 
rains in August and September, the other about the middle of 
March. It is brought to Boulack, the port of Cairo, by the cara- 
vans, &c., from Abyssinia, Nubia, and Sennaar, also by the w^ay of 
Cossier, the Eed Sea, and Suez. The different leaves are mixed, 
and adulterated with arghel leaves. The whole shipments from 
Boulack to Alexandria, whence it finds it way to Europe, is 14,000 
to 15,500 quintals. 

The quantities imported for home consumption were — ■ 

From the East Indies. Other places. Total. 

lbs. lbs. lbs. 

1838 .... 72,576 .... 69 88 .... 142,114 

1839 .... 110,409 .... 6,566 .... 174,175 

In 1840, 211,400 lbs, paid duty, w^lnch is now only Id. per lb. 

In 1848, we imported 800,000 lbs. from India ; in 1849, the 
total imports were 541,143 lbs. The imports into the United 
Kingdom were, in 1847, 246 tons ; 1848, 402 tons ; 1849, 240 tons. 

Alexandrian senna {Cassia acutifolia). This species is said by 
some to constitute the bulk of the senna consumed for medical 
purposes in Eiu-ope. It is much adulterated with the leaves of 
CynancJium Argliel, Tiphrosia apollinea, and Coriaria myrtifolia. 

C. lanceolata and Q. ethiopica furnish other species of the same 



648 



s £ 5" >: A — s r ii E r L . 



article, the greater part of tlie produce of which find its way to 
India, through the Eed Sea, Surat, Bombay and Calcutta, the im- 
ports into Calcutta, in lS-i9, having been 79,212 lbs. C. olovata 
fiu-nishes the Aleppo and Italian drug. 

At least eight varieties of senna leaf are known in commerce in 
Europe — I. the Senna palthe ; 2. Senna of Sennaar or Alexandria ; 
3. of Tripoli; 4. of Aleppo; 5, of Moka; 6. of Senegambia ; 7. 
the false or Arghel ; 8. the Tinnevelly. 

In Egypt the senna harvest takes place twice annually, in April 
and September; the stalks are cut off with the leaves, dried before 
the sun, and then packed with date leaves. At Boulka, the drug 
is sorted, mixed, and adulterated, and passed into commerce 
through Alexandria. 

Alexandrian senua, according to Mr. Jacob Bell (''Pharmaceuti- 
cal Journal," vol. 2, p. 63), contains a mixture of two or more 
species of true senna. It consitts principally of Cassia obovata 
and C. ohfusata, and according to some authorities it occasionally 
contains C. acutifolia. This mixture is unimportant, but the 
Cynanchum Arghel, which generally constitutes a fifth of the 
weight on an average, possesses properties differing in some re- 
spects from true senna, and which render it particularly objection- 
able. The Tinnevelly senna, that most esteemed by the profession, 
is known by the size of the leaflets, which are much larger than 
those of any other variety ; they are also less brittle, thinner and 
larger, and are generally found in a very perfect state, while the 
other varieties, especially the Alexandrian, are more or less broken. 
The leaves of the Cynanchum are similar in form to those of the 
lanceolate senna, but they are thicker and stifter, the veins are 
scarcely visible, they are not oblique at the base, their surface is 
rugose, and the color grey or greenish drab ; their taste is bitter 
and disagreeable, and they are often spotted with a yellow, in- 
tensely bitter gummo-resinous incrustation. Being less fragile 
than the leaflets of the true senna, they are more often found en- 
tire, and are very easily distinguishable from the varieties which 
constitute true Alexandrian senna. 

In their botanical character they are essentially different, being 
distinct leaves, not leaflets, which is the case with true senna. 

The SuMBUL root, which has recently been introduced into the 
Erench market, is the root of an umbelliferous plant, which is 
characterised by a sti'ong odor of musk. The pilgrims, on their 
return from ]\Iecca, generally import to Salonika, Constantinople, 
&c., among other articles of trade, various plants with a musk-like 
odor. The preparation of these vegetable substances is said to be 
effected by smearing them over with musk-balsam. 



INDEX. 



<Abrus precatortus, 648 
Acacia bark, 493 

Catechti, 495, 577 

dealbata, 505 

uicer saccharinum, 205 
Acre, coffee trees to the, G9 
Achira plant, 355 
Achote, a name for amotto, 447 
Acrocomia fusiformis, 519 
A-deps Myristica, 402 
Adme cypertis, 626 
Adenanthera Pavonina, 378 
Adansonia digitata, 378 
African arroTvroot, 353 

lard, 525 

purple millet, 307 

Africa, pepper grown in, 422 

tobacco culture in, 615 

Agar-Agar moss, 378, 379 

Agi or Guinea pepper, 429 

Agave Americana — a substitute for 

soap, 574 
Agaiti oil, 520 

Agricultural wealth of tropical re- 
gions, 2 
Aipi, 376 

Akyab, exports of rice from, 297 
Aleiirites triloba, 521, 538 
Alexandrian senna, 648 
Algaroba beans, 313 

bark, 503 

Algiers, tobacco culture in, 615 
Alizaine, 478 
Alkanet root, 442 

Allspice, the common name for pi- 
mento, 430 

Almond oil, 510, 533 

Aloes, statistics of exports from the 
Cape, 632 

varieties of, 628 

A'pinia Galanga^ 419 

• Cardamomum, 419 

racemosa, 414 

Alstrxmeria pallida, 330 



AUhea rosea, 442 

Amaranthus gangitieus, 434 

American arrowroot, 352 

flour, countries to which- 

shipped, 223 
Americans consume most coffee, 40 
Amboyna wood, 439 
Amomum, species of, 419 

Zingiber, 414 

Anacardium occidentale , 495, 521 
Analyses, vajious, oftobacco, 692-93 
Analysis of the coffee plant, 49 
ashes of the coffee 

tree, 43 

of catechu, 579 

of Havana tobacco, 591, 615 

of other varieties, 615 

of oil cake, 5 l6 

of soils, 617 

of soils, not 80 requisite 

abroad, 7 

of the sugar cane, by Dr. 

Evans, 154 
• of sugar soils in the East, 

172 

Anethum graveolens, 375 

Sowa, seeds of, 434 

Angola weed, 488 
Aniseed, 437 

Antigua arrowroot, statistics of, 353 

cost of cultivating sugar, 

189 

Ants, remedy for, 181 
Anchusa tinctoria, 442 
Andropogon, species of, 572 
Anileria, a manufactory for indigo, 
460 

Apricot oil, 511, 636 
Apios, 355, 371 
Aquilaria, species of, 439 
Arghel leaves, 647 
Arachis hypogcea, 513 
Arenga saccharifera, the gomnius saC' 
charifera of Rumphius, 136, 314 
2 TJ 



650 



INDEX. 



Areometer, an instrument for testing 
oil, 532 

Arbor alha^ 566 

Areca nuts, value of the exports from 

Ceylon, 579 
■ palm, 677 

Argemone Mexicana, 611, 521, 626 
Arnotto, 447 

Arpent, a French land measure, about 

one-seventh less than an acre, 251 
Arracan, exports of rice from, 297 
Arracacha esculenta^ 355, 375 
Arrack, 556 

used to flavor tobacco, 621 

Arroba, a Spanish weight of 25 lbs., 

the fourth part of a quintal. 
Arrowroot, Benzon's analysis of, 348 
• culture and commerce of, 

345 

made from the Palmyra 

shoots, 376 

. starch of, 331, 334-35, 337 

Arsenic for steeping grain, poisonous 
effects from, 233 

Artocarpus incisa, 318, 330 

Arum colocasia, 364 

esculenticm, 364 

■ Hnmp/m, 365 

Asafoetida, 633 

Asdepias curassavica, 625 
- gigantea, 494 

tingens, 442 

Assamee, an Indian name for the ryot 
or cultivator, 467 

Assam, introduction of tea culture, 94 

tea sales, 98 

Company, origin of, 98 

manufacture of tea in, 126 

Assaroo, rain sowing, 468 

Astoria theiformisy used as tea at 
Santa Fe, 80 

Attap leaf for thatching, 405, 559 

Attar of roses, 570 

Aucklandia, 438 

Auracaria BidivilUi, 377 

Australia, consumption of tea in, 87, 88 

■ sugar cultivation recommen- 
ded, 139 

Austria production of beet-root sugar 

in, 197, 200 
Avicenna tomentosa, 444 
Avocado seed yields a dye stuff, 444 
Awl tree, 443 
Babool wood, 498 

Bahu, a land measure in J ava, equal 

to 71 acres. 
Bajree, the Indian name for Holcus 

spicatus, 306 
Bales of Cuba tobacco, size of, 613 



Balfour (Prof.) on the starch in po- 
tatoes, 330 

on species of rhubarb, 

647 

Ball's account of the cultivation, &c., 

of tea, 103 
Banana, starch in, 331 

used as a shade for the cacao, 15 

Baptista tinctoria, 453 

Barbacue, a platform for coffee drying, 

69 

Baphia nitida, 447 
Barbados arrowroot, 337, 353 

culture of aloes in, 630 

cost of cultivating sugar, 189 

• ginger, 415 

sugar crops of, 149 

yam, 334, 335, 337, 338, 362 

Barcelona, exports of cacao from, 13 
Bark of the larch, its utility, 376 
Barks for tanning, 492 
Barley, history and consumption of, 255 

. imported, 218 

; — meal imported, 218 

• produce of in England and 

Wales, 248, 256 

average prices of, 256 

Barrel of rice weighs 600 lbs. net, 291 
Barus camphor, 634 
Barwood, 445, 447 

Basket of rice, a measure equal to 55f 
lbs., English, 

Bassia butyracea, 136, 512 

longifolia^ 511 

oil seeds of, 537 

Batatas ediilis, 330, 331, 357 

Baiihinia fariegaia, 492 

Bayley (Mr.), on consumption of tea 
in the manufacturing districts 

Bay rush or tapioca, 376 

Beans, analysis of, 264 

■ and peas, quantities imported, 313 

imported, 218 

Bearing time of different plants, 9 

Beck (Prof.) on various wheats, 222 

on the American bread- 
stuffs, 226 

Beet root sugar produced on the Con- 
tinent, 144 

cost of producing, 189, 

204 

Beet, varieties of the root, 191 
Belgians, large consumers of coffee, 40 
Belgium, production of beet root su- 
gar in, 200 
Benares, production of indigo in, 475 
Ben, oil of, 523 

Bencoolen, pepper grown in, 423 
— spice culture in, 412 



INDEX. 



651 



Bengal, cost of cultivating sugar in, 189 
indigo, 464 

introduction of the coffee tree 

into, 40 

production of indigo in, 475 

— production of opium in, 580 

. rice, 296 

Bennet on Ceylon, 316 
Bennett (Dr.), description of gambier, 
500 

Berar, edible root of, 377 
Berberry, a dye stuff, 442 
Berbice, exports of coffee from, 73 
Bergamot, essence of, 566 
Berger's process of making rice starch, 
344 

Bermuda arrowroot, statistics of, 353 
mode of cultivating arrow- 
root, 346 
Berry wax, 540 
Betel leaf, 577 

Bhoe Moong, the Indian name for the 

ground nut, 515 
Bhull rice lands, 293 
Biggah, distinction between this land 

measure, 471 
Bignonia Chica, 444 
Bihai, 320 
Bitter cassava, 331 
Bixa orellana^ 447 
Black ginger, 415 

pepper, statistics of, 428 

tea, imports of the last fifteen 

years, 82 

mode of manufacturing, 112 

Blood tree, 625 

Bollman (Prof.), on the potato rot, 359 

Bolitus used as food, 377 

Bonynge (Mr. F.) promotes tea culture 

in America, 97 
Borassus gomutus, 315 
Borneo, pepper produced in, 422 
Bourbon, cacao grown in, 36 

produce of rice in, 293 

Bousa, an African beer, 308 

Boussingault's analysis of wheat, 244 

Boyams, food plant, 377 

Bran, analysis of, 231 

Brassica oleracea, oil from the seed, 539 

Brazilian arrowroot, 330, 367, 369 

Brazil, exports of coffee to America, 63 

cost of producing sugar in, 189 

culture of ginger, 418 

production of coffee in, 40, 41, 63 

introduction of the tea plant, 

128 

statistics of sugar production, 

182 

tobacco export from, 594 

wood, 485 



Bread fruit, 318, 330 

made from millet, 306 

nut of Jamaica, 319 

stuffs of commerce, 217 

Brick tea of Thibet, 92 

British Guiana, coffee produced in, 73 

West Indies, decline of coffee 

culture in, 40, 63, 67 
• exports of coffee 

from, 73 
Brood-boon, 319 

Bromelia Pinguin, fruit of, used for 

soap, 574 
Broom corn, 307, 308 
sedge, 308 

Brositnum ^licastrum, edible nuts of, 
319 

Broussonitia tindoria, 485 

Brown bread, its wholesomeness, 230 

Bruce, (Mr. C. A.) on the manufacture 

of tea in Assam, 126 
Buchanania latifolia, 494, 521 
Buckwheat, average weight of crop in 

iS"ew Brunswick, 253 

oil from, 510 

culture of, 259 

analysis of, 260 

Buck yam, 333, 335, 362 
Bullhoof, yields a narcotic, 589 
Bunbury (Mr.) on Cape aloes, 632 
Butch wood, used to keep off ants, 181 
Butea frondosa, 507 

varieties of, 442 

■ tannin from, 494 

Butter of cacao, 11, 12 

obtained from the dolichos bean, 

313 

Cabacinha, the Portuguese name for a 

purgative plant, 626 
Caballine aloes, 630 
Cacao beans or seeds, analysis of, 12 
age at which may be trans- 
planted, 6 

expenses of a plantation, 33 

information respecting, 9 

plantation, enormous returns 

formerly obtained from, 34 

quantity consumed in the 

United Kingdom, 11 

total imports into the United 

Kingdom, 35 

' total imports from America and 

the "West Indies, 35 

trees, where indigenous, 33 

oppressive duties levied on, 34 

Cacomite, a species of Tigridia, 374 
Cacoon, oil from, 511 
Cadet's analysis of barks, 495 
Ccesalpinia, species of, 446 
Brasiliensis, 485 

2 TJ 2 



652 



Ccesalpiflia Coriari, 493 

oleosperynum^ 511 

Caifeine, analysis of, 80 
Cajeput oil, 566 
Caladiiitn costcdium, 377 

esculeitimn, 331 

— ■ saffittifolium, 33i 

Calambak wood, 439 
Calandra oryza, 279 
Calcutta, exports of castor oil, 545 
Calidad, the best kind of Cuba tobacco, 
613 

California, tea proposed to be cultivated 
in, 97 

Callistemon ellipticuin, 505 

Cdlophijllum Liojjhyllum, 513 

Calumba plant, 638 

Calumbin, 638 

Calystegia sepiion, 642 

Camassia escultrda, 376 

Camata, a variety of valonia, 508 

Camelina sativa, 509, 511, 564 

Camotes, a Spanish name for the sweet 

potato, 375 
Camcdadia ilicifolia, 628 
Campbell (Dr. A.), on the tea culture 

at Darjeeling, 116 
Camphor, on the collection of, 633 
obtained from the roots of 

the cinnamon, 389 
Cannabis indica, 643 
Camwood, 447 

Canada, production of maple sugar in 
206 

"West, grain exports of, 251 

Canadian yellow root, 626 

Canary Isles, millet exported from, 306 

moss, 486 

. seed, 311 

Candlebeiry myrtle, 540 
Candlewood, 539 

Candles made of cinnamon suet, 390 
Candle tree, 521, 538 
Cane sugar, composition of, 136, 155, 
157 

Canella alba, 396 

Canna, species of, 355 

CanotJms Americanus, used as tea, 80 

Caoutchouc, 539 

Capa, a term in Cuba for good tobacco, 
614 

Gape aloes, manufacture of, 631 

weed, 486 

Capsicum, 428 

Carajm, species yielding oil, 518 

oil, 444, 519 

. guianensis, 512 

Caracas, large produce of cacao in,. 13 
Caraveru, a red pigment, 444 
Carraway seed oil, 437, 566 



Cardomoms, bastard, 419 

plants furnishing, 419 

Carduus Virginianus, 376 
Carob bean, 312, 313 
Carolina rice, shipments of, 285 
Carrageen, 379 

Carrots, average weight per bushel in 

New Brunswick, 253 
Carthamus tinctoria, 450 

oil from, 512 

Caruto, a name for the Lana dye, 444 
Carver's treatise on tobacco culture, 607 
Carum carid, 566 
Caryopliyllus aromaticus, 397 
Caryota urens, 314 
Cascarilla bark, 396 
Cashew bark, 495 

nut oil, 512 

Cassareep, an antiseptic, 339, 343, 369 
Cassava cakes, 342 

culture of, 367 

fecula of, 330 

flour exports from St.Lucia, 369 

meal, 341 

roots, information respecting, 9 

starch, yield per acre, 370 

Cassia, a rival to cinnamon, 391 

auricidata, 494 

bark of China, superiority of, 

393, 394 

buds, 396 

Hgtiea, 394, 395 

statistics of imports and con- 
sumption of, 394 

Castor oil, 510, 511, 527, 536, 542, 563 

Catechu or Cutch, 579 

tannin in, 495 

Cattle, consumption of Indian corn by, 
271 

Catty, a Chinese weight, 400 
Cayenne, nutmeg introduced, 412 

pepper grown in, 427 

pepp er, 429 

pottage, 429 

Celastrus paniculatus, 521 
Celebes, coffee growTi in, 62 

production of coffee in, 41 

rice culture in, 302 

tobacco, 621 

Centrifugal machine for sugar, 140 
Cephcelis Ipecacuanhce, 641 
Ceratonia siliqua^ 312, 313 
Cereal grasses, 216 
Ceroxy on andicola, 541 
Cersium virginiamim, 376 
Cetraria islandica, 343, 379 
Ceylon arrowroot, 353 

cardamoms, 419, 421 

coco-nut culture in, 556 

culture of rice in, 295 



I^DEX. 



053 



Ceylon, erports of castor oil from, 545 

adapted for indigo culture, 475 

gamboge, 639 

the great seat of cinnamon cul- 
ture, 383 

pepper exported from, 426 

imports of Terra Japonica, 502 

moss, 379 

produce of tobacco in, 619 

production of coffee in, 41 

tea plant introduced, 95 

value of the betel nuts exported, 

579 

Chayroot, 449, 478 

Chamcerops Palmetto, 495 

Chandu, the prepared extract of the 

opium, 585 
Clienopodium quinoa, 310 
Cheroots, Manila, 619 
Chesnuts, consuaied in France, 361 
Che^t of opium, about 140 lbs., 58 
Chick pea, 312 

• the inspissated juice of the 

poppy, 582 
Chicory, extensive consumption of, 37 
Chillies, growth of, 428 
Chimo, powdered potatoes, 361 
China, population of, 86 

shipments of tea from, 84 

Chinese arrowroot, 352 

Chironia sapinda, 521 

Chloranthus, flowers used to flavor tea, 

85 

Chocolate nuts, 11 

imported, 36 

paste, as prepared by the 

Mexicans, 13 
Christison (Prof.), analysis of gamboge, 

640 
Chiretta, 641 
Chrysophanic acid, 488 
Cihotiiim Billardieri, 380 
Cigars, consumption of, 596 

duty received on, 597 

large consumption of in New 

York, 599 

profit on manufacture of, 612 

number exported from Cuba, 

614 

exported from Siam, 619 

Cinchona bark, 635 
Cinnamon, 382 

export duty on, 391 

oil, 565 

properties of good, 387 

statistics of export from 

Ceylon, 390, 391 

suet, 522 

varieties of the tree, 386 

Citronella oil, 565, 573 



Clagett and Co.'s (Messrs.) tobacco 
circulars, 601 

Clarifying cane juice, 155 

Clark, (Mr.) on a new variety of to- 
bacco, 613 

Classification and arrangement adopt- 
ed in the work, 5 

Claytonia acuttjlora, 371 

Clerihew's coffee apparatus, 52 

Climate suited for various plants, 9 

Clove bark, 383 

Cloves, 397 

oil, 390, 398 

statistics of, 411 

varieties of the tree, 398 

where grown, 402 

Cobres a first quality of indigo, 456 

Coca plant, 576 

Cocculus indicus, 576 

palmatus, 638 

Cochin China, coco nut oil exported 
from, 556 

culture of rice, 298 

exports of cinnamon, 393 

tea considered inferior, 94 

Cochineal, value of the dye stuff, 440 

Cocoa, see Cacao, 9 

fat, 519 

nut butter, 560 

information respecting, 9 

oil, 527 

palm, 547 

Cocos nucifera, 547 

fusiformis, 519 

or eddoes, 364 

Cocum oil, 521 

Coffee, adulteration of, and substitutes 
for, 37 

consumption of, 39, 596 

cultivation in Ceylon, 46 

in Africa, 77 

in India, 44 

information respecting, 9 

manures suited for, 50 

tree, description of, 43 

production in various coun- 
tries, 41 

— produce per tree and per 

acre, 69, 481 
leaf, suited for making a 

beverage by infusion, 78 
■ — Dr. Hooker's opinion thereon, 

79 

plantation, beauty of, 67 

prices of, in London, 47 

signs of its being properly 

cured, 71 

trade, progress of, 36 

Coimbatore, culture of tobacco in, 618 
Coir, Coco nut, 551, 552, 555, 656. 



654 



INDEX. 



Colman (Mr.), on grain production, 
219 

on sugar, 204 

Colocasia, varieties of cultivated, 364 
Colocynth, 638 

cil, 511 

Colombo root, 638 

shipments of coffee from, 48 

Coloring principles of the lichens, 487 

teas in China, 104 

Colza oil, 510, 513, 539 
Conium Arracac/ia, 375 
Connecticut, culture of tobacco in, 606 
Consumption of rhubarb, 645 
Convolvulus Jalapa, 641 

Scammonia, 642 

Conquin tay, plantain meal, 324 
Constantinople opium, 585 
Consumption of arrowroot, 354 

of arnotto, 449 

cacoa in the United King- 
dom, 36 

cassia bark, 394 

— castor oil, 544 

coco nut oil, 562 

_ coffee, 36, 64, 596 

coffee in various countries 

41 

cinnamon, 391 

cloves, 401 

— ginger, 418 

indigo, 477 

mace, 414 

nutmegs, 414 

opium, 580 

' palm oil, 527 

pepper, 428 

• pimento, 431 

■ sago in the United King- 

dom, 318 

■ sugar in India, 140 

■ Great Britain*, 139 

tea, statistics of, 82, 596 

tobacco, 596, 595 

Convolvulus batatas, 333, 334, 356 

Coolies employed in Mauritius, 150 

Copey, a Cuba dye wood, 485 

Copperah, 536, 549, 556, 560, 561 

Corakan flour, 304 

Coriander seed, 437 

Coriaria myrtifolia, 493 

Cork tree bark, 504 

Com, the common name for maize in 
America, 270 

Cortes, a description of indigo, 456 

Corypha umbraculifera, 316 

Costus Arabicus, 438 

■ tndicus, &c., 638 

Costa Rica, production of coffee in, 41, 
64 



Cotton, information respecting, 9 

seed oil, 564 

cake, 564 

Courida bark, 495 
Cow-itch, 625 
Crane potato, 372 

Crawfurd (Mr. J.), estimate of pepper 

produce, 422 
Croix lachryma, 304 
Crop hogshead of tobacco, weight of, 

605 

Croion Cascarilla, 396 

Eleuteria, 397 

gossyjnfolia, 625 

oil, 522 

— - TigUnm, 522 

Cuba, coffee plantations in, 77 

culture of tobacco in, 613 

exports of coffee to America, 63 

cost of producing sugar in, 147, 

189 

exports of coffee from, 73 

progress of sugar cultivation in, 

148 

production of coffee in, 41 

rice grown in, 292 

statistics of coffee exported, 76 

tobacco plantations in, 614 

Cubebs, medicinal, 639 
Cucumber seed oil, 512 
Cucumis Colocynthus, 638 
Cudbear, imports of, 486 

452 

Culilaban bark, 383 
Curcuma long a, 419 

species of, 434 

varieties of, yielding E. I. 

arrowroot, 351 
Curry stuff, imports into Ceylon, 434 
Cush, an Indian name for millet, 30 6 
Cutch, the Indian name for catechu, 

or gambier, 500 

exported from Pinang, 503 

imports of, 502 

Cuyupa, an Indian tuber, 374 

Cycas circinalis^ 314 

Cynamchum leaves, 649 

Cynosurns corocanus^ 306 

Cytisus Cajan, 304 

Dacrydimn cupressinum, 505 

Dadap, a prop for the pepper, 425, 42 

a name given in Java to the 

Erythrina, 55, 58 
Datisca cannabina, 442 
Davis' (Dr.), analysis of maize, 265 
Day's analysis of barks, 495 
Demerara, exports of coffee from, 73 

— rice grown in, 292 

Dholl, the Indian name for varieties of 

Cajanus, 312 



INDEX. 



C55 



Dhak tree, bark of, 507 
Dhurra, the Egyptian name for millet, 
306 

Bicypellium earyopJiyllatum, 384 

Didynamia gymosperma^ 520 

Dietetic articles used for the prepara- 
tion of popular beverages, 1 1 

Dillock, a preparation with cayenne, 
429 

Bioscorea aculeata, 334, 362 
Biospyros glutinosa, 494 
Bipterix odorata, 434 
Bipterocarjms, oil from, 511 
Divi-divi, c'03 

Division of seasons in the tropics, 6 

Dodder cake, 564 

Dogwood, bark of, 627 

Bolichos hiflorus^ varieties of, 312 

■ — bulbosus, roots used as food, 377 

oil, 521 

Domba oil, 513 

Dominica, exports of coffee from, 73 

■ introduction of the clove 

tree, 399 
Bracmna terminalis, 355 
Drimys bark, 636 

Dryobalanops, species furnishing cam- 
phor, 634 

Dubranfaut's process of sugar making, 
197, 201 

Dunsterville (Mr.), on Cape aloes, 631 
Duquesne (M.), process of making sugar 

from beet, 202 
Duration of various plants, 9 
Dutch pound, lighter than the English 

avoirdupoise pound ; 100 Dutch 

pounds equal to 101 and 1-oth lbs. 
Dutch "West Indies, production of 

coffee in, 41 
Duty, large, levied on tobacco, 598 
Dye stuffs, various, 440 

• from British plants, 452 

furnished by the cacao 

bean, 12 
Dye woods, 445, 447 
Eagle wood, 439 
Eaith mouse, 374 
Earth-nut oil, 513 
East India ginger, 416, 418 

sugar, 139 

cultivation in, 152 

East ladies, imports of indigo from, 477 

rhubarb, 645 

Eddoes or cocos, 364 

Edward's preserved potatoes, 361 

Egyptian corn, 307 

opium, 585 

Elais, species furnishing palm oil, 524 
Elnte sylvestris fruit, a masticatory, 579 
Elettaria Cardomomum, 421 



Eleusine corocana, 304 
Encephalartos cqfer, 319 
English opium, 586 
Eno bark, a black dye, 444 
Epidendrum, species of, 431 
Ervum lens, 312 
Erythric acid, 489 

Erythrina, a shade tree for the cacao, 15 

Erysimum perfoUatum, oil from, 512 

Essences, 565 

Essential oils, 565 

Ethiopian pepper, 421 

Eucalyptus, bark of, for tanning, 494 

resinifera, 506 

Eugenia caryophyllata, 397 

Pimento, 430 

Eulophia virens, 354 
Eupatorium glutinosum, 643 
Euphorbia Lathyris, 510 
Euterpe montana, 549 
Evans' (Dr.) Sugar Planter's Manual, 
140 

Evernia vulpina, 488 

Evodia triphylla, used as a perfume, 550 

Factory maund, about 70 pounds, 471 

Fagara piperita, 421 

Fanega, a Spanish measure, the fifth 
part of an English quarter, equal to 
12 quarrees, or 62 and 2-5ths acres, 
13, 327 

Fanegada, a Spanish land measure, 9 

Farinaceous plants, 216 

Fennel flower, 42 1 

Ferula asafoetida, 633 

Fern roots as food, 377, 380 

Fevillea scandens, 611 

Finlay son's description of gambier 

manufacture, 500 
Fish oils consumed, 509 
— ■ — • poison, 627 

Fitzmaurice on the sugar cane, 180 

Fixed oils, 510 

Flax seed oil, 509, 501 

Flores, a commercial classification of 

indigo, 456 
Florida, tobacco culture in, 609 
Flour, damaged, shipped from America, 

227 

and meal, our imports of, 218 

obtained from spurry seed, 377 

Flowering of the sugar cane, 182 
Food plants of commerce, 217 

nutritious properties of various 

kinds, 232 
Foo-foo, the dough of the plantain, 324 
Fortune (Mr. R.) on the tea districts, 89 

engaged by the East 

India Company, 100 

report on the Indian 

tea plantations, 106, 117 



656 



INDEX. 



Fortune's (Mr. B.) wanderings in 

China, 103 
Fownes (Mr.) on clarifying cane juice, 

164 

France, production of beet sugar in, 
194, 200 

rice cultivated in, 292 

Frazla, the Arabian name for a bale 
of variable weight, in Mocha about 
16 lbs. avoirdupoise. 

Free trade policy, eflfects of, 2 

French berries for dyeing, 443 

Slave Colonies, cost of pro- 
ducing sugar in, 189 

West Indies, production of 

coffee in, 41 

Fucus amylaceus, 380 

tenax, furnishes glue, 378 

as food for cattle, 379 

Fundi or Fundungi, an African grain, 
310 

Fustic, 445, 447, 485 
Gallipoli oil, 531 
Gallo tannic acid, 492 
Galidupa arbor ea^ 521 
Garancine, quantity and value of, 483, 
484 

Gambler plant, 496 
Gamboge, 451 

plants furnishing, 639 

Garcinea elliptica, 451 
Garbelled, a term for sorted or picked 
Gabilla, a finger or hank of tobacco, 
613 

Galangale root, 351, 418 
Garcinea Gambogia, 640 
Garnett (Mr. A.) on the culture of th e 

plantain, 320 
Galam butter, 538 
Gastrodia sesa)noides, 375 
Gesner (Dr.), plants recommended by, 

for cultivation, 371 
Genipa Americana, 444 
Genista tinctorea, 453 

tomentosa, 486 

Gentian, plants fui-nishing it, 640 
Ghee, 538 

Ginger, culture of, 414 
Gin, made from rye in Holland, 258 
Gigartina lichenoides, 379 
Gingelie seed oil, 511, 533 

oil, used to adulterate almond 

oil, 534 
Ginseng, 436 

Glen (Mr. J.), his experiments on 

Cassava starch, 370 
Gloves made from bark, 376 
Gluten cuntuiucd in various grain crops, 

264 

definition of, 234 



Gluten, composition of, 221 
Glycirrhiza, 643 
Glycine Apios^ 371 

subterranea^ 371 

Glycerine, 643 

Glycirrhiza glabra, 642 

Gnizotia oleifera, 535 

Gohyan, an Indian name for upland 

rice, 282 
Gold of pleasure oil, 509 

cake of, 564 

Gomuti palm sugar, 136 

315 

Gomutus saccharifer, 314 

Goor, the Indian name for half-made 

sugar, 308 
Gorham's (Prof.) analysis of maize, 264 
Gourds used for packing aloes, 630 
Gracelaria lichenoides, 379 
Graham (Dr.), on gamboge, 639 
Gram, the Indian name for the Ervum 

lens, and Cicer arietinum, 312 
Grain crops, 217 

produce per acre in England, 

219 

of Paradise, 419, 420 

average prices of in New Bruns- 
wick, 254 
Grape sugar, properties of, 136 

sugar, analysis of, 155 

Grater for rasping arrowroot, 338 
Grenada, cost of cultivating sugar in, 
189 

Great Exhibition, results of, 2 

Green tea, mode of manufacturing, 113 

tea, imports of the last 15 years, 

82 

Griffith (Dr.) on tea plants in Assam, 
111 

Groundnut oil, 511 

Guano, not much required in tropical 

countries, 7 
Guayaquil, large exports of cocoa from, 

13 

Guazuma ulmifolia, 164 

Guillemen's (M.) report on the tea 

plantations of Brazil, 128 
Guiana, cost of cultivating sugar in, 

189 

Guinea pepper, 429 

grains, 420 

yam, 331, 334, 335, 337, 362 

corn, 306 

Gums used by the dyers, 453 
Gum tree of Australia, 494 
Gun stock tree, 164 
Gunnera scabra, 495 
Gunny bags, rough canvas bags, 392 
Guntang, an Indian dry measure of 
rather more than 15 pounds, 297 



INDEX. 



657 



Guaco, or snake plant, 627 

as a fertilizer, 278 

Gynerium saccharoides, 136 
Gyrophora murina^ 486 
II(B)natoxylon campechiamim, 484 
Hamilton (Dr.), on oil of ben, 523 

notices by, 617 

Havana tobacco, classification of, 613 

exports of tobacco from, 614 

shipments of sugar from, 147 

Hayti, exports of tobacco, 615 

exports of ginger, 418 

coffee from, 67 

indigo from, 460 

Hazel nut, oil from, 510 
Hebradenclron Cambogoides, 451, 639 

Heather, dye from, 453 

Hectare, a French land measure, equal 
to about 2f acres, 204 

Hectolitre, a French measure 192^ 
bushel' s 

Helot's lichen test, 452 

Herreria sarsaparilla, 646 

Helicon ia humilis, 320 

Hemlock tree, bark of, 494 

Hemp seed oil, 509 

Henna, a dye stuff, 486 

Hepatic aloes, 630 

Herring's palm kernel oil, 525 

Hernandez (Mr.) on Cuba tobacco, 
608 

Eeuchera Americana, 494 
Hibiscus rosa sinensis, 494 
Hingalee, the best Bengal tobacco, 
617 

Hino bark, 506 

Hogs, large consumption of maize by, 
271 

Holcomb (Mr. ) on the wheat crop of 
America, 245 

Holcus avenaceus, 307 

spicatus, 366 

• saccharatum, 306 

Holland, tea sent to, 86 

Honduras, export ot indigo from, 460 

Hooker (Dr.) on brick tea, 92 

Hops, cascarilla bark used to adulter- 
ate, 397 

Horse gram, 312 

Hungary, production of beet sugar in, 
197 

Sura crepitans, 512, 626 
Husking rice, 290 

Hydraulic press for coco nut oil, 557 

press, 329 

Mydrastica canadensis 625 
Mymena&a Courbaril, 313 
Hyperanihera Moringa, 523 
Hypericum, species of, furnishes gam- 
boge, 454, 640 



Iceland moss, 343, 379 
niepe oil, 537, 511 

Ilex Faraguayensis, indigenous to 
Brazil, 130 

description of, 133 

Illicum anisatum, 438 

Impey (Dr.) on Malwa opium, 587 

on Indian drugs, 626 

Implements of colonial agriculture 
few and simple, 6 

requisite for manufactur- 
ing tea, 115 

Imports of arrowroot, 351, 354 

arnotto, 449 

cacao, from America and the 

West Indies, 35 

cloves, 401 

cinchona bark, 636 

tea into Great Britain, 82 

tobacco, 597 

coco-nut oil, 562 

palm oil, 525, 527 

pimento, 431 

■ opium, 580 

nutmegs, 414 

pepper, 428 

castor oil, 544 

sago, 318 

indigo, 477 

coffee, 37 

Import commerce, our principal, ar- 
ticles furnished by the Vegetable 
Kingdom, 4 

Incense wood, 439 

Indigo, details of, 453 

plants yielding, 442 

information respecting, 10 

mode of manufacturing, 457 

production of in India, 474 

in Natal, 463 

Indigofera, species of, 453 

India, tea culture in, 98 

culture of indigo in, 463 

Indiana, tobacco culture in, 607 

Indian aloes, 630 

berries, 576 

corn, imports of, 263 

■ information respecting, 9 

analysis of, 264 

■ sources of supply, 262 

263 

starch, 343 

■ meal imported, 218 

yield per acre, 356 

compared with Guinea 

corn, 307 

meal, composition of, 307 

opium, 586 

root, 625 

— shot, 345 



658 



INDEX. 



Indian com, weight of, 280 

madder, 484 

Intoxicating liquors made from Cas- 
sava, 369 
Iodine, 378 

Ipecacuan, bastard, 655 

641 

Ipomoea batatas, 365 

brachypodo, 522 

Jalapa, 641 

Ireland, tobacco consumed in, 596 

cost of producing beet root 

sugar in, 193 

Irish rock moss, 379 

Iron, quantity of, in tobacco, 617 

• bark tree, 506 

Irrigation for the tea plant never prac- 
tised in China, 122 

Isatis Indigotica, 104 

• tinctoria, 452 

Jaggery sugar, 555 

Japanese camphor, 633 

tobacco, 620 

Japan, tea culture, 94 

Jatropha curcas, oil from, 512 

Jacobson's (Mr.) work on tea culture in 
Java, 102 

Jalap, 641 

Jamaica, cost of cultivating sugar in 
189 

culture of coffee in, 67 

culture of Guinea corn, 306 

decline of sugar production, 

148, 149 

exports of coffee from, 73 

ginger, 415, 417 

sarsa, 646, 47 

Jameson (Dr.) on the culture of tea in 

India, 106 
Java, cinnamon cultivated in, 383, 

392 

clove does not succeed there, 399 

coffee exported to the United 

States, 63 

coco-nut oil exported from, 556 

cost of producing sugar in, 189 

culture of coffee in, 53 

culture of rice in, 299 

cultivation of indigo in, 476 

gambier grown in, 502 

nutmegs exported from, 413 

pepper grown in, 422-23 

production of coffee in, 41 

statistics of, 300 

statistics of indigo exported, 476 

statistics of tea culture in, 102 

sugar culture in, 152 

• tea plantations, 94 

tobacco, 621 

Jack fruit tree, 319 



Janipha, starch in, 331 

3Ianihot, 315 

Jasmine oil, 570, 574 

Jatropha gossypyfoKa, 625 

curcas, oil from, 523 

Jellies, clearness of, 337 
Jesuit's bark, 635 

Joar, the Indian name of the Sorghum 

vulgare or millet, 304, 306 
Job's tears, 304 

Johnson (Dr.) on manufacture of rose 

water, 570 

(Mr.) on indigo culture, 466 

(Prof.) analyses of grain 

crops, 264 
— (Prof.) on grain crops of New 

Brunswick, 253 
Jones's process for making rice starch, 

344 

Jumowah, irrigated sowings, 468 

Juniperus, oil of, 565 

Kafir bread, 319 

Kamas root, an edible, 376 

Kanari kernels made into cakes, 547 

oil, 546 

Katjang oil, produce of the ground 

nut, 515, 299 
Kawan, the Java tallow tree, 511 
Kashmir, culture of rice in, 295 
Kemmayes, an Arabian truffle, 381 
Kew Gardens, tea plant grows in, 101 
Kekune oil, 539 

Kentucky tobacco, statistics of, 598, 
600 

Keora oil, 565 

Khoonte, the Indian name for a second 

cutting, 471 
Kiln-drying madder, 481 

of bread stuffs, 221, 229 

Kilogramme, a French weight, equal 

to 21bs. 3oz. avoird., 194 
Kino, Australian, 506 

East India, 507 

Knowltonia vessicatorlf, 626 
Koster's Travels in Brazil, 186 
Kous-kous, 811 
Kooyah plant, 376 
Kukui oil, 539 

Kumaon, tea plantations in, 117 
Laudanum, 584 
Lawsonia inermis, 486 
Laminaria saccharina, 379 
Lathyrus tuberosus, 374 
Larch bark edible, 376 
Laurus camphora, 633, 35 
La Guayra, cacao from, 13 

production of coffee in, 41 

exports of coffee from, 62 

Lana dye, 444 
Lecythis Tabucajo, 512 



IKDEX. 



659 



Lemon grass oil, 572 
Legumes, varieties of, 312 
Lecanora, species of, -152 
Lentils, 312 

Leaf tobacco shipped from th.e Ha- 
vana, 61-i 

Liberia, suitability for coffee culture, 
77 

Lichen tribe as food, 378 
Lichens, 486 
Lichenin, 343 

Licospennun racemosam^ 505 
Lindley (Dr.) on the cinchonas, 635 
Litmus, 452 
Lignum aloes, 439 

Litre, a French measure, equal to If 

English pint nearly, 202 
Lime, its influence on cane juice, 161 
Lindiey (Prof.) on the wheat of South i 

Australia, 221 
Lindley' s classifleation of the plantain 

tribe, 322 
Liptospermum, oil of, 565 
LiliHiii Foiiiponiurn, 353 
Lindley (Dr.) on the lichens, 486 
Linseed, 535 

oil, 509, 537 

imported, 563 

cake imported, 564 

Little (Mr.) on opium, 587 
Libra, a Spanish kind of tobacco, 613 
Liquorice, 642 

paste, 643 

Logwood, 445, 447, 484 
Lotus seeds, used as food, 356 
Locust tree, 313 

pods, 503 

Louisiana, cost of producing sugar in, 

189 

production of sugar in, 146 

Loxa bark, 636 
Luffas, properties of, 626 
Luggie, a measuring rod, 471 
Lucca oil, 531 

Macfarlane (Mr. A.) on the tea plant, 
117 

Madder, culture of, 478 

Indian, 484 

statistics of imports, 484 

Madia saiiva oil, 520 

sativa, 444 

Mahowa oil, 537 
lladura tinctoria, 485 
Mauritius weed, 486 
Mangrove bark, for tanning, 493 
Mac Micking (Mr.) on making cigars, 
G20 

Margose oil, 537 
Macaw tree, 519 
Maxwell (Dr.) on Xeem oil, 537 



Marc of olives, 531 
Mango, kernel of, for bread, 378 
Mai-mala water, 574 
Malabar cardamoms, 419 
Manila, exports of indigo from, 476 

exports of sugar from, 153 

cigar making, 620 

hemp, whence obtained, 321 

Mattrasses, stuffed with blades of In- 
dian corn, 281 
Macculloch's (Mr.) estimate of indigo, 
478 

Maize, number of varieties cultivated, 
278 

analysis of, 264 

impoiteo., 218 

meal, imported, 218 

on the culture of, 260 

i sugar, 215 

information respecting, 9 

Dr. Phillip's analvsis of, 307 

starch of, 334, 335, 337, 343 

system of culture in America, 273 

culture in the East Indies, 282 

immense produce per acre, 281 

varieties grown in, Peru, 281 

statistics of production in 

America, 269 

statistics of exports from the 

United States, 272 
Malphigia bark, for tanning, 495 
Maslin, quantity grown in France, 250 
Mace, imports of, 414 

false color of, 409 

proportion of, to nutmegs, 408 

Malt, quantity made, 255 
Mahoe, furnishes a dye stuff, 444 
Mauritius, exports of pepper, 426 

nutmeg introduced in, 412 

■ pepper grown in, 422 

cost of sugar cultivation in, 

187, 189 

— tea culture in, 94 

progress of sugar culture in, 

150 

clove culture of, 398, 401 

black beans, 304 

Mangrove bark, 450, 506 
Madagascar cardamoms, 419 
Mangostano Gambogia^ 451, 640 
Maple sugar, 205 
Manettia glabra^ 641 
Madeira, introduction of the tea plant, 
94 

Madras, tea culture suitable for, 101 

exports of indigo from, 464 

cost of producing sugar in, 189 

Marah (Mr.) prize essay on coffee cul- 
j ture, 69 
I Malambo bark, 636 



660 



INDEX. 



Machinery for sugar, 140 

for cotfee, 51 

for arrowrot, 350, 348 

required for the plantain, 

324 

• ■ required for sago, 318 

Magdalena river, cacao indigenous on 

its "shores, 14 
Magnolia fuscata, used to flavor tea, 85 
Majoon, an opium confection, 585 
Malabar, production of coffee in, 41 

cassia, 394 

ginger, 415 

pepper produced in, 422 

INlahva opium, 580 

Manure, a special for tobacco, 592 

Manures, suited to the colfee tree, 50 

for the nutmeg, 406 

suited for arrowroot, 347 

■ scarcely required in tropical 

countries, 6 

suited for the sugar cane, 172 

suited to maize 278 

Manioc, see Cassava 
JVlanihot, species of, 367 

utilissima, 315 

Mansana, a land measure of 100 square 

yards, or nearly two British statute 

acres, 455 
Manyroot, 625 

Maranta aricndlnacea, juice an anti- 
dote to poisons, 627 

Marattia alata, 380 

Maryland tobacco, statistics of, 598, 
600 

Mate, a name for the Paraguay tea, 133 

^Matico, 643 

Matias bark, 636 

Maund of Surat, 39^ lbs. 

an Indian weight of varable 

quantity 
Melaleuca minor ^ 566 
Metrosideros tomentosa, 505 
Mesemhryanthemum nodijiorum, 494 
Menispermum coccidus, 576 

palmatum, 638 

Megass, a name given to the dried cane 

stems, or trash used for fuel, 168 
]\[eleguetta pepper, 420 
Melsen's process of sugar boiling, 203 
Mespiliis Bengalensis, 443 
Mendo, a wild sweet potato of North 

America, 372 
Menomine, an Indian edible root, 372 
Mexican thistle, 626 
Mexico, imports of indigo from, 477 
Metroxylon sag us, 314 
Millet, varieties of, cultivated, 304 

the great Indian, 306 

Miller on tobacco culture, 608 I 



Mill, rude one, used in Siam for hulling 

paddy, 302 

for crushing plantain stems, 327 

Mills for cleaning rice, 286, 288 
Minot, a Canadian grain measure about 

one-eighth less than a bushel, 251 
Milloco, a tuberous plant, 374 
Mint, culture of, 567 
Mimosa bark, 504 

Mico or mijo, a vegetable butter made 

in Java, 313. 512 
Monkey bread, 378 

pot seed oil, 512 

Morinda, species of, 443, 449 
Morewood (Mr. E.), his exertions in 

Natal, 140 
experiments in 

sugar culture, 187 
Mocha, production of coffee in, 41 

cultivation of coffee in, 43 

Mother cloves, definition of, 397 
Moussache, the fecula of the manioc, 

315 

Mountain rice, 285, 290, 296 
Morphia, proportion in opium, 584, 585 
Mora excelsa, 495, 
Morinda citrifolia, 478 
Moringa oil, 523 

species of, 523 

Musa, species of, 319 

Musquash root of the Micmacs, 371 

Mustard seed, 437 

Muscovado sugar, cost of producing, 
189 

Mucuna pruriens, 625 

■ utilis, 304 

Muchowa oil, 511 
Musa textilis, 321 
Mustard oil, 510, 511 

seed, 509, 535 

Munieet, 449 
Mwijestha, 484 

Muracnja ocellata, a narcotic, 489 
Myrica cerifera, 494, 540 

■ macroca>-pa, 542 

Myrtus carophyllata, 284 

Fimenta, 430 

Myristica, varieties of the tree, 401 

— scbifcra, 512 

Myrobolans, 506 
?Jyrtle wax, 540 

JMysore, production of coffee in, 41 
Napoota oil, 520 
Naudea Gambir, 496 
Namur oil, 572 

Natal Agricultural Society, its en- 
deavours to promote sugar cultiva- 
tion, 139 

indigo culture in, 463 

sugar culture in, 186 



INDEX. 



661 



Karthex amfcetida^ 633 
Nelmnbium, seed of, as food, 378 
speeiosum, the souice of 

Chinese arrowroot, 352 
New South Wales, suited for madder, 

482 

■ tobacco culture in, 

621 

Negrohead tobacco, 601 
New Orleans, capabdities for rice cul- 
ture, 287 

exports of castor oil from, 

545 
Kerium, 453 

oleander, 495 

Neem tree oil, 511, 537 
Nicaragua wood, 445, 447 
NijM frutkca^s, 136 
Nipah, leaf for thatching, 559 
Nicotine, 590 

Kicotium, species of the plant, 590 
Nitrogen, in grain, 307 

• in the starch plants, 342 

234, 310 

in the plantain, 323 

Nigella, species of, 421 
North West Provinces, tea culture in, 
117 

Nostoe edulis, 378 

Northern Australia, directions for 

growing tobacco, 623 
Nut oil, price of, 517 
Nutgall, tannin in, 492, 495 
Nut pine, 377 
Nutmeg tree, 401 

cui'ing of, 409 

• wild, 412 

Nux vomica, 577 
Nyctanthes arbortristes, 494 
Kymphcea lotus, starch obtained from, 

352 

Oats, proportion of oil in, 564 

production of in the IJnited King- 
dom, 257 

imported, 218 

Oatmeal, imported 218 

Oats and beans, produje of in England, 
248 

Oak bark, tannin in, 492 

Ocas, a tuberous plant, 374 

Ocoes or taniers, 331 

Oeymum tuberosum, £56, 367 

Ohio tobacco, statistics of, 598, GOD 

Oil of aniseed, 438 

Oil, proportions of in various crops, 264 

■ obtained from the Cacao seeds, 

11, 12 
Oil of cubebs, 639 

of camphor, 634 

of cassia, 396 - • 



Oil of cloves, 398 

of mace, 402 

of cinnamon, 389, 390 

spikeaard, 565 

. of Ben, 523 

cake, 513, 531 

mills of India, 535 

cakes of the castor seed, 545 

cake from coco-nut, 552, 563 

coco-nut, 551, 556, 561, 562 

from maize, 564 

of sandal wood, 565 

cake imported, 564 

cake, American, 565 

Oilcake as a manure, 50 

■ used in China, 313 

Oil palm, 525 

Oils, burning properties of various, 
508 

Oldenlandia umlellata, 449 
Oleaginous plants, 509 
Olea frag vans, 528 
— Europea, 521 

Olives, mode of preserving the fruit , 
530 ^ 

Olive oil, prices of, 531 

509, 527 

sources of supply, 563 

Omen-e-chah, the Indian name for a 

wild bean, 372 
Onions, planted with arrow root, 347 
Ophelia ehirata, 641 
Opium, history and trade of, 580 
Orceine, 488 
Orchilla weed, 452 

— weed, imports of, 486 

Orchids furnishing salep, 354 

an edible species of, 375 

roots of some used as food, 

377 

Orituco cacao, superior quality of, 14 

Oryza, varieties of, 284 

Orlong, a land measure in the East, 

equal to l^ acre, 297 
O'Shaughnessy's analysis of Ceylon 

moss, 380 

on opium, 584 

Oswego starch factory, 343 
Otto of khuskhus, 573 
Otaheite cane, 153 

Oude, production of indigo in, 464, 475 
Oxalic acid, used for vinegar, 312 
Oxley (Dr.) on nutmeg culture, 402 
Paddy, a name for rice in the huok, 
297 

Patchouly, 537 

Pannam kilingoes, 376 

Parchment coffee, 60 

Fao Crava, one of the spice barks, 384 

Fachyrrhizus angulatus, 377 



6G2 



INDEX. 



Palm oil, imports of, 527 

^ sources of supply, 563 

Palm oil, 509, 524 

wine, 314 

sugar, 136 

Palma Christi, 542 

Palmetto palm, 495 

Palmyra nut, first shoot of, edible, 376 

Pan, a masticatory, 577 

Pancratium, species of, 625 

Pandanus, fruit of eaten as food, 377 

odoratissinms, 565 

Panicum, various species of, 304 

spicatum, of Eoxburgh, 308 

Tanax quinquefolitm^ 436 
Falosde Velas", 521 
Paper made from plantain fibre, 3 5 
Fapsalum exile, 310 
Papaver somniferum, 580 
Paraguay tea plant common in Brazil. 
130 

description of, 133 

extent of the trade, 133 

Parietinic acid, 488 
Parrnenteira cerifera, 521 
Parmelia, species of lichens, 486 

a dye-stufi", 488 

Peas, analysis of, 2(14 
Peeling coffee, 51, 60 

cinnamon, 316 

Peligot (Mr.) on the composition of 

wheat, 230 
Pepper, black, 421 

pot, a West Indian dish, 369 

prices of, 413 

duty on, 424 

Peppermint oil. 566 

Peon, the Spanish term for a laborer, 

135 

Persea grati&siim, 444 
Perfumed oils, 569 
Persian berries, 443 
Peas imported, 218 

Pessaloo, an Indian name for the Pha- 
seolus mungo I 

Pereira's classification of the cincho- 
nas, 636 

Peruvian bark, 635 

Pearl sago, 318 

of Persia, 316 

Piper angustifoUura, 643 

Petty rice, 310 

Pehea, species of, yielding oil, 512 
Pea-nut, 516 
Persian tobacco, 615 
Phaseolus, varieties of, 312 
Phaseolus Mungo max, 171 
Phalaris caniensis, 31 i 
Phlomis, 643 

Philippines, cassia brought from, 394 



Philippine Islands, sugar cultivation 
in, 153 

■ production of coffee 

in, 41 

varieties of rice grown 

in, 302 

Philippines, export of indigo from, 

476 

cigars made in, 620 

Phillip's (Dr.) analyses of Guinea 
corn, 307 

Phyllodadxis trichomanoides, 505 

Physic nut, 512, 625 

PiJul, a Dutch weight of 133| Eng- 
lish pounds, 36 

Piddington's (Mr.) analyses of tobacco, 
617 

Pigeon-pea, 304 

Pignons, use of as food, 377 

Pimpinella Anismn, 437 

Pimento, 430 

Pinang, nutmegs in, 412 

tea culture attempted, 95 

clove culture in, 399, 400 

■ pepper culture in, 425 

Piper Betel, 577 

Cubeii, 639 

species of, 421 

Puius Pinea, seeds of the cones used 
for food, 377 

Piney tallow, 512 

Plantation sugar, imports, 139 

Plantado passado, 323 

Plantain, dye stuffs obtained from, 444 

j'J-ice, recommended for cla- 
rifying sugar, 162 

information respecting, 9 

starch in, 331 

blight, 321 

319 

leaves, bags made of, 316 

meal, 324, 341 

Planche, his memoir on the sagos, 315 
Plumeria, essences of, 524 
Pledranthus graveolens, 573 
Plough used in Brazil, 184 
Polygonum fagopyrunx, 260 
Poa Abyssinica, 308 
Pomegranates, for dyeing, 440 
Potash an important element in maize, 
267 

large quantity in maize, 264 

Potatoes, mode of keeping in Peru, 361 

average weight per bushel in 

J^ew Brunswick, 253 

composition of, 227 

imported, 218 

composition of, 264 

analysis of varieties, 362 

yield per acre, 356 



663 



Potato, information respecting, 10 

meal, syrup made from, 197 

the wUd, of North America, 

372 

starch in, 330 

starch, used to adulterate ar- 
row-root, 349 

test for detecting, 349 

starch, 334, 335, 337, 362 

. crop of the United States. 361 

disease, 358 

proposed cure for, 359, 60 

crop in Ireland, 358 

varieties of, 358 

imports of, 359 

crop in France, 361 

Poisons, 627 

Fomme des Frairies, of the Canadians, 
373 

Pounding coffee, 61 

Population of Great Britain, &c., 87 

■ of China, 86, 91, 298 

Porto Eico, exports of coffee, 77 

cost of producing sugar in, 

189 

production of coffee in, 41 

exports of tohacco, 615 

Poonac, as manure, 50 

549, 552, 561 

Pomegranate hark, 493, 495 
Poonay oil, 511-13 
Folygonum tinctorimn, 453 
Pongamia glabra, 521 
Fogostemon patchou^y, 573 
Poppy, culture of, 581 

oil, \ised to adulterate olive, 

532 

. 509-10-11-18 

Folypodium crassifoHutn, used as a per- 
fume, 550 

Preserved Plantains, 323 

Prices, average of sugar, 145 

Prickly poppy, 626 

Princeza snuff, 594 

Prince of Wales Island, clove culture 
in, 399 

Frosopis pallida^ 313 

Protein compounds, 307, 310, 342 

Produce of various plants, 9 

Production, average of various plants, 
9 

Provence oil, 531 

Province Wellesley, clove culture in, 
400 

Prussia, tohacco consumed hy, 696 

■ production of heet sugar in 

197-98 ' 
Pruning coffee tree, 69 
Psoralia, varieties of, 372 
Fteris esculenta, 380 



Fterocarpus marsupium, 493 

santalinufi, 445 

species of, 507 

Pulping mill for coffee, 51 
Purging nut, 625 
Pulse, culture of, 312 
Putchuk or Costus, 438 
638 

Pimjauh, proposed culture of tea in, 
101 

Fustnlatus moss, 486 
Qually, an iron vessel for drying sago, 
317 

Quarree, a Spanish land measure, ahout 

54 E i^'ish acres, 326 
Q'^,iss:a ^:v ood,643 

Qi:£,5, a fermented Russian heverage, 

S(=S 

Quercitron, 443 

485 

Quercus tinctoria, 443, 485 
saber, 504 

Quintal, the Spanish cwt., equal to 

10 If lbs. English, 
Quinine, imports of, 636 

manufacture of, 635 

Quillai, bark of, used for soap, 574 
Quinoa, 310 

species of, 507 

Railways, large consumption of oil for, 
513 

Eamos (Mr.) his dessicating agent for 

sugar, 140, 162 
Ramalina fufuracea, 486 
Ram-til, 535 

Ramsay (Mr. C. J.) on beet sugar ma- 
nufacture, 200 
Ranunculus, properties of, 626 
Rape oil, 609 

Rape seed, quantity imported, 563 

oil, 513 

cake, 564 

FapMs JlabeiliformiSj 314 
Red pepper, 429 

— Sanders wood, 445 

— Sandal wood, 378 
Feseda Intea, 452 
Revenue from sugar, 143 
Rhamnus, varieties of, 442 
leaves of, used for tea in 

China, 105 
RJtizaphora mangle, 493, 506 
Rhubarb, 644 
Rhus, species of, 450 
Ricinus communis, 542 
Rial, a Spanish coin worth 6d., 135 
Rice starch, 344 

imports of, 303 

produce per acre, 356 

meal for feeding pigs, 303 



664 



INDEX. 



Rice imported, 218 

• starch, Jones's process, 303 

consumption per head in the East, 

297 

price of in China, 298 

time it may be kept, 292 

threshing mill for, 288 

grown in Demerara, 292 

history of, 283 

American crop of, 285 

returns of produce in Carolina, 

291 

weight per hushel, 290 

Richardsonia scabra, 641 

Rimu, or red pine, 5 05 

Robertson (Mr.) on the collection of 

Paraguay tea, 133 
Robiquet (E.) analysis of aloes, 629 
Rocella dye, 452 

species of lichens. 486 

Room, an Indian dye stuff, 443 
Roucou, a name for arnotto, 447 
Rotation of crops, 243 
Root crops, 355 

prices of in !New Bruns- 
wick, 254 

Rollers, proportionate advantages of 
those with 3 & 4, 168 

Roxburgh on the sugar cane, 179 

Roses, cultivation of, 570 

MoUlera tinctoria, 442 

Royle's (Prof.) productive resources of 
India, 103 

Rubia cordifolia, 484 

tinctorium,, 478 

Muellia tuber osa, 625 

Ruellia, a dye stuif, 443 

Rupee, an Indian coin worth about, 2s 

Russia, production of beet sugar in, 
199 

■ consumption of tea in, 92 

tea sent to, 87 

Rye, analysis of, 258 

. imported, 218 . 

meal, imported, 218 

Sappan wood, 445, 446, 447 
Salisbury (Dr.), analysis of maize, 265 
Saxony, beet sugar manufacture in, 199 
Salt, recommended as a fertiliser, 172 
Santalum album, 565 
Saa-ga-ban root of the Indians, 371 
Saga, the Java name for bread, 314 

imported, 218 

flour, exports of, 318 

palms, 314 

millet used for, 306 

Saccharum sinensis of Roxburgh, 136 
169 

. violacum, 136 

Safflower, 450 



Salangore sugar cane, an excellent 

variety, 154 
Sandwich Islands, arrowroot made in, 

352 

Sandbox, seeds of, emetic, 626 
tree, 512 

Saul tree, wood useful for tea boxes, 
114 

Sarsaparilla, 645 

Saguerus Rumphii, 314,316 

inermis, 314 

Icevis, 314 

far in if era, 316 

Salep, 354 

Samshing, a refuse produce of opium, 
585 

Sandoway in Arracan produces SU" 

perior tobacco, 616 
Saponaceous plants, 574 
Sapindus, varieties of, 574 
Salvadora persica, 521 
Sapindus marginatus, 521 
Saouari oil, 512 
Sanguinaria canadensis, 511 
Scammony, 642 

Scharling's (Dr.) test for adulterated 
arrowroot, 349 

Schomburgk (Sir R.), arrowroot for- 
warded by, 352 

■ discovers a new 

tuberous plant, 374 

• discovers wild 

plantains, 320 

Scotland, produce of grain in, 249 

Seed leaf tobacco, 606 

wheat in France, 219 

Senna, varieties of, 647 

Sesame oil, 511, 583 

Set aria italica, 305 

germanica, 304 

Shangliae oil, 511 

Sheet lead, manufacture of for tea 

cases, 114 
Shorea robusta, 114, 521 
Shier (Dr.), his opinion on cassava 

starch, 370 
analysis of the plantain, 

323 

on the etarch producing 

plants, 331 
Shea butter, 538 
Shiraz tobacco, 613 
Sicily oil, 531 
Siam gamboge, 639 

pepper produced in, 422 

indigo found wild in, 476 

exports of cardamoms, 419 

Sidu lanceolata, 574 

Sugar, obtained from the palm tree, 314 

made from millet, 306 



665 



Sitnaruba amara^ 643 

Singapore, produce of gambier in, 501 

exports of sago, 318 

■ nutmeg trade of, 413 

pepper groT;rn in, 423, 424, 

427 

• nutmeg trees in, 400 

■ produce of mace, 414 

extent of clove culture in, 

399 

Sinapis, species of, yielding oil, 512 

Silica, essential for wheat soils, 240 

Singhara nuts, 378 

Sinde, culUire of rice in, 293 

Smith (Dr.), his experiments in tea 

culture in America, 95 
Snuff, duty received on, 597 
Sorghwn officinarum 136 

sacdiaratiim 136 

avenaceum, 307 

vulffare, 304, 306 

Soap, made from coco-nut oil, 559, 562 

worts, 575 

Soil suited to coffee, 68 

— for the nutmeg, 403 

— for cinnamon, analysis of, 384 

— best suited for u-heat, 247 

— a due consideration and knowledge 
of, requisite to the planter, 7 

— suited for tobacco, 586, 587, 607 

— suited for indigo, 468 

Solly (Prof.) on the want of a hand- 
book for the cultivator, 1 

1 on barks for tanning, 493 

Society of Arts, premiums offered by, 2 
Soconusco, the finest cacao, 13 
Socotrine aloes, analysis of, 629 
Sofa hispida, 313 
Soy, mode of making, 313 
Sohrinjee oil, 478, 523 
South Australia, tobacco culture in, 
624 

South Carolina, exports of rice from, 
285 

Sooranjee, 478, 523 
Spergida sativa, flour from the seed, 
377 

Sphceroccus crispus, 879 
Spanish moss, 380 

tobacco, on the mannagcmcnt 

of, 612 
oil, 531 

Spices, plants which furnish, 382 
Spikenard oil, 572 
Spondius lutea, 495 
Spergida sativa, 512 
Stalagmites cambogoides, 451 

' gambogoides, 63 

Star anise, 438 

Starch producing plants, 329 



Starch contained in various grain 

crops, 264 

made from maize, 265 

plants, comparative yield per 

acre, 339 

process of manufacture, 342 

large proportion of in rice, 303 

proportion of in potatoes, 362 

Statice coriaria, 444 

CaroUniana, 494 

Stenhouse (Dr.) on the lichens, 490 
StiUragia sebifera, 512 
St. John's bread, 312-13 
St. Lucia, cost of cultivating sugar, in 
189 

exports of coffee from, 73 

shipmeat of cassava flour, 

369 

St. Kitt's, cost of cultivating sugar in, 
189 

St. Domingo, exports of coffee to the 

United States, 63 
St. Vincent, introduction of the clove 

to, 399 

production of arrowroot 

in, 347 

production of coffee in, 41 

cost of cultivating sugar 

in, 189 

arrowroot shipped from, 

351 

Straits settlements, nutmeg culture in, 
407 

cinnamon culture 

recommended, 387 

Sumbul root, 649 

Surat maund, 39| lbs., 401 

Sumach, 450 

tannin in, 495 

Sunflower oil, 609-10-36 

Sullivan (Mr.) on cost of beet root 
sugar, 191 

Sugar, cost of producing in different 
countries, 189 

Sugar cane, varieties of, 137, 153, 168 

mills, relative advantages of dif- 
ferent ones, 168 

supply, demand and production, 

141 

plants from which it is obtained, 

136, 216 
Sugar, information respecting, 10 
Sugar maple, 205 

Sumatra, production of coffee in, 41 
Sumatra, production of pepper in, 422 
Sweet cassava, 331 
Sweet potato, 330-31-37-65 
Swift (Mr.) on the cultui'e of rjadder, 
480 

Swamp potato, 373 

2 X 



666 



Szygium caropTiylle&um^ 384 
Sylvanus surinamensis, 279 
Symplocos, varieties of, 442 
Tacca plant, species of, 354 
Tahiti arrowroot, 354 
Talipot palm, furnislies sago, 316 
Tallicoonah. oil, 518 
Tallow tree of China, 512 

■ tree of Java, 511 

burning properties of, 509 

Tanping, a Chinese oil cake, 312 
Tannin of nutgalls, 492 
Tannia, 334-35-36..37 
Tanahaka bark, 505 
Tapioca sago, 315 
369 

Tasmamiia aromatica^ 421 
Taro, 384 

Tartareous moss, 486 

Taniers, or ocoes, 331 

Taurine, Leibig on, 80 

Tea, total outlay for by the British 

public, 86 
• extent to which the consumption 

might be pushed, 89 
■ local consumption of in China, 

86, 91 

tannin in, 495 

consumption of, 596 

oil, 518 

■ range of prices, 83 

consumption of in the British 

empire, 84 

in all other countries, 84 

Mr. Montgomery Martin's statis- 
tics of, 84 
quantity that might be used free 

of duty, 84 

value of the exports from China, 

high priced, used in the China 

market, 85 

various Chinese names for, 105 

' immense trade in, 80 

■ names of the green, 81 

black, 81 

original cost in China, 85 

duty received on, 83 

Teel or Til oil, 511, 533 

Teff, an African bread, 308 

Teinsing, a Chinese vegetable dye, 

104 

Temperature requisite for various 

plants, 8, 9 
Tempering cane juice, 158 
Tenacity of starches, 336 
Terminalia angudifolia^ 494 

species of, 506 

Terra Japonica, a misnomer, 490 
statistics of imports, 

502 



! Teuss, a Chinese legume, 312 
I oil, 215 

Texas, production of sugar in, 147 

Ihespesia populnea^ 444 

Thea viridis, 103, 110 

Bohea, 103, 110 

Theine, analysis of, 80 

Thistle oil, 511, 103, 110,626 

roots as food, 376 

Theobromine, 1 1 

Theohroma, description of the tree, 11 
Tikoor, a local name for Indian arrow- 
root, 351 
Til oil, 511 

Tip-sin-ah, a wild prairie turnip of 

North America, 372 
Tinnevelly senna, 648 
Ti plant, 355 

Tirhoot, production of indigo in, 475 
Tobacco, memorial of American Cham- 
ber of Commerce, 595 

culture of in the East, 615 

duty paid on, 594 

leaf, Prof. Johnston's ana- 
lysis, 592 

• ■ • plant, 589 

sources of supply, 601 

fly, cure for, 607 

statistics of American ex- 
ports, 600 

• prohibited to be grown in 

England, 598 

method of curing, 605 

manufacture increasing in 

the United States, 599 

number of persons engaged 

in the culture in America, 599 

• worm, 610 

stems, trade in, 598 

information respecting, 9 

seed oil, 510-18 

prices in London, 602 

root, a wild edible plant, 376 

cost of cultivating sugar in, 

189 

Tonquin beans, 434 

Tous-les-mois, starch of, 330-33-35- 

37-40 
Topinam bar, 365-76 
Topping the coffee tree, 68 
Towai bark, 505 
Toddy, 555 

Travers (Mr. J. I.) on consumption of 
tea, 87 

Trinidad, experts of coffee from, 73 

indigo in, 460 

culture of coffee in, 72 

cost of cultivating sugar 

189 

Tropceolum tuberosum, 536 



TI^DEX. 



667 



Tripa, a name for damaged tobacco 

leaves, 611 
TripoUum alpmum, 643 
Truffle, 381 

Tuberous plants, ne-vr, recommended, 
370 

Tuber cibaHum, 381 
Turkey berries, 442 

opium, 585 

Turmeric, 419, 434, 442 

used for coloring tea, 436 

Turnips, average -sveigbt of crop in 

IS'e'w Brunswick, 253 
Turpentine, spirits of, 565 
Typba bread, 380 
Tye, a preparation of opium, 585 
Unearia Gambier, 496 
United States, production of sugar in, 

145 

supplies of coffee to, 63 

imports of tea and value, 

92 

• value of its agricultural 

produce, 222 
former culture of indigo, 

461 

production of maple 

sugar in, 215 

tea plant introduced, 95 

Upland rice, 302 

gt own in Texas, 285 

Ure (Dr.), on arrowroot manufacture, 

347 

• on manioc starch, 368 

on tannin in barks, 495 

on indigo manufacture, 472 

Urania guianensis, 444 
Valenaria edidis, 376 
Yalonia, 507 

Van Diemen's Land, culture of oats in, 

258 
YaniUa, 431 

plant, grows in Brazil, 130 

Vara, a Spanish land measure, 9 
Variolaris, species of lichens, 486 
Yarzeas, a Portuguese name fur low 

and marshy ground, 183 
Vateria indica, 512 
Yegetable butter, 538 

wax, 540 

soap, 574 

Yelvet moss, 486 

Yenezuela, coffee culture in, 62 

Verbesena sativa, 535 

Vernonia anthehnentica, 521 

Yinegar, made from millet, 306 

Yirginian tobacco, statistics of, 598, 600 

method of culture, 

604 

Virola sebifera, 401, 512 



Voandzou, 371 

Yoelcker (Dr.), analysis of quinoa, 310 

Volatile or essential oils, 565 

Vuelta aiajo, the best class of Cuba 

tobacco, 613 
■ arribo, the inferior kind of 

ditto, 613 
Yulpinic acid, 488 

"Wabessepin, a wild American potato, 
372 

"Wages paid in the Mauritius, 150 
Walnut, oil from, 510 
Wangle, oil seed, 533 
Watappinee, an Indian edible root, 
372 

Water, proportion of in different kinds 
of wheat, 221 

quantity in potatoes, 227 

• for making starch, 341 

Wax berries, 546 

— palm, 541 

Wemmatmm, bark of, 499 

racemosa, 505 

Weight per bushel of crops in New 
Brunswick, 253 

of coffee per bushel, 47 

Wellstead (Lt.) on Socotro aloes, 629 

Westring (Dr.) on the Swedish lich- 
ens, 489-90 

West India ginger, -±18 

Wheat, weight of, as an index of value 
236 

imported, 218 

flour do., 218 

culture, statistics of, 220 

annual produce of, 219 

analysis of, by Boussingault, 244 

average price of, 249 

best soil for, 247 

consumption of in England, 248 

produce of in England and Wales, 

248 

information respecting, 10 

starch of, 331-35- 36-37, 343 

composition of the ash of, 241 

yield per acre, 240 

flour, various analyses of, 237 

White pepper, statistics of, 428 
Whisky, quantity of maize used for, 
271 

Wilcockes on Paraguay tea trade, 135 

Williams's Middle Kingdom, extract 
from, 105 

Willoughbeia edulis, 378 

Wilson (Mr. T.) on the cost of produ- 
cing sugar, 189 

Wilson's rice-cleaning machine, 290 

Winnowing coffee, 51 

machine for tea, 116 

Woad, 452 



G68 



Wood dves, 449 
oil, 511 

(Mr.) on indigo culture, 

Wool manufacture, oil consumed in, 
510 

Wray's practical sugar planter, 140 
Wrlghtia tinctoria, 453 
Hanthoxylum piperitum, 42 1 

• ochroxylon, 460 

Hiquilite^ the indigo sbrub, 460 
Xylocarpus granatuniy 519 
Xtjlopia aromatica, 421 
Yam, buck, 333, 335, 337-38-39, 362 
Yams, varieties of cultivated, 362 
Yampah root, 376 



Yellow berries, 443 

Yerba, Spanish and native name for 

the Paraguay tea tree, 133 
Yucca amarga, 331 

Yucca, the Peruvian name for cassava, 
367, 375 

Zamia, arrowroot obtained from, 319, 
352 

pumila, 330 

Zanzibar, clove plantations in, 400 
Zea Mays, description of, 260 
Zingiber officinale, 414 
Zizania aquatica, 284 
Zones, Meyen's division of, 
Zollverein, production of beet root 
sugar in, 198 



LB Mr '07 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




